BIG PUN
Even if the former Terror Squad rapper Big Punisher (Big Pun for short, born Christopher Lee Rios) had been lost to the ravages of time, he still would have made his mark, being the first Latino rap artist to attain platinum status as a solo act. More than that however, he has in fact gone down in music history as one of the greatest rappers in the history of hip-hop. Revered and acclaimed for his technical prowess, complex rhyme schemes, and deft wordplay, Big Pun has been called a “Greatest MC Of All Time” by MTV, The Source, and About.com, among others, while Rolling Stone has said: “Pun embodied all of the traits of a master wordsmith: melody, a unique flow, an unforgettable voice, humor, and lyrics that made other MCs go back to their black and white composition notebooks.”
It’s rare that a rapper can get this much acclaim from one album release, but Big Pun achieved that in 1998, with the release of his studio debut Capital Punishment. Featuring guest appearances from Black Thought of The Roots, Inspectah Deck of Wu-Tang Clan, Prodigy of Mobb Deep, Dead Prez, Fat Joe, Busta Rhymes, and many more, and production courtesy of Juju of Beatnuts, Dr. Dre, RZA, and more, Capital Punishment was a hit right out the gate, debuting at number 5 on the Billboard Top 200, largely on the success of the Billboard hit “Still Not A Player.” Even without these accolades, the album boasted deep street beats, gritty topics, and equal measures of pop accessibility and hardcore leanings.
Sadly, Big Pun would not live long enough to experience the complete width and breadth of Capital Punishment‘s success. The rapper had long struggled with weight issues, which ultimately caught up with him two years after the album’s release, when he died of a heart attack at the age of 28. Pun left Capital Punishment as his major legacy, which to this day is still listed among the greatest of hip-hop albums, and is considered one of the best debut albums of the genre. Get On Down has recognized the enormity of this album’s legacy, and proudly reissues it in its entirety, on vinyl for the first time in over 15 years.
PRESS FOR CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
“Big Pun was out to prove one thing on his debut: That he was a first-rate lyricist…It (Capital Punishment) was about composition and execution, and no one punished the mic quite like Big Pun.”
– Complex: The 50 Greatest Debut Albums in Hip-Hop History
“…Slipping comfortably into the lovable-street-tough niche popularized by the late, great Biggie Smalls, Big Punisher has delivered a debut remarkably devoid of fat.”
“…With an appetite for destruction that would make N.W.A. proud, Big Punisher has lived up to the hype. Death to the wack MC.”
“…a terrific lyricist with microphone technique to spare, and actually rhymes faster than his clear influence, the Notorious B.I.G.. He’s also quite versatile, aiming for the dance clubs, the ladies, the hip-hop purists, and the mean streets at varying points on the album, and connecting with all of them pretty well.”
“…Everything about this Bronx-bred Puerto Rican rapper is generous, his 400-pound girth, his multiple rhyming within each line, and his talent for spewing out verses without stopping for breath…”
