It's hard to believe that we're approaching 20 years since hip hop lost a great emcee. Big Pun was a rising artist who was beloved by his peers, and his legacy continues to live on through those who were close to him and his son, rapper Chris Rivers. Tory lane has been making the press rounds to promote his anticipated Chixtape 5 project that dropped today, and the singer-rapper sat down with Genius to share one of his favorite lyrics that comes from the late rapper.
"One of my favorite lines of all times is Big Pun form 'Deep Cover,' he said before firing off the lyrics. "'Dead in the middle of Little Italy, little did we know we riddled some middlemen who didn't know diddily.' The way he put that together, for me, was...was too insane," Tory said before laughing. "And you know, Big Pun was one of my favorite artists, so I definitely gotta give it to Big Pun." He added, "I don't think enough people show enough light on one of the greats like Pun."
Big Pun hadn't even peaked at the time of his death in 2000, but he did make his mark in music. His songs like "Still Not a Player" featuring Joe and "It's So Hard" with Donnell Jones are classic hits. His debut studio album Capital Punishment earned him a Grammy nomination and has gone down in history as the first solo hip hop record by a Latin artist to hit Platinum status. R.I.P. to Pun. Take a walk down memory lane by watching the videos below.