#VitalFactz: Happy Birthday - Big Pun
Happy Birthday Big Pun. Born Christopher Lee Rios (November 10, 1971 – February 7, 2000). Pun, originally from The Bronx, NYC, originally went by the MC name Big Moon Dawg. After changing his stage name to Big Punisher, Rios met fellow Puerto Rican and Bronx rapper Fat Joe in 1995 and made his commercial debut on Fat Joe's second album, Jealous One's Envy, in addition to appearing on the song, "Watch Out". He also appeared on The Beatnuts' 1997 song Off the Books. Later in '97 he released his debut single I'm Not A Player, which was an underground hit. The following year (1998) he released his debut album Capital Punishment. This album reached Platinum Status & peaked at #5 on Billboard's Hot 200 Albums Chart. It included the songs You Came Up, Still Not A Player & Twinz (Deep Cover 98). He was set to release his follow-up album Yeeeah Baby in the spring of 2000. Sadly, in February of that year he passed away from a heart attack & respiratory failure. The album was released in April of that year & reached gold Status. He is survived by his wife, Liza, and their three children, Amanda (born 1991), Vanessa (born 1993), and Christopher Jr. (born 1994).
