Capital Punishment

Big Pun, the Bronx rapper born Christopher Rios, fills the cover of his debut album. He faces the camera with a hard expression, wearing a pair of large blue-lensed goggles, his name stacked above him in huge yellow letters.

The photograph was taken by Daniel Hastings, who also shot the covers of Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. Writing for Muse by Clio, Hastings recalled that the cover was shot outside Sue's Rendezvous, and that he focused on Pun's face and his "mean mug," a look that became the signature of the album. The inside of the package shows Pun at landmarks across the boroughs.

Capital Punishment was released on 28 April 1998 and became the first album by a solo Latino rapper to go platinum. Pun died in February 2000 at the age of 28, and the cover remains the defining image of one of New York's greatest lyricists.