Big Pun (1971-2000)
This Puerto Rican rapper from the Bronx emerged from the underground rap scene in the late 1990s. He first appeared on albums from The Beatnuts, on the track “Off the Books” in 1997, and on Fat Joe’s second album, Jealous One’s Envy in 1995, and on the track “Watch Out,” prior to signing to Loud Records as a solo artist. Pun’s lyrics are notable for technical efficiency, having minimal pauses to take a breath, heavy use of alliteration as well as internal and multisyllabic rhyming schemes. He died from a heart attack at age 28.
