Yeeeah Baby

Yet another posthumous release by a rap artist, although, on this occasion, not one who was struck down by the bullets of a rival gangsta. The Big Punisher, aka Christopher Rios, was felled by a heart attack shortly after he had brought his 600-pound bulk to bear on this, his second album.

A groundbreaker, in that his debut was the first album by a Latino rapper to achieve platinum sales in the U.S., Big Pun began making an impact in hip-hop circles just as pop music was taking on a Latin flavour via the likes of Jennifer Lopez (with whom he once collaborated).

There are no warbling pop divas on Yeeeah Baby, however - the only female input is the hard-as-lacquered-nails rapping of Ms. Remi Martin on a couple of tracks. Big Pun's crew including Tony Sunshine, Cuban Link and Fat Joe also feature heavily (pardon the pun) on what is, in the main, fierce, attitude-packed posturing, underlaid with sombre unrelenting samples.

There's a strong dose of humour also, from the skits and pastiches like 'Nigga Shit' to the sampling of the theme from Starsky & Hutch on 'Watch Those'. Big Pun's Puerto Rican roots show through on the Latin percussion on '100%'.

All in all, it's not just a cash-in, but it's no classic either