Armando Christian Pérez, Pitbull in the artistic world, is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, and music producer of Cuban descent, born on January 15, 1981, in Miami, Florida, United States. He has two sisters from his mother's previous marriages. His childhood was marked by significant instability due to his mother's alcoholism, who had been sexually abused by her cousins in her youth and was also a victim of violence from her own mother. He lived for a time with neighbors who had two children his age and attended the same school until his mother found a job and was able to recover. Pitbull’s mother emigrated to the United States through Operation Peter Pan, which the artist has expressed gratitude for, as it allowed him to be born in a free country.
His stage name was adopted thanks to a friend who, after hearing him rap in his early freestyle years, told him that he did with words what a dog of that breed does—once it catches its prey, it doesn't let go. He is also known as Mr. 305 or Mr. Worldwide.
The first steps of his successful music career were taken in hip hop. It was the 90s when Pitbull recorded the song "Lollipop" alongside Luke, the singer of 2 Live Crew. In 2003, he collaborated on the album Kings of Crunk with Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz. Some of the tracks were included in the soundtrack of the second part of The Fast & The Furious.
In 2005, Pitbull released his first album, M.I.A.M.I., where he fused hip-hop with reggaeton and sold 500,000 copies. From that moment on, his career became unstoppable, along with requests for collaborations from other artists and the uniqueness of his persona.
In her next album, Mariel -named in honor of her father who emigrated from Cuba in the 80s when that port opened- she features alongside Shakira, Wyclef Jean, among others.
With his fourth album The Boatlift, he manages to place the song "I Know You Want Me" at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Three years later, the single "Give Me Everything" from his fifth album Armando reaches number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Many of his songs have reached number one on the charts in countries across Europe, America, and the United States itself.
He recorded songs for movie soundtracks: Men in Black 3 (2012), The Penguins of Madagascar (2013). In 2019, he voiced the character of the dog in the children's film Ugly Dolls, where he also contributed to the music. He has participated in charitable campaigns, including the recording of the song "We Are the World" alongside other renowned artists, aimed at raising funds for the victims of the earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010. Additionally, he has hosted events such as the American Music Awards (2014).
In 2013, he contributed to the establishment and funding of a public educational center for Sports Leadership and Management in Little Havana, the neighborhood of his childhood, where he aims to support the development and education of young people through their involvement in sports and a method that combines fun with learning.
He has collaborated with well-known representatives of international music: Jennifer López, Shakira, Marc Anthony, Enrique Iglesias, Eminem, Usher, Christina Aguilera, Kesha, Chris Brown, among others.
Discs: 2004: M.I.A.M.I. (Money is a Major Issue), 2006: El Mariel, 2007: The Boatlift, 2009: Rebelution, 2010: Armando, 2011: Planet Pit, 2012: Global Warming, 2014: Globalization, 2015: Dale, 2017: Climate Change, 2019: Libertad 548
He was appointed Mayor of Little Havana in 2018.
In early 2020, he became embroiled in a controversy with Gente de Zona that sparked significant criticism from his Cuban fans, along with statements from some Cuban artists against him. The group Gente de Zona, which resides in Miami but performs in Cuba with the approval of the Cuban government, publicly recognized Miguel Díaz Canel as their president during one of their performances, and shared the stage with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, the grandson and chief of personal security for the Cuban leader Raúl Castro. This ignited great outrage within the Cuban exile community, which harshly questioned the stance of the two members of the duo living in the United States, even considering the possibility of revoking their permanent Green Card residency.
The reaction from the Cuban exile community was swift, leading to the cancellation of the duo's performance at the New Year's Eve concert in 2019, which was held at Bayfront Park in Miami. They were set to perform alongside Pitbull, who took the opportunity to send a greeting to the Cuban duo, stating that "music is music and politics is politics."
An avalanche of accusations was directed at the singer, who later acknowledged in an interview that he might not have even realized the magnitude of what was at stake when he greeted Randy and Alexander during his performance. Pitbull apologized and asserted that he is fully integrated and aware of the needs of the Cuban exile community, and that his role will continue to be one of unification.
He has a record label, Mr. 305 Records, with which the Cuban artist Lenier Mesa signed in August 2020. He had previously collaborated in 2019 with the American artist on the song "Me quedaré contigo" alongside Ne-Yo and El Micha, a track that Pitbull included in his tenth album, Libertad 548.
In August 2020, the Cuban singer Yomil announced that Pitbull, along with the popular DJ IamChino, would be preparing a special tribute for El Dany, a well-known member of the Cuban duo Yomil y El Dany, who passed away in Havana on July 18, 2020.
