Four years ago, we lost Big Pun , a legendary lyricist who changed the game with his furious flow. In tribute, we examine his jump-off-- Capital Punishment , the classic LP that proved Latin MCs could rhyme and go platinum.

Compiled by Jon Caramanica, Saptosa Foster, Toshitaka Kondo, Adam Matthews, Keith Murphy, Leah Rose and Vanessa Satten images by Kai Regan

Speakers: Fat Joe, Rapper, executive producer of Capital Punishment; John "Armageddon" Eaddy, Rapper, member of Fat Joe's crew, Terror Squad;   Macho, Pun's road manager;   Felix "Flex" Cabrera, Pun's manager;   Sean Cane , Loud Records A&R;   Matteo "Matty C." Capoluong, Loud A&R;   Christian "Soundboy" Delatour, Engineer;   Damon "Nomad" Patterson , Producer; Domingo Padilla, Producer; Mark "Minnesota" Richardson, Producer;   Rockwilder, Producer; Richard "Young Lord" Frierson, Producer; Mike "Trauma" Dewar, One-half of the production team The Arkatechz;   Collin "Jugrnaut" Dewar , The other half of The Arkatechz;   JuJu, Producer, one-half of rap duo The Beatnuts;   Vic "V.I.C." Padilla , Producer, Beatnuts affiliate; Miss Jones, Singer, radio personality; Joe , Singer;    stic.man , producer, one-half of the rap duo dead prez; M-1, The other half of dead prez; Prodigy , One-half of the rap duo Mobb Deep; Inspectah Deck , One-ninth of the rap group Wu-Tang Clan; Noreaga , One-half of the rap duo C-N-N   

The first Latin rapper to baffle your skull came and went quickly in rap. His impact, though, has far exceeded his time in the game. When it seemed like Latin Americans had been permanently excised from the rap world, Christopher "Big Punisher" Rios arrived with a lightning-quick liquid flow, a waistline worthy of two linebackers and a sense of humor to match--instantly making him one of hip-hop's most charismatic figures.

The recording of his debut, Capital Punishment , was a model of efficiency. Laid down mostly at Mystic Recording Studios in Staten Island in late 1997 and early 1998, it is a famously coherent album. "I think there were only two or three extra songs," recalls Pun's mentor Fat Joe. "Every joint he was making was better than everything that was out, so how could we take it off the album?"

Released on April 28, 1998, Capital Punishment went platinum in under three months on the strength of "Still Not A Player," the thug-soul remix (featuring R&B singer Joe) of the album cut "I'm Not A Player." Ironically, the song is an anomaly on Capital Punishment , four minutes of round-the-way seduction trapped in the middle of a fusillade of battle-ready rhymes. Still, it worked. Coming from Pun, the drippy, romantic come-ons were wild and hilarious.

In addition to appearances by Fat Joe and the Terror Squad, the album also featured guest shots from the likes of Wyclef Jean, Noreaga, Busta Rhymes, Wu-Tang Clan's Inspectah Deck, Mobb Deep's Prodigy and Black Thought of The Roots. Sure, it's a Latin rap classic--it was the first album by a Latin rapper to go platinum--a Bronx classic, a New York classic. But mostly, Capital Punishment is a hip-hop classic, an example of how a talent for twisting words can elevate even the most unlikely person to legendary status.

On February 7, 2000--less than two years after the album hit stores--the 28-year-old Big Pun died of a heart attack, a result of the weight-related problems he'd suffered throughout his 20s. Capital Punishment , though, remains an indelible document of a life cut short. On the occasion of the fourth anniversary of Pun's passing, XXL spoke with the people responsible for making the album as vital as it was, and still is. --Jon Caramanica

Beware

Produced by JuJu of The Beatnuts

JuJu : Pun gave me an idea. He told me, "I need that dirty, grimy shit. You gotta give me a track that's gonna let niggas know how I'm coming." And I was like, "That's what I'm good at. Some niggas do dance records. I do the grimy, dirty shirt." So I went into the lab, did a couple of beats. I came back, let him hear some stuff and he was like, "This is it, man." [It had a Mobb Deep sample in the beginning] "I gave you fair warning: Beware. "

Fat Joe : This is one of my favorite tracks ever by Pun, a greater introduction couldn't be done. So I got on the back of it and started talking shit, basically trying to tell niggas I'm not alone no more. I found a partner who sees my same point of view, and he's nasty . Deal with that. Y'all got a problem, let me know. Muthafuckas was like, "Not only do we gotta deal with Fat Joe, now we gotta deal with the nicest nigga in the universe."

