Died On This Date (February 7, 2000) Big Pun / First Latino Rapper To Go Platinum
Christopher “Big Pun” Rios
November 9, 1971 – February 7, 2000
Big Punisher, or Big Pun, was a Puerto Rican-American rapper who exploded out of the South Bronx during the latter part of the ’90s. He first lent his vocal talents to recordings by the Beatnuts, and more famously, Fat Joe, before launching his solo career on Loud Records in 1998. His debut album, Capital Punishment, went to #5 on the Billboard album charts and earned him a Grammy nomination. It was also the first rap album by a solo Latino rapper to sell over a million copies. Unfortunately, health issues cut his life tragically short just two years later. It was no secret that Big Pun was considered obese, which factored in to his premature death by heart attack and respiratory failure at the age of 28.