 By now the Hip Hop world is aware that we lost another one of our best and brightest. Big Pun [Christopher Rios] died Monday afternoon [Feb 7th] due to a heart attack at age 28. The robust rapper is survived by a wife and three children. It is not clear as to whether or not Pun's heart attack was the result of huge weight. He tipped the scale at close to 500 lbs, which of course sparked concerns about his overall well being. When things like this happen, there's not much one can really say. One can only imagine what his family is going through since this seemed to happen so suddenly. It's a sad reminder that none of us our promised tomorrow. My heartfelt prayers and condolences to those closest to him.. May God provide strength and comfort to deal with this.. Big Pun the artist contributed a lot to Hip Hop. It is well known that he was the first Latino rapper to go platinum. But when looking deeper I think we should note that his charisma, skill and overall presence once and for all ended this misguided industry labeling of Hip Hop and Latino Hip Hop. Over the years there was this disturbing categorization in which everyone from Cypress Hill to Kid Frost to Lighter Shade of Brown were put into a box labeled Latin Hip Hop as if they were not part of the family. Music coming from such artists was somehow seen as a less then stellar off shoot. Big Pun's explosive assent on the scene especially with songs like 'Still A Player' made it forever clear that our Latin/Puerto Rican Brothers and Sisters were in the trenches from day one, helping give birth to what we now call Hip Hop. He also made it forever clear that Latin kids could wreck mics with the best of them. In many ways Big Pun brought a sense of respect back to Latinos within Hip Hop. He was a source of pride and he help lead the charge in kicking down the doors for Latino artists with respect to todays audience. Where I think Big Pun will be missed most is the community side. I remember talking with Fat Joe a few months ago and he ran down all the projects that he and Pun were involved in. They had opened up a Billiards & Barbershop and a clothing store. They had started a management company and basically were about the business of giving back, providing jobs and creating opportunities for folks within their South Bronx neighborhood. Although I never met Pun, from talking with Joe I got the sense that the brother wanted to take what he was doing within Hip Hop to a higher level both as an artist and as an individual. At the time of his death, Big Pun was set to drop a new single called Leatherface and he was finishing up his new album Yeehah Baby. may he rest in peace! |