Pitbull

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, 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, as well as her being a victim of sexual abuse by her cousins during her own childhood and experiencing violence from her own mother. He lived for a while with neighbors who had two children his age, both attending the same school, until his mother found work and was able to recover. Pitbull's mother emigrated to the United States through Operation Peter Pan, a fact for which the artist has expressed gratitude, as it allowed him to be born in a free country.

He adopted his stage name thanks to a friend who, upon 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 never lets 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 track "Lollipop" with 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 for the second installment of The Fast & The Furious.

In 2005, Pitbull released his debut album, M.I.A.M.I., which blends hip-hop with reggaeton and sold 500,000 copies. From that moment on, his career became unstoppable, attracting collaboration requests from other artists, thanks to the uniqueness of his persona.

In her next album, Mariel—named in honor of her father who emigrated from Cuba in the 80s during the opening of that port—features collaborations with Shakira, Wyclef Jean, among others.

With his fourth album The Boatlift, he achieved 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 songs have topped the charts in countries across Europe, America, and the United States.

He has recorded tracks for movie soundtracks, including Men in Black 3 (2012) and Penguins of Madagascar (2013). In 2019, he lent his voice to the character of the dog in the children's film UglyDolls, where he also contributed to the music. He has participated in charitable campaigns, such as the recording of "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 served as a presenter 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, 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 Lopez, 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 significant 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 government's approval, publicly acknowledged Miguel Díaz-Canel as their president during one of their performances. They also had Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, the grandson and head of personal security for Cuban leader Raúl Castro, on stage with them. This ignited widespread outrage among the Cuban exile community, which harshly questioned the stance of the two members of the duo living in the United States, even leading to discussions about the potential revocation of their permanent Green Card residency.

The reaction from the Cuban exile community came swiftly, 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 others, including Pitbull, who took the opportunity to send a message to the Cuban duo, stating that "music is music and politics is politics."

A wave of accusations was directed at the singer, who later acknowledged in an interview that he may not have fully understood the gravity of the situation when he greeted Randy and Alexander during his performance. Pitbull apologized and assured that he is fully integrated and aware of the needs of the Cuban exile community, emphasizing that his role will continue to be one of unity.

He has a record label, Mr. 305 Records, with which the Cuban singer Lenier Mesa signed in August 2020. Mesa had previously collaborated in 2019 with the American artist on the song "Me quedaré contigo" alongside Ne-Yo and El Micha, a track included in Pitbull's 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.