Big Pun
Birth Name: Christopher Lee Rios
Date of Birth: November 9, 1971
Place of Birth: The Bronx, New York City, New York, U.S.
Date of Death: February 7, 2000
Place of Death: White Plains, Westchester, New York, U.S.
Ethnicity: Puerto Rican, Jamaican, Indian, possibly Russian and Italian
Big Pun was an American rapper. He was also known as Big Punisher, Big Moon Dog, and Big Dog The Punisher.
Big Pun was the son of Gail/Gayle Simpson and David Rios. A picture of Big Pun with his mother can be seen here. He had three children, including rapper Chris Rivers.
On the intro of his album “Yeeeah Baby,” he refers to himself as having, “the heart of an Indian, the strength of a Black man, and the pride of a Spaniard.” In her book, Punish Her Sister of a Legend: The Nicole Rodriguez Story, 2022, his sister described their mother as being of “Puerto Rican/Russian/Italian/Indian/Jamaican” descent.
Big Pun’s maternal grandfather was Donald Bruce Simpson (the son of Aston F. Simpson and Anna Alice Cridland). Donald was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to Jamaican parents. Donald and his family’s race has variously been listed as white/Spanish, Indian, and black on records. Aston was from Kingston. Anna was born in Negril, the daughter of Alvin Cridland and Mary Jane Neville.
Sources: https://archive.nytimes.com
Marriage record of Big Pun’s parents – https://www.familysearch.org
New York northern arrival manifest record of Big Pun’s maternal grandfather, Donald Bruce Simpson – https://www.familysearch.org
Big Pun’s maternal grandfather, Donald Bruce Simpson, on the 1950 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
New York northern arrival manifest record of Big Pun’s maternal great-grandmother, Anna Alice (Cridland) Simpson – https://www.familysearch.org
Big Pun’s paternal grandmother was likely Gloria Nunez y Caraballo who was born in Puerto Rico the daughter of Ramon Nunez and Maria Caraballo. They are listed as “Blanco” on the 1930 Census and “De Color” on the 1940 Census.
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/pedigree/landscape/GVV1-CDR
In his sister’s book, she mentions that their mother was a model and actress.
He is not white
*white Puerto Rican or light-skinned Puerto Rican
Big Pun’s mother, Gail/Gayle Simpson was the daughter of Donald Bruce Simpson, who was born in Toronto, Canada. On immigration documents, he is listed as Negro:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-XW9P-99?i=1936&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AQV9W-NLCH
Donald was the son of Anna Alice Cridland and Aston Simpson. Anna is listed as “Af. Black” on her immigration documents and her birthplace is listed as Negril which is in Jamaica :
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV9W-NG6T?treeref=GT8N-1RP
Curiously, both Donald and Anna are listed as “White” on the 1950 Census despite both of their parents being listed from British West Indies:
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/sources/viewedit/7M74-GLX?context
On one ship manifest I found on Ancestry, Aston Simpson is listed as being from Kingston, Jamaica and his race is listed as “Indian”. But “Indian” appears to have been crossed out and “Afr.” is written over it. On another ship manifest, Aston is listed as “Spanish”. On yet another, he is listed as Canadian. It seems likely that the Simpsons were lighter-skinned, possibly mixed, and oftentimes passed as non-Black.
In Big Pun’s sister’s book, she stated that Donald Simpson “was born in Canada and was of Indian descent”. She also states that Gail/Gayle is “Puerto Rican/Russian/Italian/Indian/Jamaican”. Donald lists having an aunt in Trinidad on his document so African and/or Indo-Trinidadian is a possibility.
Genealogy of Donald Bruce Simpson:
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/GT8N-5TT
No mention of Gail/Gayle’s mother’s name in the book but it is implied that she is white or light-skinned Puerto Rican.
The picture that I submitted may be of Gayle/Gail and her second husband, not Big Pun’s father. Here is a better picture:
https://undergroundhiphopblog.com/news/big-puns-mother-prime-suspect-in-bank-robberies/