Armando Christian Pérez (born January 15, 1981), better known by his stage name Pitbull, is an American rapper and Latin Grammy winning artist from Miami, Florida. He has released seven albums and one EP. His first recorded mainstream performance was on a solo track from Lil Jon's 2002 album Kings of Crunk, which featured Pitbull rapping over Jon's production. In 2004, Pitbull released his debut album titled M.I.A.M.I. (short for Money Is A Major Issue), under TVT Records; the album included production from high-profile producers Lil Jon and Jim Jonsin. Pitbull later released his second album El Mariel, in 2006 and his third, The Boatlift, in 2007.[4] In 2009, his fourth album Rebelution, spawned the hit single "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)". Pitbull's 2011 album Planet Pit, featured the single "Give Me Everything", which was his first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100. The song reached #1 worldwide and featured fellow artists Ne-Yo, Nayer, and Afrojack. Pitbull also released "Timber" in October 2013 from his EP album Meltdown and was a global hit, reaching #1 in many countries and making it to #1 in Billboard Hot 100 and #1 in UK for a total of twenty #1 positions worldwide. The song has charted worldwide making it his second one to do so. He performed the song in different award show including the 2013 American Music Awards, in which he was the host. Pitbull has performed as a featured artist on the remixes of other hit singles such as "Tik Tok", "Scream & Shout", "Lo Hecho Está Hecho", "Bad", "Papi", "Diamonds", "How Low", "Tonight (I'm Lovin' You)", "Video Phone", "Over To You Now", and "Bumpy Ride". He was chosen by FIFA and Sony Music to write and record "We Are One (Ole Ola)" along withJennifer Lopez and Claudia Leitte, which served as the official song of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[5]
Early life and education[]
Pitbull was born to Cuban expatriates in Miami, Florida. When he was 3, he could recite the works of Cuba's national hero and poet, José Martí.[1] He encountered problems early in his career as a rapper because of his physical appearance.[6] He was also influenced by the Miami bass genre of pop music[4] and has cited Celia Cruz and Willy Chirino as sources of inspiration for his music.[7] Pérez's parents separated when he was young, and he was raised by his mother; he later spent time with a foster family in Roswell, Georgia.[8] His mother later kicked him out of their house when he was 16 after he became a drug dealer, as had his father before him. He attended South Miami Senior High School before graduating from Miami Coral Park High School and focused his career on rapping.
He said he chose his stage name because pitbulls "bite to lock. The dog is too stupid to lose. And they're outlawed in Dade County. They're basically everything that I am. It's been a constant fight". After meeting Lil Jon in Miami,[8] Pitbull was featured on Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz' album Kings of Crunk in 2002.[4] Pitbull's song "Oye" was featured on the soundtrack to the film 2 Fast 2 Furious the following year.[8] In addition, Pitbull also released several mixtapes, composed of freestyles and remixes of popular rap music. Campbell featured Pitbull in his single, "Lollipop".[4]
Career[]
2001–03: Luke Records and TVT Records[]
In 2001, Pitbull was signed to Luther Campbell's Luke Records by Jullian Boothe, then the label's vice-president of A&R.[9] In 2001, Pitbull was introduced to Robert Fernandez of Famous Artist Music & Management, an independent label and management company specializing in developing artists, by the Diaz Brothers, a producer duo signed to the company. Fernandez "saw the eagerness and hunger he had" and, with the Luke Records deal ending, began working to develop Pitbull. Together they focused on creating a more radio-friendly sound. Fernandez later told HitQuarters: "At that time his music had a lot of verses and took a long time to get into the hook, and so we took time in getting the songs catchier and less on the rap side."
Fernandez introduced Pitbull to Lil Jon with a mind to trying to secure the rapper a small guest intro spot on Lil Jon's upcoming album "Kings of Crunk". According to Fernandez, Jon took a liking to Pérez and went one better by offering him his own track on the album called "Pitbull's Cuban Ride Out", a feature that would help raise the young rapper's profile.[10]
2004–05: M.I.A.M.I.[]
In 2004, Pitbull released his debut album M.I.A.M.I., with the lead single being "Culo" produced by Lil Jon and the Diaz Brothers. It peaked at No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 11 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart. Other singles included "Dammit Man", "Back Up", "Toma", and "That's Nasty" (both featuring Lil Jon). He joined the Anger Management Tour, the 2000 hip-hop concert tour headlined by Eminem and 50 Cent.[11] Pitbull also appeared on the Ying Yang Twins' single "Shake", which peaked at No.41 on the Hot 100 and No.12 on the rap chart, Adassa's chart topping single "Kamasutra" & Twista's "Hit the Floor" (#94 Hot 100, No. 20 Rap). Remix album Money Is Still a Major Issue was released in November 2005; it included new track "Everybody Get Up", a duet with hip-hop/R&B group Pretty Ricky.
