Big Pun

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 was the first Latino rapper to have an album certified platinum as a solo act. He first appeared on tracks from Fat Joe's second album Jealous One's Envy in 1995, and The Beatnuts' second album Stone Crazy in 1997, prior to signing to Loud Records as a solo artist. Pun's lyrics are notable for technical efficiency, having minimal pauses to take a breath, heavy use of alliteration as well as internal and multi-syllabic rhyming schemes. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time. About.com ranked him #25 on its list of the 50 Greatest MCs of All Time, while MTV2 ranked him #11 on its list of the "22 Greatest MCs". In 2012, The Source ranked him #19 on their list of the Top 50 Lyricists of All Time. 2Early life Rios was born on November 10, 1971 in The Bronx, New York City to parents of Puerto Rican descent. He grew up in the South Bronx neighborhood of the city, and had at least 2 sisters and 1 brother. He regularly played basketball and trained in boxing for a whil