The music industry, in every genre, has many tragic tales of artists who burned out long before their legend ever will, to quote the great Elton John. In rock you had people like Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and Janis Joplin, to name a few. In hip-hop, the common ones are the Notorious B.I.G, 2Pac and the artist who delivered today's album, arguably the greatest Latino rapper to ever, Christopher "Big Punisher" Rios.
He was a man of intimidating stature who had the microphone presence to back it up. For a man of his size, his breath control was remarkable, flipping rapid fire, multi-syllabic rhyme patterns with ease. Other artists would employ a similar way of rapping, Eminem mainly coming to mind, but Pun was too sick with it. A perfect example would be his famous quotable from "Twinz (Deep Cover)": Dead in the middle of little italy little did we know that we riddled a middle man who didnt do diddly". Other examples of his lyrical muscle are on the tracks "Super Lyrical", "Dream Shatterer" and "Beware".
However, when most mainsream listeners think of Pun, they think of his ability to be a crossover artist and appeal to the females. Rightfully so, as "I'm Not a Player" and the smash hit remix "Still Not a Player" were two of the hottest club rap joints OF ALL TIME. Yeah, I went there. Not since the Notorious B.I.G could a rapper smoothly blend lyrics, a hot beat, and a song for the females so seamlessly.
The production was also grade-A on this album; RZA, Showbiz, Rockwilder, LES, Beatnuts. If you listened to hip-hop in the late '90's, you are familiar with those names. It was a perfect, hard-hitting, at times ominous soundtrack for the lyrical wizardry that was on display. Simply put, they JUST DON'T MAKE albums like this anymore.
Sadly, Big Pun passed away of a heart attack way before his time. Fat Joe carried the legacy for awhile before falling off himself. But nobody will ever forget the impact Pun had in his short time here: the first Latin rapper to go platinum and be nominated for a Grammy. One of the all-time greats, and this is his masterpiece.
KEY TRACKS: "Still Not a Player", "Super Lyrical", "Dream Shatterer", "Twinz (Deep Cover)", "You Came Up", "Caribbean Connection", "Glamour Life"
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