After a few cameos with Fat Joe, whom BIG PUNISHER affectionately calls his "twin", it became instantly clear to the attentive ear that this guy possessed a lyrical gift with incessant breath control and a knock-out punch with the rhymes. His verse on "Fire Water" (featuring Wu-Tang all-star Raekwon) had enough wind to blow out an inferno yet flowed like a waterfall. In no time, mix tape heads ate him up. Funkmaster Flex featured PUNISHER on the Mix Tape Volume I. He did a song called "Wishful Thinking" with B-Real of Cypress Hill, Kool G Rap, and even made an appearance with Bones Thugs' spin off group, Flesh N Bone.
Aside from his lyrical prowess, PUN displays an uncanny ability to align his unique vocal style with the right tracks. His album, CAPITAL PUNISHMENT, features some of today's top of the line and most up and coming beatmakers. Starting on the streets with "You Ain't A Killer" (featured on "Soul In The Hole") plainly pulling cards on a wanna be thug. BIG PUN sought the production of Bad Boy's latest sensation on the boards, Young Lord, recently acclaimed for his work with The Lox and the Notorious B.I.G.
BIG PUNISHER touches the slicker side of rap from a different angle with "I'm Not A Player" (I just fuck a lot) by combining a classic chorus from the O'Jays alongside production by Minnesota of Money Boss Player fame. Also escalating the stakes on the commercial side are tracks from Rashad Smith who produced Busta Rhymes' "Woo Hah", and Frank Nitty from the Trackmasteres. Still grounded in raw hip hop, PUN did two songs with long time friends, the Beatnuts. L.E.S. best known for his work with Nas and AZ, produced "Glamour Life" which also features some upcoming MC's from under Fat Joe's Terror Squad umbrella. Of course, Showbiz showed love with a track from Diggin' In The Crates camp-closely connected with Terror Squad in the Bx.
Growing up his whole life in the South Bronx, PUNISHER has been completely saturated with hip hop culture since its existence. From the writing to boogie to breaking, Pun lived every minute of it to the fullest. Seeing Crazy Legs and Rock Steady make breakdancing famous was one of the first experiences that PUN remembers making him proud to be Puerto Rican. Also heavily into basketball and boxing, Pun maintained an active lifestyle and an athletic build weighing a solid 200 lbs.
A couple of years later, in his late teens with his first child on the way, Big Moon Dog, as PUN was formerly known, began to settle down. In the wake of America's most devastating urban epidemic, PUN took the paper route, chasing fast money in the crack game in order to put food on the table. Not only was he able to feed his growing family (two more children were born), but he ate until he couldn't tie his shoelaces. In just four years, PUNISHER nearly doubled his weight.
Though he moved out of his mother's Soundview apartment at 15 and dropped out of Stevenson High School after his first year, PUN fed his imagination with a desire to learn on his own. He expanded his vocabulary and informed himself by reading the encyclopedias. Always exposed to Catholicism, he stayed well versed in the bible.
His father used to tell him he had a morbid imagination. "I walk on water, spit fire, and shit Hagen Daaz, idolize no man like Conan, stand beside the gods." PUN always wants to make sure he's understood. No more 'youknowwhatimsayin?' Now it's "you heard what I said?" Most of all PUNISHER'S most prolific quality is his sense of humor. Not too many people have the gift of true comedic expression the way he does.
Mostly PUNISHER likes to spend time at home with his family and listen to R&B. Names like Lou Rawls and Richard Marx came to mind. Back in the days, he says he liked Surface and Ready for the world, but at the same time, Rakim and Run DMC of course. Ultimately, whatever he was doing and listening to for the past ten years has helped him become one of the most outstanding hip hop talents in years.
