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Christopher Lee Rios (November 10, 1971 – February 7, 2000), better known by his stage name Big Pun (short for Big Punisher), was an American rapper. Emerging from the underground hip hop scene in the Bronx borough of New York City in the early 1990s, he came to prominence upon being discovered by fellow Bronx rapper
Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper from New York City. He began his music career as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.), then forged a so ...
, and made his earliest appearance on his 1995 album ''
Jealous One's Envy ''Jealous One's Envy'' is the second studio album by American rapper Fat Joe, who had previously released his first album under the name Fat Joe da Gangsta. The album was released on October 24, 1995, by Relativity. The song "Watch Out" is known ...
''. In 1997, Pun signed with Fat Joe's label,
Terror Squad Entertainment Terror Squad Productions is an American Hip hop and Rap record company founded by Fat Joe in 1997. The label had been distributed by Atlantic, EMI, and Imperial, E1 (formerly Koch). The label's flagship artist was Big Pun. History Early Years ( ...
in conjunction with
RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Com ...
and
Loud Records Loud Records, LLC. is a record label founded by Steve Rifkind and Rich Isaacson in 1991. Loud is a hip hop label that released material by acts such as Wu-Tang Clan, Big Pun, Mobb Deep, Krayzie Bone, The Beatnuts, M.O.P., Tha Alkaholiks, Pete R ...
as a solo artist. The same year, he released his Grammy-nominated debut studio album ''
Capital Punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
'' in April 1998 to critical acclaim and commercial success, peaking at #5 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and becoming the first solo hip hop record by a Latino artist to go
Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platin ...
.


Early life

Rios was born in The South Bronx in New York City to parents of Puerto Rican descent. He grew up in the
Soundview Soundview is a neighborhood on the Clason Point peninsula, on the southern section of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, White Pl ...
neighborhood and had at least two sisters and one brother. He regularly played
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
and trained in boxing. He moved out of his mother's house at age 15 and was homeless for a period of time in the late 1980s. Later, he received a large settlement from the city stemming from an incident in 1976, where Rios broke his leg while playing in a park. Using his settlement money, Rios married his high school sweetheart, Liza, and the two moved into a home together. Rios struggled with depression stemming from his turbulent childhood, and he coped with it by overeating. Between the ages of 18 and 21, Rios' weight rocketed from to ; he was consequently unable to tie his own shoes.


Career

During the late 1980s, he began writing rap lyrics. He later formed the underground group Full-A-Clips with Lyrical Assassin, Joker Jamz and Toom. Rios made a number of recordings with the group in the 1990s, which have not been released. At this point Rios was operating under the alias Big Moon Dawg. After changing his stage name to Big Punisher, Rios met fellow Puerto Rican and Bronx rapper
Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper from New York City. He began his music career as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.), then forged a so ...
in 1995 and made his commercial debut on Fat Joe's second album, ''Jealous One's Envy'', in addition to appearing on the song, "Watch Out". He also appeared on
The Beatnuts The Beatnuts are an American hip hop group and production duo from New York City. Its current members are JuJu and Psycho Les. JuJu (born Jerry Tineo on December 14, 1968) is a Dominican American from Corona and Psycho Les (born Lester Fernande ...
' song "Off the Books".


''Capital Punishment'' (1997–1998)

In 1997, Big Pun began recording songs for his debut album ''
Capital Punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
''. In 1997, producer
Knobody Jerome Foster, better known as Knobody, is an American music producer and A&R. Knobody has produced records across different genres including soul, R&B, hip hop and rock for several multi-platinum artists including Jay-Z, Ne-Yo, Akon, The Game ...
's production partner Sean C took advantage of his new role as A&R at
Loud Records Loud Records, LLC. is a record label founded by Steve Rifkind and Rich Isaacson in 1991. Loud is a hip hop label that released material by acts such as Wu-Tang Clan, Big Pun, Mobb Deep, Krayzie Bone, The Beatnuts, M.O.P., Tha Alkaholiks, Pete R ...
to play Knobody's tracks to Big Pun. Suitably impressed, the rapper hired Knobody to remix "
I'm Not a Player "I'm Not a Player" is the debut single from rapper Big Pun (then known as Big Punisher), produced by Minnesota. The song peaked at number 57 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "I'm Not a Player" helped the album become number one on the ''Billboard'' ...
". The remixed song, featuring
Joe Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...
and titled "
Still Not a Player "Still Not a Player" is the second single from Big Pun's debut album ''Capital Punishment''. The song was produced by Knobody and features R&B singer Joe. Composition The song is a remix of Big Pun's previous single " I'm Not a Player" produce ...
", became Big Pun's first major mainstream hit and major breakthrough for Knobody. The full-length debut ''Capital Punishment'' followed in 1998, and became the first album by a solo Latino rapper to go
platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platin ...
, peaking at No. 5 on the ''Billboard'' 200. ''Capital Punishment'' was also nominated for the
Grammy Award for Best Rap Album The Grammy Award for Best Rap Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums with rapping at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in several categories ...
.


