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Christopher Lee Rios (November 9 1971 – February 7 2000), better known as Big Punisher or Big Pun, was a New York rapper of Puerto Rican descent who emerged from the underground rap scene in The Bronx in the late 1990s. He first appeared on albums from The Beatnuts and Fat Joe before signing to Loud Records as a solo artist. Big Pun's career was cut short in 2000 by a fatal heart attack due to his large size. He was survived by a wife, Liza Rios, and three children. He is especially notable as one of rap's premier lyricists.

History

Born in The Bronx during the early years of hip-hop, Christopher Rios grew up enjoying basketball, boxing, and other sports. He met his wife Liza in the eighth grade. At the age of five, he broke his leg in a Manhattan municipal park, resulting in a lawsuit against the City of New York, later settled out of court. By all accounts from Pun's family, his early years were very difficult, including witnessing his mother's drug abuse, his father leaving the family, and a step-father who was very hard on Pun. According to his grandmother, Pun would become angry and self-destructive, punching holes in the walls of his family's apartment and eating the pieces of sheetrock that fell out. At the age of 15, Rios dropped out of Stevenson High School and for some time was homeless, staying in abandoned buildings or at friends' homes.^[1] Sometime during the '80s, he began to write rap lyrics, forming the Full a Clips Crew with Triple Seis, Cuban Link at the time named "Lyrical Assassin", Prospect and Big Moon Dawg. Rios met fellow Puerto Rican and Bronx rapper Fat Joe in 1995 and made his commercial debut on Joe's second album, Jealous One's Envy (J.O.E.), in addition to appearing on a b-side to Joe's "Envy" single, "Fire Water."

"I'm Not a Player" (featuring an O'Jays sample) was supported by a significant advertising campaign and became an underground hit. The song's remix, "Still Not a Player" (featuring Joe), became Big Pun's first major mainstream hit. His full-length debut Capital Punishment followed in 1998, and was the first album by a solo Latino rapper to go platinum, peaking at #5 on the Billboard 200. Capital Punishment was also nominated for a Grammy, but lost out on the award to Jay-Z's Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life. He became a member of The Terror Squad, a New York-based group of rappers founded by Fat Joe, with most of the roster supplied by the now-defunct Full a Clips Crew.

Due to marital conflicts, Rios often binged on food consistently. This caused his weight to rapidly increase. Despite his athletic adulthood, he would continue to gain weight and would eventually become obese. In the last years of his life he fluctuated between 450 and 700 pounds. At Fat Joe's urging, Big Pun enrolled in a weight-loss program at Duke University, at which he lost 80 pounds, but he quit the program before completing it, returning to New York and gaining back the weight he had lost. On February 7th, 2000, Big Pun suffered a fatal heart attack in White Plains, NY.

His second album, Yeeeah Baby, completed before his death, was issued as scheduled in April 2000. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard charts and earned gold record status within three months of its release. A second posthumous album, Endangered Species, was released in April of 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 #7, but didn't sell as much as the previous Pun albums had.

In 2002, Pun's widow, Liza Rios, released a documentary about her late husband, Still Not a Player. The film features commentary from many of Pun's close friends and family members, details the struggles with his weight, and also reveals how at times, Pun would become physically abusive with his wife - in one scene, he is caught on camera while pistol whipping her. [1] The release of the documentary and its content caused a falling out between Fat Joe and Rios, as Rios repeatedly claimed to have not received any royalties from the sales of Endangered Species, which was where the proceeds from that album's sales were designed to go. [2]

In recent times, Big Punisher was featured with Fat Joe on "Duets: The Last Chapter," Notorious B.I.G's most recent album. 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. [3] Punisher was also featured on a track from the revived Terror Squad's second album, True Story, on the track "Bring 'Em Back."

Sony Records has been considering releasing a second posthumous album featuring unreleased material [4], but the project is being delayed by Sony. [5] Liza Rios also held an auction in 2005 for her deceased husband's Terror Squad medallion, citing financial difficulties in the wake of Pun's death, and again claiming to have not received any royalty checks for Pun's posthumous album sales (save for a small check from the sales of Endangered Species). [6]

Example Verses:

... - all my memories are vivid; I remember only minutes

That's how I mentally get rid of all the enemies,

The spirits that definitely mimic my every melody

And lyric which's so heavenly rhythmic.

In magic do I build, but math do be equally compatible

And secretively battle you to reach my peak in equilateral

I'm from the streets, deep in the barrio, yo aint no Mario Brothers

Official Bronx niggas, quick to body yo mother (ouch!)

