Charles Hamilton (born February 2, 1983) better known as Big Pup is a born and raised Houston, TX artist who is on the rise. Growing up in the 80’s in Houston he grew up in the era of hustlers, his father being a true hustler. Early on Big Pup learned the definition of getting it however you can by the life lessons taught to him by his father. Big Pup was born in 3rd Ward, but at the age of four his family moved to Missouri City in the Ridgemont/P.U.D. subdivision. It was here that he came into his own and found a place of belonging. At the tender age of 6, Big Pup’s father left the family home, and altered the dynamics of the childhood and upbringing he was accustomed to. Not having a consistent father or male role model in the home led Big Pup to look up to “O.G.’s” in his neighborhood. It did not take long for him to adapt to and accept the hustling mentality.
Thanks to the musical influences of his father (who was a guitarist); music naturally flowed for Big Pup. At the age of 15, he wrote his first rhyme. After successfully writing his first rhyme, all of his time was spent with his pen to the pad. Eventually his passion for writing rhymes interfered with his school work because he spent many school hours writing songs. Home life became a struggle, so Big Pup (the younger of his mother’s two sons) took the initiative and stepped up as the man of the house. Taking on the duties of a man, Big Pup made the decision to drop out of school so he could hustle full time and provide for the family household. He later went back to school and earned his high school diploma.
In 1998 he was still penning songs and had acquired a decent library of music, and in 1999 his hard work and drive paid off because he recorded his first song and did his first feature. A childhood friend (Houston rapper, Z-Ro) heard one of Big Pup’s songs and was impressed which led Z-Ro to offer Big Pup a feature on his 5th album Welcome 2 Screwston (S.U.C. Representa) in 2002. This feature became a catalyst in the launching of Big Pup’s music career. Big Pup and Z-Ro continued making music together with Z-Ro later offering Big Pup an opportunity to become one of his artists on Ridgemont 4 Records (currently known as King of the Ghetto Ent). After a few years of recording and working with Z-Ro, the pair lost contact, but Big Pup took this not as a loss, but an opportunity to evolve as an artist. He pressed forward and through hard work, determination, sweat, and perseverance, he catapulted his exposure as a Houston artist and in 2003 established his own label, P.U.D. Ent. He went on to record with the late great Big Hawk, Lil KeKe, Mr.3-2, Trae The Truth, S.L.A.B., Dougie D, and many more underground artists.
In 2007 Big Pup released his first solo project, Undaground Hog Vol. 1. Within the proceeding 4 years, he released Volumes 2-4. Currently Big Pup has 8 projects in rotation with many more to come in the very near future. Big Pup is definitely an artist destined for greatness.