It is a rite of passage for every hip-hop fan to hear Big Pun’s 1998 debut Capital Punishment. It would be hard to consider yourself a fan of hip-hop’s history without giving the album the listen it deserves. The impact it leaves behind is almost as big as the hole left in the genre after Pun’s untimely passing back in 2000. The Terror Squad vocalist created a cultural moment with his debut, a moment that can and should be revisited as much as possible.
Pun signed with Fat Joe’s Terror Squad in 1997, the following year Capital Punishment made its initial impact on music and nothing was the same. The album was released to critical acclaim and wide commercial success, its platinum plaque made Pun the first solo hip-hop Latino artist to earn the honor. Pun’s debut would be nominated for the Best Rap Album at the Grammys.
While the whole album was a wild commercial success, the hit single “Still Not A Player” rings in the ear of every hip-hop head. Along with penning one of the most quotable hooks the genre had seen at the time. For this week’s edition of Golden Age Thursday, we’re looking back at the iconic Showtime At The Apollo series to see Big Pun perform “Still Not A Player”. The episode aired on November 7, 1998, just months after Capital Punishment had hit the streets in April that year and made an impact that is still sending shockwaves through the genre.
