When Big Pun hit the scene with his debut album “Capital Punishment,” it was a source of pride for all
Latino hip hop fans. Although other artists had represented for them in the past, Pun was the first rapper
of his ethnicity to reach platinum status, and he did it while maintaining the respect of lyrical heads. The
album’s hit single, “Still Not a Player,” has been called everything from “commercial trash” to “the best
R&B crossover joint ever.” It was obvious Pun was just having a good time - despite some hardcore
lyrics, he never really carried the image of a thug. Then his life was cut short at the age of 28, and
consequently, the dreams of the latino community which he carried on his shoulders. Pun’s 2nd album,
Yeeeah Baby, is a disappointing posthumous release, but unfortunately we will never know where Pun’s
career would have gone from this point.
Yeeeah Baby is not all bad. On “Watch Those,” he interjects some of the humor that he is known for, with lines like, “Not even the cops could catch me, I’m too fast/ 400 pounds, but I move ass/ As soon as you spoke, I already smoked you with two jabs.” If nothing else, Pun provides us with the elusive answer to our question, “Exactly how fat was this man?” Sorry, maybe that was unnecessary. The beat on “Watch Those” includes an 80’s heavy-metal-like guitar riff which, after a period of indecision, I have decided that I like.
Pun is certainly better on the harder tracks, rather than the ones where he goes for purely commercial appeal. He teams up with M.O.P. for “NY Giants,” a fairly nice joint which is similar to the collaboration M.O.P. did with Pharoahe Monch. “Leatherface” achieves somewhat of a compromise, as it will appeal to the street and the mainstream. Pun brings more hyperbolic one-liners, as the hook indicates, “What you came for/ Surgery, with the chainsaw.” Finally, “You Was Wrong” finds the team of Pun and Drag-On surprisingly putting together a decent song. Well, Drag-On is on it: you know it can’t be THAT nice. Pun does make an unfortunate error in claiming he’s “the only rapper to pull out a gun and slap the shit outta you.” What?!? Didn’t Da Brat just get arrested for that like a week ago?
But a good portion of Yeaah Baby is spent focusing on an MTV audience. I have no problem with this, except that if artists are going to do it, why don’t they try to attract people with talent? Several songs here are scarred by R&B singing which sounds more like fingernails scratching a chalkboard than musical notes. If you want to know what I’m talking about, check “My Dick,” which is just a flat-out terrible song in all aspects. Very original subject matter. The chorus of “Laughing at U” sounds like a joke - I hope Pun didn’t actually expect people to like this. “It’s So Hard” sounds like masterful singing compared to these joints, but it is still very bad when judged objectively. And WHAT is going on at the end of “Off With His Head?” Is that an attempt at opera?
Yeeeah Baby should not be the legacy Big Pun leaves. Whether or not you like his sound, it is undeniable
that he had talent and potential. Simply put, too many joints on this album are watered down. You won’t
find any great messages in Pun’s music, but if his lyrics are taken light-heartedly, he seems like a decent
human being. Take away the singing, some cheesy beats, bad hooks, and just have more Pun rhyming,
and this would have been a much better album. They tried too hard. The man has skills on the mic - they
should have just let him do his thing.
-Joe Kostelnik