TVT Records, Pitbull's label at the time, and Slip-n-Slide Records disputed over the release of Welcome to the 305, an unreleased album by Slip-n-Slide that Pitbull had recorded in 2001.[12] A Miami judge ruled that Slip-n-Slide had a legal right to release the album as it was recorded when Pitbull was a Slip-N-Slide artist, and prior to him signing with TVT Records.[13] A U.S. District Court judge affirmed the decision further.[14] TVT was then ordered in March 2007 to pay Slip-n-Slide $9.1 million for attempting to block the album's release to record stores and digital download entities.[15]
In 2005 Pitbull and rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs co-founded Bad Boy Latino, a subsidiary of Combs' Bad Boy Records label. It primarily focuses on Latin hip hop, Latin soul, Latin pop and other Tropical music, and has offices in New York and Miami, Florida.[16][17]Along with co-founding it, Pérez currently heads the A&R division of the label.[3][18][19]
2006–07: El Mariel and The Boatlift[]
In January 2006, Pitbull guest-starred in UPN's South Beach. Pitbull recorded "Nuestro Himno" in collaboration with Wyclef Jean, Carlos Ponce, and Olga Tañón.[20] On Listennn... the Album, the debut album by Terror Squad member and Miami radio personality DJ Khaled, Pitbull performed on three singles: "Holla at Me" and "Born-N-Raised" alongside other Southern-based rappers.
Pitbull performing at the Allstate Arena, B96 Jingle Bash, Chicago
. He dedicated the album to his father, who died in May of that year.[6] Along with the usual party-oriented tracks, Pitbull also included politically themed tracks in El Mariel.[21] The album was released on October 31, 2006, and included singles "Bojangles", "Ay Chico (Lengua Afuera)", "Fuego", and duet with Puerto Rican singer Ken-Y, "Dime (Remix)". El Mariel topped the Billboard independent albums chart[22] and peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard200 and No. 2 on the rap chart.
Pitbull's third album, titled The Boatlift, was released in November 2007, spawned by the single "Secret Admirer" featuring Lloyd on the chorus. Earlier, Pitbull announced that this album would have a more gangsta rap edge than his earlier albums.[23] Subsequent singles included "Go Girl" featuring Trina, and "The Anthem" featuring and produced Lil Jon, that song sampling the hook from the song "El Africano" by Wilfrido Vargas and the beat from the song "Calabria" by Rune RK. "Go Girl" peaked at No. 80 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 36 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart; "The Anthem" No. 36 on the Hot 100 and No.11 on the Hot Rap Tracks.
His variety show, Pitbull's La Esquina, debuted May 2007 and ran through 2009 on the mun2 cable network.[2][24][25]
Pitbull also appeared on DJ Laz' "Move Shake Drop" and DJ Felli Fel's "Feel It".
2008–10: Rebelution and Armando[]
Pitbull in 2010
For his fourth studio album Rebelution, Pitbull released "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" through Ultra Records after his former label TVT Records went out of business. "Krazy" peaked at No. 30 on the Hot 100 and No. 11 on the Hot Rap Tracks charts. "I Know You Want Me" peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100 and peaked within the top ten spots of charts in the UK, Canada, Italy, and the Netherlands. The song reached No. 1 in France and the European Hot 100 in the week ending August 29, 2009 according to Billboard magazine. "I Know You Want Me" ended at position 17 on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2009. He later signed with Polo Grounds Music through Sony Music and created his own label Mr. 305 Inc.[26] The single "Hotel Room Service", which samples "Push the Feeling On" and which peaked at No. 9 on the Hot 100. The album went on to sell over 7.5 million worldwide digital singles and albums combined.[27]
On their second collaboration since "Go Girl", Pitbull appeared on the debut single of rapper David Rush (formerly Young Bo$$), "Shooting Star", also with Kevin Rudolf and LMFAO. An amateur video of Pitbull punching a disruptive audience member at a Colorado concert leaked onto the Internet in late May 2009. Pitbull explained to MTV News that it was because the fan kept throwing cash around the stage, and after Pitbull pulled him up to the stage, he threw a stash of money right in Pitbull's face.[28] He has been tapped by the Miami Dolphins to work alongside T-Pain & Jimmy Buffett to release a new fight song for the Dolphins.[29] The city of Miami granted Pitbull a "Key to the City" honor on August 19, 2009.[30] Another popular single from 2009 was "Blanco", featuring Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes from the soundtrack to the movie Fast & Furious. Pitbull recorded a remix with Mexican pop diva Paulina Rubio for her single Ni Rosas Ni Juguetes in November, 2009.
In 2010, Pitbull performed the rap section in the Haiti benefit song "Somos El Mundo", a Spanish version of "We Are the World", that included a huge group of Latin artists led by Emilio and Gloria Estefan. He was also a featured guest on Janet Jackson's "Heart, Beat, Love" in addition to "Armada Latina", the fourth single off the album Rise Up by Latin rap legends, Cypress Hill.[31] The song was produced by Jim Jonsin and also features Marc Anthony. Pitbull then collaborated with Alexandra Burke on the single "All Night Long". He was also featured on "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" by Usher.
