Childhood
Born in the South Bronx of Puerto Rican descent during the early years of hip-hop, Christopher Rios grew up enjoying basketball, boxing, and other sports. He met his wife Liza in the eighth grade. At the age of five, he broke his leg in a Manhattan municipal park, resulting in a lawsuit against the City of New York, later settled out of court. He received a lot of money in compensation. By all accounts from Pun's family, his early years were very difficult, including witnessing his mother's drug abuse, his father leaving the family, and a stepfather who was very hard on Pun. According to his grandmother, Pun would become angry and self-destructive, punching holes in the walls of his family's apartment and eating the chunks of drywall rocks . At the age of 17, Rios dropped out of Stevenson High School and for some time was homeless, staying in abandoned buildings or at friends' homes.
Career
Sometime during the '80s, he formed the Full a Clips Crew with Triple Seis, Prospect and Cuban Link who was at the time named "Lyrical Assassin". At this point Big Pun was operating under the alias Big Moon Dawg. Rios met fellow Puerto Rican and Bronx rapper Fat Joe in 1995 and made his commercial debut on Joe's second album, Jealous One's Envy, in addition to appearing on a b-side to Joe's "Envy" single, "Fire Water."
Later, "I'm Not a Player" (featuring an O'Jays sample) was supported by a significant advertising campaign and became an underground hit. The song's remix, "Still Not a Player" (featuring Joe), became Big Pun's first major mainstream hit. His full-length debut Capital Punishment followed in 1998, and was the first album by a solo Latino rapper to go platinum, peaking at #5 on the Billboard 200. Capital Punishment was also nominated for a Grammy, but lost out on the award to Jay-Z's Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life. He became a member of The Terror Squad, a New York-based group of rappers founded by Fat Joe, with most of the roster supplied by the now-defunct Full a Clips Crew.
Death
Despite his athletic adolescence, Big Pun struggled with his weight for most of his life; his weight fluctuated in the early 90's between obese and morbidly obese. In the last years of his life he fluctuated between 450 and 697 pounds. Big Pun enrolled in a weight-loss program in North Carolina, in which he lost 100 pounds, but he eventually quit the program before completing it, returning to New York and gaining back the weight he had lost. On February 7, 2000, Big Pun suffered a fatal heart attack and respiratory failure in a hotel, Crowne Plaza, in White Plains, NY.
Posthumous works
His second album, Yeeeah Baby, completed before his death, was issued as scheduled in April 2000. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard charts and earned gold record status within three months of its release. It eventually went platinum. A second posthumous album, Endangered Species, was released in April of 2001. Endangered Species collected some of Pun's "greatest hits," previously unreleased material, numerous guest appearances, and remixed "greatest verses." As with his other albums, it also peaked in the top ten of the Billboard 200, reaching #7, but didn't sell as much as the previous Pun albums had.
In recent times, Big Punisher was featured with Fat Joe on "Duets: The Final Chapter," an album of tracks featuring the Notorious B.I.G, also deceased. The track "Get Your Grind On" begins with a Big Pun radio interview in which he said he would perform a duet with Biggie at the gates of heaven. Punisher was also featured on a track from the revived Terror Squad's second album, True Story, on the track "Bring 'Em Back" with Big L.
Sony Records has been considering releasing a second posthumous album featuring unreleased material, but the project is being delayed by Sony. Liza Rios also held an auction in 2005 for her deceased husband's Terror Squad medallion, citing financial difficulties in the wake of Pun's death, and again claiming to have not received any royalty checks for Pun's posthumous album sales (save for a small check from the sales of Endangered Species).
Lyrical ability and technique
Big Pun rapped at high speeds. He used huge multies and internal rhyme schemes. He showcased his punchline capabilities on 'Dream Shatterer', multies and flow in 'Twinz', 'You ain't a Killer' and 'Boomerang'. He was influenced heavily by Kool G Rap and Big Daddy Kane. He also showcased superior topic versatility ranging from street life to sex/relationships and politics to social injustice.
How We Roll
Big Pun Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's something I've been, thinking
That your, crew should know
Big Pun be the largest thang
Straight out of the projects
And that's how we roll, roll
You know I'm well known like Al Capone, fully blown like Ton' Montana
Rollin' ganja up in Bible papers, see how high the lye can take us
Through the eyes of Christ, John, Elijah, Jacob
I make the kind of green a hustler dream
bustin' out the custard cream Viper
Custom piped up with the mustard seams
Clustered green Fort Knox and hard medallions
Mockin' God even Italians see my batallion pull out the broad
I got the Squad over-qualified, pullin' over Karl Kani
Range Rover tilted, three-wheeled hydraulic slide
Sparkin' lye in the clouds and reppin' my housin'
Like the Wu do in Shaolin
Ooh, ooh there's, something, I want to tell you
There's something I've been, thinking
That your, crew should know
Big Pun be the largest thang
Straight out of the projects
And that's how we roll, roll
I keep my Desert Eagle cocked back in my tuxedo with my top hat
What you broke motherfuckers know about that?
