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Big Pun

7 tracks across 6 playlists

The Bronx's Christopher Lee Rios — first Latino solo rapper to go platinum, full stop. 'Capital Punishment' (1998) is a technical-rapping master class — the breath control, the multi-syllable rhymes, the stunt-pilot lyricism on 'Twinz (Deep Cover '98)' and 'I'm Not a Player' set bars that very few rappers have matched. The Terror Squad cofounder gone in 2000 at twenty-eight; the influence on every subsequent New York MC is permanent. Still the bar for technical skill, twenty-five years later.