Big Pun was initially discovered by Fat Joe, and made his earliest appearance on Fat Joe's 1995 album "Jealous One's Envy". In 1997, he signed with Loud Records as a solo artist, and released his Grammy-nominated debut studio album "Capital Punishment" in April 1998 to critical acclaim and commercial success, peaking at #5 on the "Billboard" 200 and becoming the first solo hip hop record by a Latino artist to go Platinum.