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BiIingual Hip-Hop Star Pitbull Set For The Much Anticipated Release Of 'EL Mariel' On October 31, 2006
The #1 Latin Artist on Myspace Has More Than Culo On His Mind;
New Album El Mariel (TVT Records) Addresses Subjects Ranging
from the Current State of Cuba to President Bush's Misguided War in Iraq;
Pitbull Takes the Lead In Voto Latino's Non-Partisan 'Text2Represent' Voter
Registration Campaign'.
Best-selling Cuban American MC Pitbull is gearing up for the October 31, 2006
release of his highly-anticipated second studio album El Mariel (Diaz
Bros./TVT Records). Although he makes songs about getting "culo," Pitbull
is more preoccupied with preserving the image of his isla bonita, Cuba, and
unmasking Pres. George W. Bush's misguided war.
After having registered to vote himself using Voto Latino, Pitbull agreed to
be part of the first groundbreaking text messaging voter registration
campaign in U.S. history. As such, Pitbull leads a consortium of artists
on behalf of Voto Latino by urging his fans to register to vote by texting
the keyword "Pitbull" or "305" to the number 75444. Voto Latino Co-Founder
Rosario Dawson stated, "We're thrilled to have Pitbull on board. What
better messenger than he? Pitbull has a faithful, captive audience who's
earned his fans' respect." Pitbull fans can also choose to sign up for
their own keyword at votolatino.org and
manage their very own voter registration campaign.
With the sophomore album, El Mariel, named after the infamous Cuban boatlift
that relocated almost 125,000 cubanos to Florida, Pitbull will make the
biggest impact a Latino has made in hip-hop since Big Pun. Inspired by one
of the most dramatic events in Cuban history, El Mariel is overflowing with
enlightening gems, rap ballads and club bangers. After the success of his
gold-selling debut M.I.A.M.I. the music community was having a difficult
time placing a label on Pit. "They have this misconception," says the
25-year-old MC. "They¹ll say, He's just this Latin rapper, he's a reggaeton
act, he's crunk." They don¹t know what to say about me. [After El Mariel] a
lot of folks are gonna start saying, ŒYou gotta watch out for that boy
Pit."
Last year, Pitbull surpassed gold status for more than 500,000 copies sold
of his debut album 'M.I.A.M.I.: Money Is A Major Issue' in the United
States. The feat gave Pitbull the biggest-selling bilingual hip-hop debut
since Cypress Hill's 1991 self-titled debut, and put him in the rare
category of Latino rappers who have achieved major success at
English-language radio. Bolstered by such breakthrough singles as 'Culo',
'Dammit Man', and 'Toma', Pitbull's debut as well as its highly-successful
successor remix album 'Money Is Still a Major Issue' have made Pitbull an
unstoppable Latino voice in urban music. 'The Street Parties provide
interaction between the general public and the Latin GRAMMY® brand, bringing
the Latin GRAMMY® experience closer U.S. Latinos.
Pitbull will appear in the upcoming video game, 'Scarface: The World Is
Yours'. In the game, which will be available October 8, 2006, Pitbull plays the
role of one of Tony Montana's henchmen, riding along on missions to help
Tony recapture his fallen empire and seek vengeance on those who brought him
down in the 1983 classic film. The Miami-based rapper has collaborated with
a who's who of hip-hop and reggaeton artists, including Lil Jon, Ying Yang
Twins, Orishas, Daddy Yankee, Twista and Rick Ross. Pitbull¹s speaking
appearance at last month¹s Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC) 'Tres
Crossovers' panel nearly stole the show, with Billboard honing in on
Pitbull's self-identification as a successful rapper 'who also happens to be
Latin.' Unlike many other Latino rappers, Pitbull has managed to achieve
success in the mainstream hip-hop world with bilingual lyrics and potent
beats laced with reggaeton. He is equally comfortable sharing the stage at
the VIBE Awards with Lil Jon as he is collaborating with Paulina Rubio at
the MTV Latin America Awards.
Born to Cuban immigrants, Pitbull was raised by a single mother in Miami.
With his mother, who worked three jobs, Pit was frequently relocating as a
youth. The constant moving made Pit adapt to any environment and interact
with different types of people. His absent father reemerged in his life when
Pitbull was 18. Since then until his passing this year, Pit remained on
friendly terms with his father. All the while Pit was falling for hip-hop.
Through his constant winning verbal warfare, his VIP friendships (Lil Jon
and Luke Campbell) Pit signed with TVT and released his gold-selling debut,
M.I.A.M.I. (Money Is A Major Issue) in 2004.
Crossing over different cultures is one of Pit's strong suits. On 'Dime,'
his collaboration with Puerto Rican crooner Ken Y, Lil Jon produces his
Latin version of Usher's 'Lovers and Friends.' The second single, 'Ay
Chico' finds Ying Yang Twins producer, Mr. Collipark, providing Pit with a
bass-heavy booty shaker. Still, Pit isn¹t satisfied with being a successful
artist solely in the U.S. market. Witnessing how reggaeton has exploded with
his help, Pit is not one to play the wall. After the release of El Mariel,
he will debut his first full-length Spanish only album, Armando, at the top
of 2007. But don¹t expect the flavor of the month genre to be his backdrop
of choice.
"[Armando] is an Afro-Cuban based project. A lot of energy and just a
different movement," says Pitbull. Lil Jon, Orishas, the Diaz Brothers, Jim
Jonsin, Echo from Puerto Rico and Mr. Collipark are gonna be working on it.
"I would love for me and Jon to have a number one record on the Latin charts.
It would be me bringing him over just like he brought me over to his side."
While his Spanish-language debut is still months away, Pit is concentrating
on delivering an educational and entertaining opus with El Mariel. From
being a rising underground MC to an internationally known artist, Pit is
following in the footsteps of those who came in the infamous 1980 boatlift.
"Some [Marielitos] yes were criminals, some came from a negative backgrounds
but you have those who became politicians, lawyers, judges, and doctors, you
name it, " says Pit. "Now that I got my foot in the door it¹s time to take
opportunities like the Marielitos did."
Spoken like a perfect example of an ambassador. |
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