Super Lyrical

Produced by Rockwilder, Featuring Black Thought

Sean Cane : Pun wanted to use Black Thought on there because everybody else was sleeping on him. He was like, "Yo, Black Thought is mad lyrical. Y'all don't realize that. Everybody's sleeping on him. Watch, I'ma put him on here so niggas see how lyrical he is."

Fat Joe : Pun was like, "Yo, I wanna fuck with him." And at first, I thought Black Thought kinda got in his ass. But Pun'll set a nigga up--let you rhyme equal to him, then come out here and fuck you up.

Rockwilder : When we did "Super Lyrical," Pun came up in the studio with Cuban Link. Pun ran through his lyrics, and the way he ran through it, he would say one whole long line like as long as his breath could hold it. And then he would open another track and continue where he left off on that track and double it up and then carry it to the next track. It was just ill to see somebody do that.

Still Not A Player

Produced by Knobody, Coproduced by Dahoud and Nomad, Featuring Joe

Nomad: Knobody let me hear the beat and he's like, "I'm putting these shits in it." He's like, "I've got some new shit that ain't nobody do yet. Watch everybody going to start biting." So when he put the little clickers in that shit, nobody had really did that. And he used that as a hi-hat.

I went to everybody. I went to Roc-A-Fella, Jay was like, "That beat's aight." I went back there after the shit dropped and he was like, "Yo, why you ain't give me that beat?" Everybody and their mother, I went and seen them with that beat.

But Pun was like, "Yo, that's hot, run with that." He knew. He was just like, "Oh, shit. I'ma talk about girls, this and that." He was like, "I'm going to make this the flyest pimp Puerto Rican song." I was just like, Okay, whatever man, do your thing. He was just ill, man. To see him rhyme, like double-time. I mean that's the first Spanish cat I've ever seen kill it like that. "Da Da Da Da Da Da, Da Da Da Da Da Da Da, Da Da Da Da Da Da Da." He wouldn't take no breaths, just keep spitting, spitting, spitting, spitting.

Soundboy: As an instrumental, I knew, Wow, we got a grand slam here. Before any lyrics or any choruses were done, I think me and Pun knew we had something special. It wasn't your typical boom-boom-bap beat. It wasn't your typical hardcore, gloomy dark beat. It was kind of a happy, lighthearted beat, and I was very anxious to see what Pun would do to it. Pun was very versatile. He could do a song like "Super Lyrical," which is basically about lyrics, and he could do a song like "Deep Cover," which is a hardcore thugged-out joint. And then he could do a song like "Still Not A Player," which is kind of a comical song--but still keep it within the boundaries of hip-hop, still keeping within the boundaries of thugness, I guess, if you want to call it that. It's not like he came off weak or soft. Even though the beat might have dictated that, he still did his thing on it.

I've got to admit, I was somewhat apprehensive when Joe the singer came down. 'Cause I was like, "Joe and Pun? Damn ." It's like Black and White. Extremes. Hardcore MC teamed up with, how can I say, a ladies' man type of guy--smooth, silky finesse dude. At first I was like, "I don't know if this is going to work. This is like, too extreme." This is way before the J. Los and the Ja Rules and what have you. I didn't know if it was going to work.

On the "Boricua/Morena" part, Joe, an Afro-American, was having problems saying the word "Boricua." [Joe was like] "Borick-qua... Bor-qua... Borequay..." I remember Pun was basically telling Joe to say it the right way: "No, Bo- ree -qua." So when he finally got it, we was like, "Okay, it's a wrap." And we just knew we had a monster on our hands.

