Pitbull

Pitbull is the stage name of Armando Christian Pérez, an American rapper from Miami, United States, born in 1981. He records in hip hop and related dance-oriented styles, including dance-pop, electro house, electropop and eurodance. He is associated with the labels Pitbull’s Legacy, Mr. 305, Inc. and Polo Grounds Music, and is linked with Team Pitbull and Pitbull’s Globalization DJs.

Career

His first recorded performance appears on Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz’s Kings of Crunk in 2002. He then releases his debut album, M.I.A.M.I., in 2004, followed by El Mariel in 2006, The Boatlift in 2007 and Rebelution in 2009. Rebelution reaches number 8 on the Billboard 200.

His breakout single is “Culo”, a collaboration with Lil Jon. He also releases several mixtapes, including Unleashed Volume 6, which is made up largely of freestyles and remixes of rap tracks.

Collaborations and style

Pitbull is associated with crunk, Miami bass, freestyle and reggaeton. He is linked with earlier Miami rap acts such as 2 Live Crew and Afro-Rican, and former 2 Live Crew leader Luther Campbell gives him an early opportunity. He works on a wide range of remixes and collaborations, including tracks with Zion y Lennox, Daddy Yankee, N.O.R.E., Yaga & Mackie, Elephant Man, Don Omar, the Ying Yang Twins, Dirtbag & Timbaland, Nelly Furtado, Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, Wyclef Jean, Carlos Ponce and Olga Tañón.

He also records “Nuestro Himno” with Wyclef Jean, Carlos Ponce and Olga Tañón, and in 2007 he collaborates with Stevie B on “Spring Love 2007”, a remake of Stevie B’s “Spring Love”.

Other work

Pitbull appears in The Source’s Unsigned Hype section and writes an essay in the New York Post criticising the iconisation of Che Guevara on clothing and elsewhere. He also appears in the video game Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition through “Dammit Man”, and he features in WWE Day of Reckoning 2 with “Toma”. “Back Up” appears in Fight Night: Round 2, and he also appears as himself in a game based on Scarface. In 2006 he guest-stars in the UPN series South Beach.

Name

He takes the name Pitbull from the idea of a dog that locks on and does not give up, describing it as a fitting image for his own style of persistence.