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.