Pitbull – The Rapper!

Armando Cristian Pérez, this name might be unheard to most of us.
But when we hear – pitbull the rapper, all of us without more ado get to know
whom we are talking about in here. Pitbull the rapper’s original name is Armando
Cristian Pérez. He was born on January 14, 1981 in Miami, Florida, USA. He was
brought up by his mother mostly as his parents got divorced when he was only
two years old. Also, some of his childhood was spent with a foster family also
in Roswell, Georgia. His basic descent is Cuban American. When he was three
years old, he could perform the works of Cuba’s national hero and poet – José Martí. He got kicked out of his
house at the age of 16 by his mother because he became a drug dealer like his
father. He used to play basketball in high school and was very popular also
amongst girl in his high school and exactly that’s why he got the title of –
“chick’s magnet.” He then graduated from Miami Coral Park High School.
He started focusing on the career in rapping at the same time. At the same
time, he was also inclined towards the Miami bass genre of pop music. He has
very often cited Celia Cruz and Willy Chirino as sources of inspiration
for his music. He encountered problems early in his career as a rapper for the
reason that he is white with blue eyes, and is a Cuban from the South,
something not very characteristic for a rapper. He then somehow began rapping drawing
influences from the kinds of Nas, Notorious B.I.G. and Big Pun. He scored music
called “Oye” for movie “2 Fast 2 Furious” in the year 2003. In
the year 2004, he released his debut album M.I.A.M.I., with the pilot single
being “Culo”. It ranked no. 11 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart. Following the success
of “M.I.A.M.I”, he became the most-wanted collaborator for other
Hip-Hop artists. In a major headline making event, he coupled the Anger
Management Tour, the concert tour by Eminem and 50 Cent. El Mariel was
his sophomore album which was released in October 2006. The title of the album
hinted to the ferry that transported Cuban refugees to Florida in the Al
Pacino’s 1983 classic “Scarface” crime drama movie. He dedicated the
album to his father, who died in May of that same year El Mariel was released.
This album included the famous singles “Bo jangles”, “Ay Chico
(Lengua Afuera)” and “Fuego“. With this studio project, he
peaked at number 2 on Billboard Hot Rap Albums chart and at number 1 on
Independent chart. As for Billboard Hot 200, he managed to climb to number 17.
His third studio effort “The Boatlift” was put out in 2007. He earlier
announced that this album would be having a more gangsta rap feel than his
earlier albums. In December 2007, he was arrested for drunk driving; thereby he
posted $1,000 in bail but along with pleaded not guilty. Subsequently,
he was acquitted of the charge. His variety show, Pitbull’s La Esquina,
debuted in May 2007 on one of the cable network. His label TVT records was
ordered by a court in March 2007 to pay Slip-n-Slide $9.1 million for
attempting to block the album’s (Welcome to the 305, an unreleased album
by Slip-n-Slide that Pitbull had recorded in 2001) release to record
stores and digital download entities. Interestingly,
the “305″ that he has singed about is the area code for Miami. So,
now because Pitbull’s former records TVT went out of the business after the
above mentioned incident, his fourth studio album Rebelution was
released, along with “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)”, through Ultra
Records. “I Know You Want Me” ranked at No. 2 on the Hot 100 and
peaked within the top ten spots of charts in several countries like UK, Canada,
Italy, and the Netherlands. According to Billboard magazine, the song
reached No. 1 in France and the European Hot 100 in the month of August 2009. He
later signed with Polo Grounds Music through Sony Music and created his own
label Mr. 305 Inc. There was a controversy erupted in 2009 when an amateur
video of Pitbull punching a disruptive audience member at a Colorado concert leaked
onto the Internet, he later clarified on 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.  In November 2010, he also released his
full-length debut Spanish-language album titled Armando. He released his
highly anticipated follow-up English album, Planet Pit, on June 21,
2011. He has also collaborated with Jennifer Lopez on her single “On the
Floor”, it has become quite famous. He was attached to the Men in Black 3
soundtrack, releasing the song “Back in Time”, which samples “Love
Is Strange”. He was also one of the most nominated artists of the upcoming
Billboard Latin Music Award. He has started his new world tour in June of this
year, 2012. The tour will include the concert in Ulan Bator, Mongolia on
September 8. On himself, his lifestyle and his music, Pitbull has the following
to say (at different points in time): “I’m very sexual and passionate and I
have got this charm from my father. I like open relationships. In the end, I
ain’t no thug, I ain’t no gangsta. I’m a hustler. . . Music is my hustle. It’s
my crack, my cocaine, what I need you to get hooked on.”