The Terror Squad collaboration album (1999–2000)

Big Pun became a member of Terror Squad, a New York-based group of rappers founded by
Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper from New York City. He began his music career as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.), then forged a so ...
, with most of the roster supplied by the now-defunct Full-A-Clips who released their debut album '' The Album'' in 1999. The album did not fare well commercially but it was well received critically and the album was meant to start the foundation for all other Terror Squad members to release their solo projects.


Health problems and death

Rios struggled with weight issues his entire adult life. He weighed at age 18, which increased to at 21. His weight fluctuated in the early 1990s between obese and morbidly obese. Rios enrolled in a weight-loss program at
Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist Jame ...
in 1999, and shed , but he prematurely quit the program and eventually regained the weight. His weight was a constant topic of argument among him and his friends, to the point that Rios would not eat around them. On February 5, 2000, Rios withdrew from a planned '' Saturday Night Live'' performance with
Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper from New York City. He began his music career as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.), then forged a so ...
and Jennifer Lopez due to illness. Two days later while staying at a hotel with his family in White Plains, New York, he suffered a heart attack and respiratory failure and was taken to a hospital, where he died at the age of 28 after paramedics were unable to revive him. His weight had reached a peak of at the time of his death. Rios was survived by his wife, Liza, and their three children, Star, Vanessa and Christopher Jr.


Posthumous works and legacy

Big Pun's second album, ''
Yeeeah Baby ''Yeeeah Baby'' is the second and final studio album by rapper Big Pun and the first album to be released posthumously in the wake of Big Pun's death in February 2000. It was released in April of the same year as planned, peaking at number 3 on th ...
'', completed after his death, was released in April 2000. It peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard charts and earned gold record status within three months of its release. A posthumous compilation album, '' Endangered Species'', was released in April 2001. ''Endangered Species'' collected some of Pun's greatest hits, previously unreleased material, numerous guest appearances, and remixed "greatest verses." As with his other albums, it also peaked in the top ten of the ''Billboard'' 200, reaching No. 7, but didn't sell as much as the previous Big Pun albums had. He collaborated with Fat Joe on ''Duets: The Final Chapter'', an album of tracks featuring
The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...
, also deceased. The track "Get Your Grind On" begins with a Big Pun radio interview in which he said he would perform a duet with Biggie at the gates of
heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...
. Pun was also featured on a track from the revived Terror Squad's second album, '' True Story,'' on the track "Bring 'Em Back" with
Big L Lamont Coleman (May 30, 1974February 15, 1999), known professionally as Big L, was an American rapper and record executive. Emerging from Harlem in New York City in 1992, Coleman became known among underground hip-hop fans for his freestyling ...
, another deceased rapper. On May 2, 2001, the New York City Council stalled plans to rename a small portion of Rogers Place as a tribute, due to distaste over Big Pun's lyrics that "include profanity and references to violence and drug dealing". A second posthumous album was planned for release by Sony Music Entertainment in 2006 but was shelved due to a dispute with producer
John "Jellybean" Benitez John Benitez (born November 7, 1957), also known as Jellybean, is an American musician, songwriter, DJ, remixer, and music producer. He has produced and remixed artists such as Madonna, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, and the Pointer Sisters. H ...
, who owned the publishing rights to many of the intended album's tracks. In June 2005, Liza Rios put her husband's $100,000 custom Terror Squad medallion up for auction on
eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...
, citing financial difficulties due to receiving no royalties from Pun's album sales. On March 22, 2021, the intersection of East Fordham Rd and Grand Concourse in his native Bronx was named "Big Pun Plaza" in Pun's honor. A ceremony including family, friends and local politicians preceded the street naming.


Discography

;Studio album * ''
Capital Punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
'' (1998) ;Posthumous studio album * ''
Yeeeah Baby ''Yeeeah Baby'' is the second and final studio album by rapper Big Pun and the first album to be released posthumously in the wake of Big Pun's death in February 2000. It was released in April of the same year as planned, peaking at number 3 on th ...
'' (2000) ;Collaboration album * '' ''The Album'' (1999) ;Posthumous compilation album * '' Endangered Species'' (2001)


Singles


As featured performer


Music videos


Filmography


Awards and nominations


Grammy Awards


References


External links

* *
XXL

Capital Punishment Tribute

Liza Rios Talks About Her Husband's Legacy in 2010 Interview (1:45:00)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Pun 1971 births 2000 deaths People from the Bronx American people of Puerto Rican descent East Coast hip hop musicians Hispanic and Latino American male actors Hispanic and Latino American rappers Rappers from the Bronx People from White Plains, New York American male rappers Terror Squad (group) members Puerto Rican rappers 20th-century American male actors Hardcore hip hop artists Gangsta rappers 20th-century American male musicians Respiratory disease deaths in New York (state) Deaths from respiratory failure