Big Pun’s widow, Liza Rios, did a recent interview with the Uppercut podcast that didn’t exactly go according to plan. At one point during the conversation, she was asked why she wouldn’t apologize to Fat Joe to settle their differences. It went downhill from there.
It began innocently enough, with Rios suggesting Fat Joe would have been nothing without Big Pun.
“Joe probably would’ve faded out because if another label would have signed Big Pun, Joe probably would have faded to the back,” she said. “[…] Joe’s a smart business man. He’s stayed relevant all these years.”
But then the interviewer said, “All he wants is an apology and you can’t do that?” to which she says, “Are you serious? Why would I give him an apology after what he put my family through? What he did legally.”
They started to talk over each other until it was clear Rios was getting upset. She then said, “Can we stop this for a second? I’m leaving this interview. This is a whole Fat Joe situation now. Yeah, I’m good. I’m good off of this. I’m not comfortable and I’m leaving this interview.”
Rios accused the interviewer of acting like he was on Fat Joe’s “side” as she slammed his “attitude.” As she stood up to leave she added, “I am not going to sit here and explain to you what he did to my family […] You f##### up.”
Big Pun (real name Christopher Rios) was discovered by Fat Joe, who signed him to his Terror Squad label in the mid-1990s. Fat Joe played a crucial role in introducing Big Pun to the world and, subsequently, Pun became the first solo Latino rapper to go platinum with his 1998 album Capital Punishment.
Tragedy struck in 2000, when he passed away at age 28. Pun, who suffered from obesity, died of a heart attack and complications from the disease. His death left a void in the Hip-Hop community, especially for Fat Joe, who publicly mourned his friend’s loss.
In the years after Big Pun’s death, controversy arose between Fat Joe and Pun’s family, particularly Liza Rios.
Rios accused Fat Joe of failing to properly compensate Pun’s family for his music royalties. She claimed that the family was left in financial hardship while Fat Joe profited from Big Pun’s legacy. In 2014, she filed a lawsuit against Fat Joe, alleging that the Terror Squad owed Pun’s estate over $1 million in royalties.
Fat Joe has denied these allegations, maintaining that he fulfilled his contractual obligations. In the years since, Fat Joe has consistently expressed his love and respect for Big Pun, emphasizing that he did his best to support Pun’s family after his death. However, the legal and public disputes have cast a shadow over their once-strong partnership.