The late Big Pun left behind a wife and three children when he passed away at age 28 in 2000.
In a recent three-part interview with AllHipHop, Pun’s widow, Liza Rios, and her attorney, Lita Rosario, discuss their recent lawsuit against Fat Joe and musician Jellybean Benitez.
According to Rios, Pun’s family has not been compensated appropriately since her late husband’s death. For nearly a decade, she’s claimed that Fat Joe has not honored an agreement they made to split the revenue from her husband’s catalog. Rios claims she has not received any royalties since 2005.
“He loved Joe and the squad,” Rios tells AHH. “That was his heart. So for him to give so much to them, and give so much to Terror Squad, and make Terror Squad what it was, because he made it what it was…for them to turn their backs on his family, his kids… he’d be heartbroken.”
Rios’ attorney has been in this situation before. Lita Rosario has advocated for Missy Elliott, Tank, Mr. Cheeks (The Lost Boyz), Lauryn Hill, and more in the past and feels confident in this case.
“The big question is ‘where’s the money?’,” she asks. “Some new info. has come to light, that is shedding some light as to where the money is…Over time, you’re supposed to get royalties twice a year.
“We found out that in foreign territories overseas, the writer splits are not properly reflected for the songs the way they should have been. That’s indicating there was some money there that was collected and should not have been.”
Rios also opens up about Big Pun writing Fat Joe’s rhymes and giving him his moniker.
“I was there from the beginning,”she says. “To see him coming from nowhere and just create. Not for nothing, he gave Joe his name. To see him create, it was a beautiful thing… He wrote his[Joe] stuff. Joe put a lot of pressure on Pun. He knocked it out. We all know, the whole crew knows. He gave Joe his name, he said ‘we’re not going to call you Fat Joe anymore we’re going to call you Don Cardagena.’ A rapper’s not going to admit he had ghost writers. Every song Pun was on with Joe, Pun wrote the whole song, including Joe’s verse. Then when Pun passed away, you had other people step in.”
Check out the full interview below:
this fat whiny bitch, no wonder pun was beatin her ass.
Don’t matter what Pun did to her end of the day that is his wife and kids and somebody somewhere is eating off Big Pun all she is asking for is her share, which she have all right do to Period.
Joe can’t even pay his taxes, why would he pay her?
If he was a ‘ghostwriter’ he GOT paid, there’s NO royalties on ‘Work-For-Hire’, we miss PUN R.I.P. – but this woman gotta go get a JOB, & the kids are grown GO WORK & try to be somebody! Pun made 2 albums, classics, but didn’t generate huge royalties or astronomical sales or anything!
NO ONE IS BUYING PUN SONGS OR ALBUMS TODAY AND NO RADIO OR TV STATIONS ARE SPINNING THE TRACKS SO GO GET A JOB
Not to mention she pulled out on that DVD further ruins pun’s legacy.
GET A JOB
Joe did help liza rios and the family many times and he wants to take of them for the rest of his life?
Absolutely not.
All i am saying if Fat Joe or someone is still eating off of Big Pun, i ain’t mad at her she should be eating too, that her husdand and kids father.
So she can do nothing to it, shame.
Man if Fat Joe or someone else is eating of Big Pun, they need to rise up off some of that let the man family live too, that just right, even if she is do nothing or something, no Shame there its call life,
First ofof big pun went platinum where is the money I don’t give a damm what miss Rios said bout her late husband it is what it is he did what he did what she gonna lie and say pun was always a sweet husband I think not give her and her kids puns share of the money fat Joe you are Nicky Barnes, Sammy the bull, white boy rick from detroit, and most of all Judas Iscariot no loyalty , a big ass liar and a thief r.I.p pun
Yeah they need to get a job but give puns FAM the money first haters liar’s thieves give them what’s theirs whether she work oror not is irrelevant estupidos plus they are on the grind