Christopher Lee Rios (November 10, 1971 ﾖ February 7, 2000), better known by his stage name Big Pun (short for Big Punisher), was a Puerto Rican rapper who emerged from the underground rap scene in The Bronx in the late 1990s. He first appeared on albums from The Beatnuts, on the track "Off the Books" in 1997, and on Fat Joe's second album Jealous One's Envy in 1995, on the track "Watch Out", prior to signing to Loud Records as a solo artist. Pun's lyrics are notable for technical efficiency, having minimal pauses to take a breath, and heavy use of internal and multi-syllabic rhyming schemes. Big Pun died of a heart attack at age 28.

Big Pun grew up in New York City's South Bronx neighborhood and is of Puerto Rican descent. By all accounts from Pun's family, his early years were very difficult, including witnessing his mother's drug abuse, his father's death, and a stepfather who was very hard on Pun. According to his grandmother, Pun would become angry and self-destructive, punching holes in the walls of his family's apartment. Rios dropped out of high school and for some time was homeless staying in abandoned buildings or at friends' homes.