- Big Punisher, My Turn

Just call me Baby Jesus 'cause lately niggas be praisin me

Just for the way I blaze the beat crazily, tape to CD lasery

It pays to be amazingly flavory

Gaaaaaze into my rhymes that basically hypnotize you occasionally

- Big Punisher, Twinz (Deep Cover '98)

Dead in the middle of Little Italy little did we know

that we riddled some middleman who didn't do diddily

I rub your face off the Earth and curse your family children

like Amityville drill the nerves in your cavity fillin

Trivia

Big Pun's first stage name was Big Moon Dawg, and a reference to this name can be seen on the back cover of the Endangered Species compilation.
Big Pun's name comes from the Marvel comic book hero The Punisher.

Discography

Solo albums

Album cover	Album information
File:Capitalpunishpun.jpg	Capital Punishment Released: April 28, 1998 Status: 5 million copies sold Billboard 200 chart position: #5 R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #1 Singles: "I'm Not A Player", "Still Not A Player", "You Came Up","Twinz(98 Deep Cover)"
	Yeeeah Baby Released: April 11, 2000 Status: 2 million copies sold Billboard 200 chart position: #3 R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #1 Singles: "It's So Hard","100%"
	Endangered Species Released: March 27, 2001 Status: 500,000 copies sold Billboard 200 chart position: #7 R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #3 Singles:"How we roll"

Terror Squad

Terror Squad (as a member of The Terror Squad), (1999)
True Story (as a member of The Terror Squad), (2004) ("Bring 'Em Back" with Fat Joe and Big L) - Big Pun was already dead at this time

Singles

1997 "I'm Not a Player" - #57 US, #19 Hip-Hop/R&B Charts
1998 "Still Not a Player" (featuring Joe) - #24 US, #3 Hip-Hop/R&B Charts
1998 "Twinz (Deep Cover 98)" (featuring Fat Joe)
1998 "You Came Up" (featuring Noreaga) - #49 Hip-Hop/R&B Charts
1999 "Shake Yo Ass Bitch" (featuring the ITFN) - #68 Hip-Hop/R&B Charts
2000 "It's So Hard" (featuring Donell Jones) - #75 US, #11 Hip-Hop/R&B Charts
2000 "100%" (featuring Tony Sunshine) - #64 Hip-Hop/R&B Charts
2001 "How We Roll (Remix)" (featuring Ashanti) - #53 Hip-Hop/R&B Charts

External links

Big Pun forever (tribute site)
Big Pun Foundation Official Website

^ Still Not a Player, Documentary

[1] Still Not a Player, Documentary

[1]

@@ Line 22: / Line 22: @@
 "I'm Not a Player" (featuring an [[O'Jays]] sample) was supported by a significant [[advertising campaign]] and became an [[Underground music|underground]] hit.  The song's [[remix]], "Still Not a Player" (featuring [[Joe (singer)|Joe]]), became Big Pun's first major [[mainstream]] hit.  His full-length debut ''[[Capital Punishment (album)|Capital Punishment]]'' followed in [[1998]], and was the first album by a solo [[Latino]] rapper to go [[RIAA certification|platinum]], peaking at #5 on the [[Billboard 200]].  ''Capital Punishment'' was also nominated for a [[Grammy]], but lost out on the award to [[Jay-Z|Jay-Z's]] ''[[Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life]].'' He became a member of [[The Terror Squad]], a New York-based group of rappers founded by Fat Joe, with most of the roster supplied by the now-defunct Full a Clips Crew.
-Despite his athletic [[adolescence]], Big Pun struggled with his weight for most of his life; his weight fluctuated between heavy in the early 90s and obese. In the last years of his life he fluctuated between 450 and 700 pounds. At Fat Joe's urging, Big Pun enrolled in a weight-loss program at [[Duke University]], at which he lost 80 pounds, but he quit the program before completing it, returning to New York and gaining back the weight he had lost. On February 7th, 2000, Big Pun suffered a fatal heart attack in [[White Plains, NY]].
+Due to marital conflicts, Rios often binged on food consistently. This caused his weight to rapidly increase. Despite his athletic adulthood, he would continue to gain weight and would eventually become obese. In the last years of his life he fluctuated between 450 and 700 pounds. At Fat Joe's urging, Big Pun enrolled in a weight-loss program at [[Duke University]], at which he lost 80 pounds, but he quit the program before completing it, returning to New York and gaining back the weight he had lost. On February 7th, 2000, Big Pun suffered a fatal heart attack in [[White Plains, NY]].
 His second album, ''[[Yeeeah Baby]]'', completed before his death, was issued as scheduled in April 2000. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard charts and earned [[RIAA certification|gold record]] status within three months of its release. A second [[posthumous]] album, ''[[Endangered Species (Big Pun album)|Endangered Species]]'', was released in April of 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 #7, but didn't sell as much as the previous Pun albums had.