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Christopher Rios, a 698-pound rapper who sold more than a million albums under the name Big Pun, died on Monday. He was 28.
The cause was problems related to extreme obesity, said Joseph Cartagena, known as the rapper Fat Joe, who was also Mr. Rios's producer and manager. The Associated Press reported that the final determination of the cause of death by Dr. Louis Roh, a Westchester County medical examiner, was pending.
Mr. Rios, who lived in the Bronx with his wife, Liza, and his children, Christopher, Vanessa and Amanda, was staying with his family at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in White Plains, N.Y., while their home was being renovated. He suddenly had trouble breathing, and paramedics could not revive him. He was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital.
Big Pun, short for Big Punisher, was a leader among the growing ranks of Latino rappers; his family was Puerto Rican. The trademark of his style was to take a deep breath and pour out rhyme after quick-talking rhyme. His first album, ''Capital Punishment,'' which mixed hints of salsa and a few Spanish lyrics with smooth rhythm-and-blues tracks and stark New York hip-hop, sold more than a million copies and was nominated for a Grammy Award last year. It was the first platinum album by a solo Latino rapper.
He described his style as ''sophisticated hard-core,'' bringing the tough-talking realism of gangsta rap to concerns beyond tales of crime and violence. ''I'm talking about everyday life, losing your job, losing a loved one, stress, happiness, whatever,'' he said in an interview with MTV.
''People loved his charisma, his whole aura,'' Fat Joe said. ''They would love his lyrics, his breath control, his being able to tongue-twist so many words, his punch lines, his being able to make a song about pain and hurt and being able to make a song about good times. He did it all.''
Mr. Rios had been a boxer and basketball player as a teenager but then took to overeating until, he once said, he couldn't tie his shoelaces. Early in his career, he called himself Big Moon Dog. Fat Joe decided to work with him after Mr. Rios met him on a street corner and recited a rhyme for him. ''I knew he was one of the great ones,'' Fat Joe said.
Big Punisher became part of the group of Latino rappers associated with Fat Joe, called the Terror Squad. He appeared as a guest on Fat Joe's 1998 album ''Don Cartagena'' and was one of the few newcomers on ''The Mix Tape Vol. 1,'' assembled by the influential disc jockey Funkmaster Flex.
Big Pun's ''Capital Punishment'' released in 1998 on Loud Records, included the hit ''I'm Not a Player.'' He and Fat Joe had their own float in the Puerto Rican Day parades in 1998 and 1999, and they were in demand as guest rappers, appearing on albums and singles by Heavy D, Brandy and the Ruff Ryders. They rap on Jennifer Lopez's current hit, ''Feelin' So Good.''
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Big Pun appeared on ''The Terror Squad: The Album,'' which was released in September. But his obesity made it increasingly difficult for him to get around. Although he and Fat Joe were to perform with Ms. Lopez on Feb. 5 on NBC's ''Saturday Night Live,'' Big Pun did not appear. He had completed a new album, ''Yeeeah Baby,'' that is to be released in April.
A correction was made on Feb. 22, 2000: An obituary on Feb. 9 about the rapper Christopher Rios, who recorded under the name Big Pun, misidentified his debut album. It was ''Jealous One's Envy'' (1995), on which he sang a verse of ''Watch Out,'' not ''Don Cartagena'' (1998). |
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