Big Pun

Big Pun, born Christopher Lee Carlos Rios (November 10, 1971–February 7, 2000), was one of the first Puerto Rican rappers to take off in American hip-hop. Based mostly in the Bronx, he released three main albums, only one of which came out before his death. He is noted for having a very direct, clear and commanding delivery along with clever and often intimidating lyrics. Despite being obese (which lead to his demise), he was capable of long, seemingly breathless performances.

Discography:

• Capital Punishment (1998)
• The Album (1999, with Terror Squad)
• Yeeeah Baby (2000)
• Endangered Species (2001, posthumous compilation)

Big Pun has performed in the following roles:

• Moesha (1998) - Himself (as Big Punisher)
• Thicker Than Water (1999) - Punny
• Urban Menace (1999) - Crow
• Whiteboyz (1999) - Don Flip Crew (uncredited)
• Boricua's Bond (2000) - Himself (as Big Punisher)

Big Pun provides examples of the following tropes:

• Acrofatic: "400 pounds/but I move fast"
• Badass Boastful Rap: Most of his songs.
• The Bible: Despite being a "lapsed" Catholic, some of his tracks have Biblical references.
• Comedic Sociopathy: "Nigga Shit" and "We Don't Care".
• For the Evulz
• Gangsta Rap: Big Pun has a lot of stories about thuggin' in the "South Boogie"
• Horrorcore: Leatherface. He also likes to rap about chainsaw attacks in many of his songs and considers himself "Charles Manson in the flesh".
• Motor Mouth: An excellent example is his famous "Dead in the middle of Little Italy..." line in "Twinz (Deep Cover '98)".
• One of Us: Back before he made it big and was dealing with family problems, he took his aggression out by playing videogames. His favorite was a certain Beat'Em Up in which the President has been kidnapped by ninjas.
• Rags to Riches: Detailed in "The Glamour Life".
• Shout-Out: His stage name to the Marvel Comics character Frank "Punisher" Castle. Lampshaded in a sketch in which children describe Frank as a "7-foot Terminator nigga" and X-Men as "baby stuff holmes".
  • Also to Scarface, Kurt Kobain, the film "Casino" and others.
• Signature Song: "Still Not a Player", "Punish Me" and "Twinz (Deep Cover '98)".
• Title-Only Chorus: "Nigga Shit".
• X Meets Y: The Notorious B.I.G. meets Kool G Rap.