Big Punisher Yeeeah Baby CD

Completed shortly before his death, YEEEAH BABY, the sophomore album from Christopher "Big Pun" Rios, is packed with the same energy and street credibility that laced his platinum debut, Capital Punishment. The 500-pound MC leads the charge on powerful tracks like "Wrong Ones," "New York Giants," and "We Don't Care."

Given the fact that he had only weeks to live, a track like "It's So Hard," featuring a guest vocal appearance from Donell Jones, has a certain unintended irony to it. Here, Pun talks about how hard it is striving to stay alive, do the right thing, and provide for his family, with everything and everyone pulling at him. Some of YEEEAH BABY's other standout cuts include "Off Wit His Head," featuring Prospect, "My Turn," produced by L.E.S., and the hit posse cut "You Was Wrong."

Recorded at Sony Music Studios, Battery Studios, The Cutting Room, Axis & The Hit Factory, New York, New York; Sonic Wave Studios, North Carolina.

Engineers include: Christian "Soundboy" Delatour, Doug Wilson, Brian Stanley.

Personnel: Joe Davi (guitar); Dahoud, Dave Hall (keyboards); Tony Sunshine (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: Ken Lewis ; Ken Ifill.

Recording information: Battery Studios, New York, NY; Sonic Wave Studios, NC; Sony Music Studio, New York, NY; The Cutting Room, New York, NY; The Hit Factory, New York, NY.

Editor: Blair Wells.

Photographers: Daniel Hastings; Jimmy Ienner, Jr.

Feat: Donnell Jones, Fat Joe, Cuban Link, M.O.P.

Personnel includes: Christopher Lee "Big Punisher" Rios (rap vocals); Lord Sear, Opera Steve, Prospect, Donell Jones, Cuban Link, M.O.P., SunKiss, Remi Martin, Drag-On, Fat Joe (vocals); Joe Davi (guitar); Dahoud, Dave "Jam" Hall (keyboards); Papo Pepin (percussion); DJ LV (scratches); Tony Sunshine (background vocals).

Producers include: Knobody, Just Blaze, Younglord, Minnesota, KNS.

Rolling Stone (4/13/00, p.128) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...[Pun] has gone out with a bang. He attacked standard hip-hop topics with witty, unpredictable elasticity....Pun is at his habanero hottest..."
Q (7/00, p.111) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Would have established [him] as both a radio-friendly commercial force and rebellious icon..."
CMJ (4/24/00, p.30) - "...Beams the spotlight on the Boricua bomber's unparalleled breath control and hilarious jaw-dropping wordplay."
Vibe (6/00, p.214) - "...A triumphant final effort for one of the Boogie Down Bronx's favorite super-lyrical sons....[It] showcases Pun's matured artistic vision and newly mastered flows but never ceases to move bodies and minds..."
The Source (5/00, p.186) - 4 mics out of 5 - "...An even more in-depth peep inside the heart and soul of a man in constant struggle with himself....a backstage pass to the all-out jam that was Pun's personality: street-wise, intellectually sharp, sex-crazed - and funny as hell..."
NME (Magazine) (4/29/00, p.35) - 7 out of 10 - "...[A] raucous final musical statement....like a library of every cool contemporary hip-hop sound squeezed onto one compact disc....One for delinquent work experience boys everywhere..."