lookin' fat in Marc and Pelle leather like Fonzarelli
Sparkin' Phillies with the Gods like Makaveli
On the celly
(Blown Benz, chrome rims)
Shinin' like the on my
(Stone gems, gold rings)
I got it sewn Twinz, I can't begin to tell you the story
That soared me from livin' poorly to a modern day Cinderfella
I've been a killer and a drug dealer, a bugged nigga
But now I'm like Puffy, 'cause money's thicker than blood player
I'm still a threat but now I think before I flip
Call my connects together
And figure which cleaner's the best for the hit
I get the job done, Pun's handlin' business
Candlelight dinners, havin' a toast with the most glamorous bitches
My road to riches was no Christmas
Now we blessed with gold Lazaruses
So expensive my whole family's religious
Something, I want to tell you
There's something I've been, thinking
That your, crew should know
Big Pun be the largest thang
Straight out of the projects
And that's how we roll, roll
Aye yo, I want it all you can call me greedy and superficial
Long as my crew's official and pulls they pistols soon as I whistle
I'm tryin' to triple a million and split it three ways
Joe the God, Full Eclipse and myself, that'll be the day
I need a way to get it already got the ambition
Start the ignition, watch for the NARCs in the marked Expedition
I'm on a mission which requires a higher position
Desire and vision keeps the fire inside of me glistenin'
I'm infinite like math, so I'm gonna last
But you wanna laugh all day, bullshit and sittin' on your ass
I'm all about cash and the power
A stash with the power that lasts like hittin' ass for an hour
Let's get it locked, I want a watch with baguetted rocks
So I can clock hoes with the glow that never stops
Forget the cops, we got Deserts and glocks too
Ready to rock whoever tryin' to stop our cheddar from stockin' forever
Something, I want to tell you
There's something I've been, thinking
That your, crew should know
Big Pun be the largest thang
Straight out of the projects
And that's how we roll, roll
Big Pun is the largest thang
Joey Crack be stayin' paid
Terror Squad from the projects man
The lyrics to Big Punisher's How We Roll feat. Ashanti emphasize his success and lavish lifestyle. Big Punisher boasts of his notoriety in the criminal underworld and his excesses like driving a custom piped Viper and donning Marc and Pelle leather. The verses also capture his transformation from a poor drug dealer to a wealthy artist. The song's hook also mentions Big Punisher's status as the biggest artist to emerge from the projects and the Terror Squad's reputation.
The lyricism in the song is notable as Big Punisher employs several literary devices such as imagery, similes, metaphors, and allusions to biblical figures. The bible references include Elijah, John, and Jacob, which highlights his aspiration to transcend his origins and become a force to be reckoned with. Besides, the song's rhyme scheme and wordplay are impressive, making it a classic hip hop track.
Line by Line Meaning
Something, I want to tell you
I have something to say to you
There's something I've been, thinking
I've been pondering something
That your, crew should know
Your group should be aware of this
Big Pun be the largest thang
Big Punisher is the biggest thing around
Straight out of the projects
From the inner city neighborhood
And that's how we roll, roll
That's our way of doing things
You know I'm well known like Al Capone, fully blown like Ton' Montana
I'm known just like famous gangsters Al Capone or Tony Montana
In a zone, sittin' on chrome, stoned sippin' on cham-pagna
Feeling relaxed, sitting in a car with flashy rims, smoking marijuana and drinking champagne
Rollin' ganja up in Bible papers, see how high the lye can take us
Using pages from a Bible to roll marijuana and testing the high levels
Through the eyes of Christ, John, Elijah, Jacob
Examining things from a religious perspective, considering views of Christ and various biblical figures
I make the kind of green a hustler dream
I earn an immense amount of money that hustlers wish for
bustin' out the custard cream Viper
Driving a luxurious Viper coated with the color of custard cream
Custom piped up with the mustard seams
Equipped with customized pipes and mustard-colored stitching
Clustered green Fort Knox and hard medallions
Covered in green like Fort Knox, with expensive and heavy medallions
Mockin' God even Italians see my batallion pull out the broad
I am so powerful that even Italians would witness my soldiers unveiling their weapons
I got the Squad over-qualified, pullin' over Karl Kani
My team of people is so capable that we can stop even Karl Kani
Range Rover tilted, three-wheeled hydraulic slide
My Range Rover is leaning, and the three wheels are making a hydraulic-powered slide
Sparkin' lye in the clouds and reppin' my housin'
Smoking marijuana and representing my neighborhood
Like the Wu do in Shaolin
Similar to how the Wu-Tang Clan represents their hometown of Staten Island
I keep my Desert Eagle cocked back in my tuxedo with my top hat
I keep my Desert Eagle handgun ready while dressed in a fancy suit and top hat
What you broke motherfuckers know about that?