Joe: Pun came to me with the idea to merge the two songs together--my original song, "Don't Wanna Be A Player," and his "Still Not A Player." We was just merging the two records together.

He was there when I did my part. Pun was cool. Just real relaxed, very focused, a very focused person. He knew exactly what he wanted. He knew automatically that the song was gonna be a smash. He felt it from the door, when he brought me into it. Let's make this magic happen. It was fun--a lot of fun. We kind of made history together. The record just continued to be a big record everywhere it went.

Flex: Pun really changed the whole perspective for Hispanics with that song. It took us around the world. It changed our whole lives. That was the most influential thing in our lives.

Pun loved to show the similarities between the races. He was a genius. Pun changed the way we thought about ourselves. He brought greatness out of all of us. He made us chase our dreams. Pun opened our eyes to a lot of great things. Pun is a Moses to me. All that negativity and that disbelief, he parted it, just knocked it out. We were doing everything we could just to stay in the market. Before Jennifer, Ricky Martin or anybody, Pun did it for Latinos. And they used him to touch the urban market. This song means Pun flying first class, slumped out all over the person next to him.

The Dream Shatterer

Produced by Domingo

Domingo: When I was in the middle of doing [Fat Joe's] Jealous One's Envy album [in 1995], Pun was always coming to the studio. Pun asked me for a beat tape, because CDs were not even in style yet. The beat for "Dream Shatterer" was on that tape, and Big Pun always told me, "Yo, when I get a deal, it's on." He told me not to sell the beat. A couple of years went down the line. Pun called me one night when he was working on Capital Punishment . He was like, "What's up with that beat that I told you to save?" I was like, "Yeah. I still got it." So I went up to the studio, Axis Studios on 54th Street [in Manhattan]. Pun came in the room and played me the original "Dream Shatterer," which was with the Barry White sample. He told me that he couldn't clear the sample because at that time Puffy had the record out with Black Rob with the same sample. So Pun said, "Take the a capella of 'Dream Shatterer' and let me know if the beat matches it." And to be honest with you, when I went home and threw the beat on and put the vocals to it, it sounded like Pun actually rhymed to the track.

When I first stepped in the studio with him to do "Dream Shatterer," I'd seen him rhyme before--but when he was doing his album, I saw a totally different Pun. I saw the hungry Pun. Just watching him rhyme and seeing the size he was, I used to bug out how he could spit so many words and not even lose his breath.

His work ethic was incredible. He was a prankster. He was ready to get down. If you were in the studio lounge room, he was joking around. But when he walked into the recording booth, he was all business.

Punish Me

Produced by Frank Nitty, Featuring Miss Jones

Miss Jones: It was a very warm session. I had been friends with Joey for years, since he was on Relativity Records and I was a receptionist there. I had fun. I stayed there pretty much all night. They let me fly and then they came in and tweaked just a little bit. But for the most part, they gave me my artistic freedom. A lot of sessions are very rigid and phony and artists come in late and you have to wait several hours and then they have to listen and approve your vocals. But Pun was there and he was very hands-on with all the production. They appreciated the value of a singer. They didn't just want me humming, sounding stupid and off-key. They appreciated it.

Fat Joe: I heard "Punish Me" as a freestyle. Pun had a lot of gems that he wasn't even aware of. When I heard that, I said, "You can rap about the bitches." And he said, "Yeah, I can rap to the bitches." Then I said, "We need to make a song for the bitches, man." He didn't think to do that before. I told him, "Yo, we gotta take Biggie's place."

Pakinamac Pt. I-Skit

Trauma: That's the skit I did. It got me a lot of ass, I ain't going to front. That was a little moment. I remember I was in the booth and we were just recording this skit, "Pakinamacinthebackoftheac." I was like, "What the fuck is this skit? What the hell is this?" Pun said, "Just say whatever, just go with it." So I went along with it and it was hilarious, they loved it. But I was like, "Pun, take that shit off. That shit sounds wack. You got me sounding like a corn." He was like, "Nah, that shit is fresh right there." So they kept it on. And everybody was like, "Yo, that skit was off the hook! Was that you right there?" It was ill. I got my vocals on there real quick. Thanks, Pun.