subject: Pitbull Lyrics | Pitbull Bio [print this page] Born in 1981 in Miami, FL as Armando Christian Perez, Pitbull was raised by first-generation Cuban immigrants. His parents made sure to expose him to his Cuban roots, exposing him poems by Jose Marti, as well as more Southern musical acts such as Luther Campbell and Poison Clan.
He also grew up listening to Caribbean and Latin rhythms; these musical influences would bring a unique flavor to his music.
His parents separated when he was very young, with his father turning into an alcoholic. At 17, Pitbull tripped down his fathers path by selling drugs, which resulted in his mother kicking him out of the house.
It was after graduating high school that he wished to pursue a rap career, yet it wasnt easy to get the attention of higher-ups, thanks to being blue-eyed with white skin. After a couple meetings with music executives and producers that went nowhere, Luther Campbell gave Pitbull a call after hearing his mixtapes.
During the early development stages of crunk and reggaeton on the music landscape, Pitbull felt he could finally make it on his own. Pitbull released his first studio album, MIAMI: Money is a Major Issue, thanks to the contacts he earned from Campbell. The album released two hit singles, Culo and Toma, and went gold in the U.S.
Like most of his later work, the bilingual Pitbull lyrics explore Latino community relations in Miami. Many of his songs are hard-hitting party/club tracks, yet they sometimes express more serious, political philosophies as well.
His first album got the attention of top industry players, including Sean Diddy Combs and music producer Emilio Estefan. They both included Pitbull in their new production venture, named Bad Boy Latino.
In 2006 and 2007, Pitbull released back-to-back albums, El Mariel and The Boatlift, respectively. After the critical success of these two albums, he left his indie record label to join Polo Grounds Music. There, he released his 2009 record Rebelution, and Armando in 2010, with the hit single Bon Bon.
At this point, he had set up Mr. 305 Records, a label beneath the Polo Grounds umbrella. Pitbull has also recently recorded Back in Time, a song for the third Men in Black film.
Specific Pitbull lyrics were the cause of some controversy after Lindsay Lohan filed a lawsuit against him. On his sixth album Planet Pitt is the song Give me Everything, which directly references Lohan: I got it locked up like Lindsay Lohan.
Lohans legal team sought damages from lyrics, claiming that they were bound to do harm to Lohans public image. Pitbull later filed a countersuit, claiming that his lyric was justified, as Lohan had, as a matter of fact, served prison time. He also claims she had no right to file the suit in New York while being a California resident.
Outside of music, Pitbull has also been a guest on National Public
Radio discussing Cuban-American relations. Although his lyrics can be rough, he also reveals a deep respect for women, as a tattoo on his wrist, DIM, is an acronym for Do it For Mom.