You poor people don't know anything about being classy and wealthy like me
lookin' fat in Marc and Pelle leather like Fonzarelli
Looking stylish wearing expensive Marc and Pelle leather, like the character Fonzie
Sparkin' Phillies with the Gods like Makaveli
Smoking Phillies cigars with my closest associates, like the late rapper Makaveli (Tupac Shakur)
On the celly
Talking on my cellphone
(Blown Benz, chrome rims)
Driving a powerful Mercedes-Benz with shiny chrome wheels
Shinin' like the on my
Bright and noteworthy like the sun
(Stone gems, gold rings)
Wearing expensive jewelry made of precious stones and gold
I got it sewn Twinz, I can't begin to tell you the story
I've got it all under control, but it would take too long to tell you how I accomplished it
That soared me from livin' poorly to a modern day Cinderfella
Successfully rising out of poverty to become a modern version of Cinderella
I've been a killer and a drug dealer, a bugged nigga
I used to be involved in violent and illegal activities, and was mentally unstable
But now I'm like Puffy, 'cause money's thicker than blood player
Now I value money more than loyalty and friendship, like Puff Daddy
I'm still a threat but now I think before I flip
I'm still capable of being dangerous, but I now consider the consequences of my actions
Call my connects together
Bring my contacts together
And figure which cleaner's the best for the hit
Determine which contract killer is the best for the job
I get the job done, Pun's handlin' business
I ensure that the task is completed, and Big Punisher takes care of the business side
Candlelight dinners, havin' a toast with the most glamorous bitches
Having romantic dinners with the most attractive and glamorous women
My road to riches was no Christmas
I didn't have an easy path to wealth and success
Now we blessed with gold Lazaruses
Now we're fortunate enough to have plenty of gold and luxury items, like Lazarus in the Bible
So expensive my whole family's religious
So wealthy that my entire family can afford to be religious
Aye yo, I want it all you can call me greedy and superficial
I want everything and I don't care if you call me selfish or materialistic
Long as my crew's official and pulls they pistols soon as I whistle
As long as my team is loyal and armed, they will defend me when I give the signal
I'm tryin' to triple a million and split it three ways
I'm attempting to earn three million dollars and divide it equally among three people
Joe the God, Full Eclipse and myself, that'll be the day
Joe the God, Full Eclipse, and I would equally share the three million dollars, but it's unlikely to happen
I need a way to get it already got the ambition
I have the determination to make money but I need a plan
Start the ignition, watch for the NARCs in the marked Expedition
Turn on the car engine and be wary of undercover police in an Expedition
I'm on a mission which requires a higher position
I'm on a mission that requires me to have more power or authority
Desire and vision keeps the fire inside of me glistenin'
My strong desire and clear vision help me stay motivated
I'm infinite like math, so I'm gonna last
I'm eternal like mathematical concepts, so I will endure
But you wanna laugh all day, bullshit and sittin' on your ass
You only want to have fun and waste time instead of being productive
I'm all about cash and the power
I'm focused on making money and gaining influence
A stash with the power that lasts like hittin' ass for an hour
Having a stash of money with lasting power, like the satisfaction of having sex for an hour
Let's get it locked, I want a watch with baguetted rocks
Let's make it happen, I want a watch containing baguette-shaped diamonds
So I can clock hoes with the glow that never stops
So I can show off and attract women with the watch's never-ending shine
Forget the cops, we got Deserts and glocks too
We don't need to worry about the police because we have powerful Desert Eagle and Glock handguns
Ready to rock whoever tryin' to stop our cheddar from stockin' forever
Prepared to fight anyone who tries to prevent us from accumulating wealth indefinitely
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, JELLYBEAN MUSIC GROUP
Written by: CHRISTOPHER RIOS, IRVING LORENZO, PAUL WALCOTT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ebonystar6915
ashanti killed this hook!!
@anthonybryant4944
She's more into the money when it comes to fame
@Joshua-vs6vd
Yes!
@robertbarlow3750
She killed this beat
@robertbarlow3750
No doubt
@jaamirbrittingham5272
Ebony Star, Yes she did!!!!!
@Alessandro1983
R.I.P BIG Punisher
Best Boricua rapper of all time!
@stevehuizar5377
One of the best rappers of all time period!!!!
@anthonysoza1645
Word shorty.
@Homeboy_Brando
Alessandro Catracho
I mean it can be debated that Beast 1333 is better than Pun or they’re about the same, but either way Pun definitely is one of the best of all time!