09.11.1971 - 07.02.2000 (28 years)
Christopher Lee Rios (November 10, 1971 – February 7, 2000), better known by his stage name Big Pun (short for Big Punisher), was an American rapper. Emerging from the underground hip hop scene in the Bronx borough of New York City in the early 1990s, he came to prominence upon being discovered by fellow Bronx rapper Fat Joe, and made his earliest appearance on his 1995 album Jealous One's Envy. In 1997, Pun signed with Fat Joe's label, Terror Squad Entertainment in conjunction with RCA and Loud Records as a solo artist. The same year, he released his Grammy-nominated debut studio album Capital Punishment in April 1998 to critical acclaim and commercial success, peaking at #5 on the Billboard 200 and becoming the first solo hip hop record by a Latino artist to go Platinum.