For two years fans were mourning the tragic deaths of 2Pac and the Notorious B.I.G. while desperately needing a star MC to fill the void, and the verbal assassin Big Pun happily obliged. Big Punโs 1998 debut Capital Punishment is a masterwork that made him an instant legend.
The Hip Hop world was first introduced to Christopher โBig Punโ Rios in 1995. On Fat Joeโs second album Jealous Oneโs Envy, the fellow Bronx-New York native featured Pun on a track called โWatch Outโ, where Pun raps,โYo, I cause a bloody bath to make my buddies laugh, and gig’/ My nutty wrath’ll live as long as I’m a nasty kid.” His impressive skills created underground curiosity amongst fans who later loved his debut single โIโm Not a Player.โ Produced by Minnesota, the song sampled retro R&B classic โDarlinโ Darlinโ Babyโ by The OโJays with a repetitive bass loop that perfectly matched with Punโs spitfire flow.
Punโs rhymes met every bass beat. He was a rhyming wizard, mixing English and Spanish with lines such as “Youโre f**inโ with King Papi Chulo when knockinโ culo/ Pop your mulos out the socket. Tryinโ to ride with the sumo.โ However, it was the โStill Not a Player (Remix)โ ft. Joe that successfully charted at #6 on Billboard and made Pun a household name. Now, with a pleased hardcore fanbase and mainstream appeal, the premiere of Capital Punishment would solidify Punโs historical reign.
Capital Punishment is an album that defined an era of Hip Hop when high-level lyricism often meant success. The opening track โBewareโ, produced by legendary team The Beatnuts, is an out-the-gate display of vicious battle rapsโa warning to any would-be opponent who dared to even daydream about challenging Pun. He finessed his bars throughout the album as an alumnus of Kool G Rap University, giving a valedictorian speech on โTWINZ (Deep Cover 98)โ ft. Fat Joe, where he deep breathed the iconic tongue twister, โDead in the middle of Little Italy/Little did we know that we riddled two middlemen who didnโt do diddly.โ
The albumโs mafioso motif is displayed perfectly on songs such as โBoomerangโ, โYou Ainโt a Killerโ, and โCaribbean Connectionโ ft. Wyclef. Then, the song โPunish Meโ ft. Miss Jones showcases a vulnerable storyteller exploring feelings of first-time fatherhood. While โYou Came Upโ ft. NORE demonstrates Punโs hit-record-making ability when he flows effortlessly over the beat and Spanish horn, predicting that โLatins goinโ platinum was destined to come.โ
The album is MCing at its finest. Capital Punishment demonstrates Big Punโs genius as an artistโhis ability to rap over any production style while using his voice as an instrument. His rhythm naturally moved at the speed of a fast drum beat without sounding forced or controlled. This classic record along with Jay-Zโs Hard Knock Life, Outkastโs Aquemini, Lauryn Hillโs The Miseducation, and DMXโs Itโs Dark and Hell Is Hot, collectively made 1998 Hip Hopโs most significant year.
