Capital Punishment by Big Pun & his Legacy
My mother once asked me what does someone who studies history do with their degree. In a haste to credify the fact that she helps pay for my tuition, I told her that it's to further my burgeoning career in education. However, in its actual real-world application, studying history's only usage can be in the creation of alternate versions of history. Combine my general knowledge of history with what I have acquired through hours of research into the history of the craft that is Hip-Hop, I can tell you that one of the biggest - and most underrated - catalysts in the history of the genre is the late-great Big Pun. With a classic under his belt, Capital Punishment, the Bronx native by the name of Christopher Rios left an impressive legacy behind him.
Born in the South Bronx to Puerto Rican parents in 1971, Christopher Lee Rios had a turbulent childhood. He would encounter poverty, homelessness and troubles at home with his parents. He would experience depression, binging on food as a result. The consequence would see him balloon in size. During the 1980's, he began rapping under the moniker of 'Big Moon Dawg', before changing it to 'Big Punisher.' He would join fellow Puerto Rican Fat Joe and be on the latters album, Jealous One's Envy. It wouldn't be long before he released what would become the critically acclaimed Capital Punishment.
The album's cover is simple, with a menacing image of the rapper. However, never judge an album by its cover. Clocking in at over an hour and twenty-four tracks, the Dr. Dre and Fat Joe produced project is one of the most boombastic projects I've ever listened. It's content is extremely explicit; enough to make Tyga and Lil Wayne hang it up. The lyricism is incredible on almost every single track, but notable on tracks such as 'Twinz (Deep Cover 98)', 'You Aint'a a Killer' and 'Super Lyrical.' While the project has a large number of features, the stars such as Black Thought, Busta Rhymes, Fat Joe and Wyclef Jean don't outshine Pun. If anything, the verses that they deliver help to complete the impeccable storytelling and give a slight reprieve from the lyrical machine gun that is Big Pun. I can give it a total grade of a 9.0, with very few flaws other than the abundance of what seems to be relatively pointless skits in the effort.
With a nearly flawless album in Capital Punishment, Big Pun's legacy and status in the game today becomes apparent. He has garnered the ever important classic album qualification with that project. His lyrical diversity and quality is on par with some of the greatest to ever pick up a microphone. He could, theoretically, be in the discussion of one of the greatest rappers of all time on those qualifications alone. However, what sets him apart could be the question every historian asks themselves at some point in their career: "What if?"
While the question of "what if" beckons to the idea of if someone such as Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy hadn't died prematurely, the question really is about if he hadn't been discovered by Fat Joe outside of the Bodega in the South Bronx. To see a group like Terror Squad not have the push from such a lyrical rapper at Big Pun's level would probably see their success wane much faster and not be as prolific as it stands in our timeline. That deviation leads to a lot of artists not getting discovered, such as DJ Khaled who was their producer and eventually impede the rise of people such as Lil Wayne and YMCMB, completely altering the landscape of Hip-Hop for the past ten years. All this because of a simple meeting.
In conclusion, the legacy of Big Pun is something of a hidden jewel in the Hip-Hop community. The amount of work that he did in the short time that he had has made him a legend inside of the community. He is most definitely underrated in popular culture and deserves more respect than what he has been given.