Back in May Slaughterhouse member Joell Ortiz released a track called ‘Big Pun Back’ a version of the Meek Mill and Rick Ross song ‘Tupac’s Back’, where he pays homage to Big Pun. The track caught backlash from Pun’s widow Liza Rios, and former affiliates Cuban Link and Tony Sunshine, who all came out and blasted the cut, deeming it “disrespectful”.
This week one of the late Bronx rapper’s closest associates Fat Joe has thrown his two cents into the controversy by telling XXL that he thought the track was “incredible” and that Ortiz was simply paying respects to Pun.
“I thought it was incredible. I thought it was great. I never seen a guy in my fuckin’ life get backlash for fuckin’ biggin’ up somebody,” Fat Joe explained. “See, what happened is Big Pun was surrounded by an enormous amounts of idiots. And, sad to say, as big of a genius he was, and beautiful as he was, and I’m not just sayin’ that ’cause he dead, ’cause he was the most loyal, beautiful person… He’s my brother. I worship him to death… But, it’s unfortunate he was surrounded by a bunch of fuckin’ idiots. Nincompoops. You got a younger Spanish dude who’s hot in the streets and he wants to honor Big Pun and you throw slander at him and you disrespect him for fuckin’ only honoring Pun? How do expect anybody else to honor Big Pun?! Or talk about him in a good way?!”
He added, “This is the shit, I hope people can open their eyes and see the shit that Fat Joe has been dealing with for the last 12 years. It’s fuckin’ idiotic. It’s fuckin’ lunacy at its finest. ‘I don’t think you should’ve bigged up Pun.’ Like, what the fuck are you talkin’ about? He’s honoring Big Pun, showing respect to Big Pun. What’s the problem? We can’t do that? We’re honoring the one fuckin’ Spanish nigga that wants to step up and say, ‘Guess what? Man, I love Big Pun. Big Pun’s back.’ Where’s the disrespect? I never seen shit like this in my life. Amazing, man. I think I got more upset than Joell Ortiz did, but I know the type of people he’s dealing with.”
Last month Oritz addressed the controversy himself by telling Funkmaster Flex he was puzzled as to why Liza Rios reacted the way she did:
“To be honest with you, I was really confused because I’ve been bigging up her late husband since the beginning of my career. This is not the first time I’ve ever done a tribute,” he said. “To my knowledge, I thought everything was smooth between us. I thought we was peoples. And I kind of feel like we’re still peoples! I’m still confused. This is the same woman who asked me to perform for her husband on stage with his urn next to me. I didn’t understand the tweet and where it was coming from. Since I haven’t spoken to her, I’m still a little confused. I can’t even say I’m mad. I just don’t know what’s going on.”
The Slaughterhouse man also felt the same way about Tony Sunshine and Cuban Link’s reaction to the song:
“Once again, I was confused. When I speak on them, I speak a little different, because Cuban knows me. I had met Tony Sunshine before. It was a tribute, and it was a freestyle and it was in memory of a great rapper,” he continued. “Flex, I’m from Brooklyn. I don’t have to check in with anyone about anything. I did it for Big Pun to keep his legacy alive. That’s it. to be honest with you, I’m in September in my mind already. ‘Big Pun’s Back’ was recorded late April, early May, knowing that the Puerto Rican Day parade was coming up and knowing that his tribute and his legacy needed to stay alive. Who else but me? That’s how I felt. But I don’t gotta check in with anybody. About anything.”
