Big Pun | |
|---|---|
 Big Pun in 1999 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Christopher Lee Rios |
| Also known as |
|
| Born | (1971-11-10)November 10, 1971 The Bronx,New York City, U.S. |
| Died | February 7, 2000(2000-02-07) (aged 28) White Plains, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | c. 1992—2000[2] |
| Labels | |
| Formerly of | Terror Squad |
| Children | 3 |
| Website | officialbigpun |
Christopher Lee Rios (November 10, 1971 – February 7, 2000),[3][4] better known by his stage nameBig Pun (short forBig Punisher), was an American rapper. Emerging from theunderground hip hop scene inthe Bronx, he came to prominence upon discovery by fellow Bronx rapperFat Joe, and thereafter guest appeared on his 1995 albumJealous One's Envy.
Big Pun signed with Fat Joe's label,Terror Squad Productions andLoud Records in 1997 to release his debut studio album,Capital Punishment (1998) the following year. Met with critical acclaim and commercial success, the album earned a nomination forBest Rap Album at the41st Annual Grammy Awards, peaked at number five on theBillboard 200, and became the first hip hop recording by a Latino solo act to receiveplatinum certification by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His second album,Yeeeah Baby (2000) peaked at number three on theBillboard 200, although Pun died two months before its release.[5]
Rios was born in theSouth Bronx in New York City to parents ofPuerto Rican descent. He grew up in theSoundview neighborhood and had at least two sisters and one brother.[6][7][2] He regularly playedbasketball and trained inboxing.[6]
He moved out of his mother's house at age 15 and was homeless for a period of time in the late 1980s.[8] 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.[9] Using his settlement money, Rios married his high school sweetheart, Liza, and the two moved into a house together.[citation needed]
Rios struggled withdepression stemming from his turbulent childhood, and he coped with it byovereating. Between the ages of 18 and 21, Rios's weight rocketed from 180 lb (82 kg) to 300 lb (140 kg); he was subsequently unable to tie his own shoes.[8][6]
During the late 1980s, he began writing rap lyrics. He later formed the underground group Full-A-Clips withLyrical 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.[10] After changing his stage name to Big Punisher, Rios met fellow Puerto Rican and Bronx rapperFat Joe 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 inThe Beatnuts' song "Off the Books".
In 1997, Big Pun began recording songs for his debut albumCapital Punishment. In 1997, producerKnobody's production partner Sean C took advantage of his new role as A&R atLoud Records to play Knobody's tracks to Big Pun.[11] Suitably impressed, the rapper hired Knobody to remix "I'm not a Player".[11] The remixed song, featuringJoe and titled "Still not a Player", became Big Pun's first major mainstream hit and major breakthrough for Knobody.[11] The full-length debutCapital Punishment followed in 1998, and became the first album by a solo Hispanic rapper to goplatinum,[5] peaking at No. 5 on theBillboard 200.Capital Punishment was also nominated for theGrammy Award for Best Rap Album.
Big Pun became a member ofTerror Squad, a New York–based group of rappers founded byFat Joe, with most of the roster supplied by the now-defunct Full-A-Clips who released their debut albumThe 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.[citation needed]
Big Pun also contributed vocals to the songPiña Colada with rapperSheek Louch from the compilation albumRyde or Die Vol.1.
Rios struggled with weight issues his entire adult life. He weighed 180 pounds (82 kg) at age 18, which increased to 300 pounds (140 kg) at 21.[12] His weight fluctuated in the early 1990s betweenobese and morbidly obese.[12] Rios enrolled in a weight-loss program atDuke University in 1999, and shed 80 pounds (36 kg), but he prematurely quit the program and eventually regained the weight.[12] His weight was a constant topic of argument among him and his friends, to the point that Rios would not eat around them.[2][12]
On February 5, 2000, Rios withdrew from a plannedSaturday Night Live performance withFat Joe andJennifer Lopez due to illness. Two days later while staying at theCrowne Plaza Hotel with his family inWhite Plains, New York, he suffered a heart attack and respiratory failure and was rushed toWhite Plains Hospital, where he died at the age of 28 after paramedics were unable to revive him. His weight had reached a peak of 698 pounds (317 kg) at the time of his death.[13][14] Rios was survived by his wife, Liza, and their three children,[15] Star, Vanessa, and Christopher Jr.[16]
Rios is buried atWoodlawn Cemetery nearWoodlawn Heights, Bronx.[17]
Big Pun's second album,Yeeeah Baby, completed after his death, was released in April 2000. It peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard charts and earnedgold record status within three months of its release. Aposthumous compilation album,Endangered Species, was released in April 2001.Endangered Species collected some of Pun'sgreatest hits, previously unreleased material, numerous guest appearances, and remixed "greatest verses." As with his other albums, it also peaked in the top ten of theBillboard 200, reaching No. 7, but didn't sell as much as the previous Big Pun albums had. He collaborated with Fat Joe onDuets: The Final Chapter, an album of tracks featuringThe Notorious B.I.G., 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 ofheaven.[18] Pun was also featured on a track from the revivedTerror Squad's second album,True Story, on the track "Bring 'Em Back" withBig L, another deceased rapper.
In addition, Big Pun featured on the tracks "Toe to Toe" and "Cheat On Her" fromCuban Link's debut studio album24K.[19]
On June 6, 2000,Cuban Link released "Flowers For The Dead", a tribute song to Pun, which was released as the lead single to Cuban's album 24K. The official music video was directed byChris Robinson and was filmed in The Bronx, NY and debuted onRap City.
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[d] profanity and references to violence and drug dealing".[20]
In 2002, a documentary about Big Pun, entitledBig Pun: Still not a Player was released,[21] which revealed that he was homeless as an adolescent and abused as a child.[22] The film includes footage of himpistol-whipping Liza Rios.[22]
In 2004, Triple Seis released the track "Harsh Reality", which samples Big Pun's "You Ain't A Killer" and credits Pun as a featured artist.[23] In 2005,Cuban Link released "Letter To Pun" which was Cuban's second tribute song to Pun, the previous being "Flowers for the Dead" from Cuban's 24K album. A video was made for the song and was included in Cuban'sChain Reaction CD packaging. Seis has a cameo in the video.[24]
A second posthumous album was planned for release by Sony Music Entertainment in 2006 but was shelved due to a dispute with producerJohn "Jellybean" Benitez, who owned the publishing rights to many of the intended album's tracks.[25] In June 2005, Liza Rios put her husband's $100,000 custom Terror Squad medallion up for auction oneBay, citing financial difficulties due to receiving no royalties from Pun's album sales.[26]
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.[27]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Moesha | Himself | Credited as Big Punisher |
| 1999 | Thicker than Water | Punny | |
| Urban Menace | Crow | ||
| Whiteboyz | Don Flip Crew | Uncredited | |
| 2000 | Boricua's Bond | Himself | Credited as Big Punisher Posthumous release |
| 2002 | Big Pun: Still Not a Player | Himself | Archival footage Posthumous release |
| Big Pun Live | Himself | ||
| 2007 | Rap Sheet: Hip-Hop and the Cops | Himself[28] | |
| 2008 | Big Pun: The Legacy | Himself | |
| 2010 | Big Pun's Legacy: The Lost Files | Himself |
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Capital Punishment | Grammy Award for Best Rap Album | Nominated[29] |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
