YW's Fifty Greates Rappers of All Time: 5

Our fourth entry is postponed until tomorrow, cuz J Store had to go back to the island to rescue Jin and Sawyer. We will do 4,3, and 2 tomorrow.

5) Big Pun
Average Score: 8.8
Government Name: Christopher Rios
Early Life:


Influence: I am struggling to figure out exactly what to say about Pun. Of course, he was a great rapper. But I cant decide which angle justifies Pun's place in not only this top ten list, but almost every one that has ever come out. I could go the pure rapping route. "Dead in the middle of Little Italy. Little did we know that we riddled some middleman who didn't do diddly." Lyrics, flow, rhyme schemes- all very, very much there.
But maybe Pun is truly one of the greatest rappers of all time because of whom he represents; the Pueto Rican Diaspora. Granted, there are a handful of Puerto Rican New Yorkers in hip hop(Fat Joe, J Lo, 1/2 of NORE) and some acclaimed artists (Jesus Colon, Miguel Pinero, De La Vega), but no other Nuyorican has received the amount of both critical and commercial acclaim that was bestowed upon Christopher Rios during and after his short career. I tried to find a few videos that spoke more personally about the man and the legend.
More From the Life Documentary Series.

The extended trailer for the Big Pun documentary, The Legacy.

Cuban Link in front of the Pun mural on 163 st. in the Bx.