Pitbull also released his full-length debut Spanish-language album titled Armando on November 2, 2010. Pitbull is also one of the most nominated artists of the upcoming Billboard Latin Music Awards.[32] He garnered 7 nominations for “Latin Rhythm Airplay, Song of the Year” for “Bon, Bon”; “Latin Rhythm Airplay, Artist of the Year, Solo Artist”; “Latin Rhythm Albums, Album of the Year” for Armando; “Latin Rhythm Albums, Artist of the Year, Solo Artist”; “Social 50, Latin Artist of the Year”; “Latin Digital Download of the Year” for “Bon, Bon” and “Hot Latin Song of the Year, Vocal Event” for the song “I Like It” alongside Enrique Iglesias. He also won Telehit’s award for “Most Popular Artist”.[33]
2011: Planet Pit[]
For more details on this topic, see Planet Pit.
Pitbull performing in 2011
In April 2011 Jennifer Lopez released "Love?" which featured Pitbull on two singles. "Fresh Out the Oven" did not meet with critical or popular success but the second cut, "On the Floor" was a certified hit. The single went on to make its Billboard Hot 100 debut at number nine, becoming the highest debuting Hot 100 single of Lopez's career.[34]
Pitbull released Planet Pit, on June 21, 2011. Pitbull collaborated with T-Pain on its first single, which became a moderate hit; "Hey Baby (Drop It to the Floor)".[35]
On March 22, 2011, Pitbull released his second single, "Give Me Everything"; three months later, the song became Pitbull's first single to top the Billboard Hot 100.[36] The song features American R&B singer Ne-Yo, American singer Nayer and Dutch disc jockey Afrojack who also produced the song and co-wrote it with Matt Howard, Pitbull and Ne-Yo.
In August 2011, Lindsay Lohan sued Pitbull, Ne-Yo and Afrojack in response to the song's lyrics referencing her name, "I've got it locked up like Lindsay Lohan." Lohan objected to the negative connotation of the line and claimed that she should have been compensated for the use of her name in the song. The case was dismissed by a federal judge, who ruled the tune's lyrics are protected by the First Amendment, which covers freedom of speech and creative expression.[37][38]
2012–13: Global Warming, Meltdown & Men in Black 3[]
Pitbull in May 2013
On October 7, 2011, RCA Music Group announced it was disbanding J Records along with Arista Records and Jive Records. With the shutdown, Pitbull (and all other artists previously signed to these three labels) would release future material on the RCA Records brand.
Pitbull's seventh studio album was titled "Global Warming" and released on November 19, 2012. Pitbull explained that the title reflected the fact that, much like the phenomenon of global warming, he's been around for a while but all of a sudden, people are paying attention.[39] The lead single from the album was "Get It Started" featuring singer Shakira. The third single was Feel This Moment featuring Christina Aguillera.
The second single was for movie Men in Black 3. "Back in Time" was the first lead single for the Men in Black franchise not performed by Will Smith.[40] The song, which plays during the end credits but is not featured on the soundtrack album, samples "Love Is Strange" by Mickey & Sylvia.
Pitbull supported the album with a world tour in the summer on 2013.
In 2013, Pitbull released a diss track towards Lil' Wayne called "Welcome 2 Dade County" shortly after Lil' Wayne's rant on the Miami Heat.[41] Pitbull made his film debut Epic with a voice role of the character "Bufo". He embarked on the North American / Australian Summer Tour with Kesha to promote both their albums, which extends from May to November. He released his song Feel This Moment featuring Christina Aguilera in January 18, 2013 and they performed it live at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards, as well as on the fourth season of America's The Voice. The song was a commercial success, peaking at 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Later he released final single from his Global Warming album, Outta Nowhere featuring Danny Mercer in late May.
Pitbull announced via Twitter that he would release the extended play to his studio album Global Warming, named Global Warming: Meltdown on November 25, featuring guest appearances from Kesha, Kelly Rowland, Inna,Mohombi and Mayer Hawthorne. The lead single, "Timber", featuring recording artist and tourmate Kesha, was released on October 7. The song peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 18 different countries.
Pitbull was featured on the early summer single Live It Up, marking his third collaboration with Jennifer Lopez and Redone. The duo performed the song at the Billboard Music Awards, American Idol and Premios Juventud. He also made album appearances forPriyanka Chopra, Flo Rida, Jessica Mauboy, Belinda, Jason Derulo and other artists. Pitbull provided the post-race concert at the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas on November 17, 2013.[42] Pitbull hosted the American Music Awards of 2013 on November 24, 2013.
Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez and Claudia Leitte performed the song "We Are One" at the opening ceremony of the 2014 World Cup.[43]
2014-present: Globalization[]
On February 25, 2014, Pitbull released a new single titled "Wild Wild Love" featuring American recording artist group G.R.L..[44] It has since debuted at number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In June 2014, it was announced that Pitbull would be receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[45]
On July 23, 2014, Pitbull released another single titled "Fireball", which features singer John Ryan. Along with this, he also announced that the name of his eighth studio album would be Globalization