Armando Christian Pérez, known as Pitbull in the entertainment world, is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, and music producer of Cuban descent, born on January 15, 1981, in Miami, Florida. He has two sisters from his mother's previous marriages. His childhood was marked by significant instability due to his mother’s alcoholism, as well as her being a survivor of sexual abuse by her cousins and violence from her own mother. He lived for a time with neighbors who had two children his age, attending the same school, until his mother found a job and began to recover. Pitbull's mother emigrated to the United States through Operation Peter Pan, a fact for which the artist expresses gratitude, as it allowed him to be born in a free country.
He took on his stage name thanks to a friend who, after hearing him rap in his early freestyle days, told him that he did with words what a dog of that breed does: once it captures its prey, it never lets go. He is also known as Mr. 305 or Mr. Worldwide.
The initial steps of his successful music career were in hip hop. It was the 1990s when Pitbull recorded the song "Lollipop" with Luke, the lead 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 featured in the soundtrack of the second installment of The Fast and the Furious.
In 2005, Pitbull released his debut album, M.I.A.M.I., where he blended hip-hop with reggaeton, selling 500,000 copies. From that moment on, his career became unstoppable, marked by collaboration requests from other artists and his distinctive persona.
In her next album, Mariel—named in honor of her father, who emigrated from Cuba in the 1980s during the opening of that port—features collaborations with Shakira, Wyclef Jean, among others.
With his fourth album, The Boatlift, he managed to secure a spot for 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, reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Many of his tracks have topped the charts in countries across Europe, America, and the United States itself.
He has recorded songs for movie soundtracks, including Men in Black 3 (2012) and Penguins of Madagascar (2013). In 2019, he voiced the character of the dog in the children's film UglyDolls, where he also contributed to the music. He has participated in charity campaigns, such as recording the song "We Are the World" alongside other renowned artists to raise funds for the victims of the earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010. Additionally, he has served as a host for events like the American Music Awards (2014).
In 2013, he contributed to the creation and funding of a public educational center, Sports Leadership and Management, in Little Havana, the neighborhood of his childhood. His goal was to support the development and education of young people through their involvement in sports, employing a method that combines fun with learning.
He has collaborated with well-known representatives of international music, including Jennifer López, Shakira, Marc Anthony, Enrique Iglesias, Eminem, Usher, Christina Aguilera, Kesha, Chris Brown, among others.
Albums: 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 considerable criticism from his Cuban fans, as well as statements from some Cuban artists against him. The group Gente de Zona, based in Miami but performing in Cuba with the approval of the Cuban government, publicly acknowledged Miguel Díaz-Canel as their president during one of their performances. They also shared the stage with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, the grandson and head of personal security for the Cuban leader Raúl Castro. This provoked significant outrage within the Cuban exile community, which harshly questioned the stance of the two members of the duo residing in the United States, even raising concerns about their permanent Green Card status.
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 held at Bayfront Park in Miami. They were scheduled to perform alongside others, including Pitbull, who took the opportunity to send greetings to the Cuban duo, stating that “music is music and politics is politics.”
A flood of accusations was directed at the singer, who later acknowledged in an interview that he might not have been aware of the full extent of the underlying issues when he greeted Randy and Alexander during his performance. Pitbull issued an apology and assured that he is fully integrated and aware of the needs of the Cuban exile community, stating that his role will continue to be one of unity.
He has a record label, Mr. 305 Records, with which Cuban singer Lenier Mesa signed in August 2020. Mesa had previously collaborated with the American artist in 2019 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, Cuban singer Yomil announced that Pitbull, alongside the popular DJ IamChino, was preparing a special tribute for El Dany, a well-known member of the Cuban duo Yomil and El Dany, who passed away in Havana on July 18, 2020.
