Twenty-two years ago, one of the greatest technical achievements in hip-hop history arrived — Big Pun‘s debut album Capital Punishment. Boasting an onslaught of standout tracks like “Beware,” the Black Thought-assisted “Super Lyrical,” “Twinz,” “Still Not A Player,” and countless more, Pun’s instant classic immediately captured attention thanks to a confident and unparalleled level of emceeing.

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Despite his heavyset appearance, Pun stood among the most verbally dexterous rappers of his generation, discovering pockets that lesser wordsmiths might have easily overlooked. Fueled by gritty production from Rockwilder, Domingo, Young Lord, a remixed Dr. Dre classic, RZA, and more, Pun came through with relentless flows, all but strongarming his way into the GOAT conversation — one that was cut tragically short when he passed away from a heart attack at the age of twenty-eight.

To this day, Capital Punishment remains his surviving masterpiece, the only album Pun delivered while still breathing. Though it often feels overlooked when the classics of the canon are discussed, it should be noted that the project is historical in a sense, preserved in time as being the first album from a solo rapper to go platinum. On its twenty-second birthday, the legendary DJ Premier — himself having become synonymous with hip-hop history — took to Instagram to commemorate the occasion. “THIS CLASSIC IS 22 YEARS OLD TODAY,” he captions, alongside the iconic cover. “1st SOLO EMCEE TO GO PLATINUM…SALUTE TO BIG PUN (R.I.P.) Peace To @fatjoe and #TS..”

Rest in peace Big Punisher, and should you be interested to hear a true beast on the microphone, look no further than Capital Punishment. What’s your favorite track? 

Capital punishment is a topic that one typically doesn't talk about around the dinner table, but social media is ripe for discussion. On Tuesday, a brief statement about school shooting statistics caused thousands of people to join a conversation about the death penalty. Robert Klemko, an investigative sports reporter for The Washington Post, shared a tweet on Tuesday (April 14) that sparked a discussion. "Last month was the first March without a school shooting in the United States since 2002," Klemko wrote.

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He also addressed a few users who shared that there weren't any Wikipedia updates to substantiate his claim. "A number of people have pointed out that the Wiki page for school shootings does not have March shootings in multiple years," he added. "This is true! It’s also true that you should never treat Wikipedia as a primary source."

Later, Hollywood Unlocked shared a screenshot of Klemko's tweet and asked their followers to weigh in on the topic. Waka Flocka jumped in the comments with his take on capital punishment. "I feel who ever shoot up a school need the death penalty no exception," the rapper wrote. He followed that up with, "But hey I'm just telling the truth." 

Unsurprisingly, responses to his declaration were swift...and divided. Check out the posts below and let us know if you agree with Waka Flocka's take on school shooting offenders.

Meek Mill spoke out about the injustices faced by black men in America after a death row inmate, Nathaniel Woods, was executed in Alabama despite widespread questioning of his culpability in the murder of three police officers in 2004. Woods, alongside fellow death row inmate, Kerry Spencer, was convicted of capital murder in 2005 and was sentenced to death for shooting and killing the three Birmingham officers and wounding another. Woods was pronounced dead on Thursday night after receiving a lethal injection, despite activists protesting his death sentence and Spencer even claiming full responsibility for fatally shooting the officers and maintaining Woods innocence. The Supreme Court had put a temporary halt on the execution but lifted it within hours. Woods' attorneys petitioned Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey to stay his execution, but Ivey refused.

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Meek took to Twitter to express his outrage, declaring that Woods had been "lynched" and urging white Americans to step up against racism in the justice system.