Christopher “Big Pun” Rios passed away just shy of two months before the release and anticipated success of his sophomore LP, Yeeeah Baby, which came on the heels of his debut album, Capital Punishment. With appearances from the entire Terror Squad and executive production by the Terror Squad general Fat Joe, the 16-track album showed Pun’s acute diversity not only in his lyricism but his approach to song-making, which yielded some of the most memorable songs of his career. Because of Big Pun’s extreme obesity, the album took longer to record since his breathing problems couldn’t permit him to freely spit his custom, rapid-fire flow. Some of the LP’s favorites are the Puerto Rican anthem “100%” with Terror Squad crooner Tony Sunshine on the hook, “New York Giants” featuring M.O.P., “Ms. Martin”, an ode to his protege Remy Ma and the touching single “It’s So Hard” featuring Donnell Jones. Salute to Big Pun, Pun Jr. and the entire Terror Squad for this unparalleled piece of Hip Hop History! - The Source. While not a classic like his debut, Capital Punishment, this posthumous album did celebrate his greatness in terms of flow and delivery, as well as charisma and comedic personality. Revisit Pun's Yeeeah Baby below, and also check out the official Loud Records commercial HERE. R.I.P., Big Pun! I wish we had more music from this lyrical GIANT.
The rhyming ability and personality of Big Pun are sorely missed today.
