Christopher Rios (November 9, 1971 - February 7, 2000), better known as Big Pun or Big Punisher, was a Puerto Rican American rapper who emerged from the underground rap scene in The Bronx in the late 1990s. He first appeared on albums from The Beatnuts on the track "Off The Books" and on Fat Joe's second album Jealous One's Envy, on the track "Watch Out", prior to signing to LOUD RECORDS as a solo artist. Big Pun's career was cut short in 2000 at age 28 by a fatal heart attack due to his obesity. He is survived by a wife, Liza Rios, and three children. ...show more

Christopher Rios (November 9, 1971 - February 7, 2000), better known as Big Pun or Big Punisher, was a Puerto Rican American rapper who emerged from the underground rap scene in The Bronx in the late 1990s. He first appeared on albums from The Beatnuts on the track "Off The Books" and on Fat Joe's second album Jealous One's Envy, on the track "Watch Out", prior to signing to LOUD RECORDS as a solo artist. Big Pun's career was cut short in 2000 at age 28 by a fatal heart attack due to his obesity. He is survived by a wife, Liza Rios, and three children.

Big Pun was the first solo Latino rapper to sell over one million LPs. His first stage name was Big Moon Dawg. His name comes from the Marvel comic book anti-hero The Punisher. 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. ...show less