About Pitbull
Armando Christian Pérez , better known by his stage name Pitbull , is an American rapper, singer and actor. He began his career in the early 2000s as a reggaeton, Latin hip hop, and crunk performer, and signed with TVT Records to release his debut studio album, M.I.A.M.I. . Executive produced by Lil Jon, it moderately entered the Billboard 200 along with his second and third albums, El Mariel and The Boatlift . His fourth album, Pitbull Starring in Rebelution , yielded his mainstream breakthrough, spawning the singles "I Know You Want Me " and "Hotel Room Service"—which peaked at numbers two and eight on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, respectively.
After rebranding himself as a pop artist, Pitbull's sixth and seventh albums, Planet Pit and Global Warming were both met with continued commercial success; the former spawned his first Billboard Hot 100-number one single "Give Me Everything" , while the latter spawned the top ten hit "Feel This Moment" . His 2013 single, "Timber" , became his second song to peak the chart, and did so in 18 other countries. His 2014 single, "Time of Our Lives" , peaked within the chart's top ten and led his eighth album, Globalization . That same year, he performed the song "We Are One " , which served as the official theme of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Meanwhile, Pitbull made numerous guest appearances on a number of hit songs, including the Billboard Hot 100-top four singles "I Like It" by Enrique Iglesias, "DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love" by Usher, and "On the Floor" by Jennifer Lopez.
His subsequent albums, Dale and Climate Change , trailed commercially. His eleventh album and first independent release, Libertad 548 focused on Latin hip hop and was led by the singles "No Lo Trates" and "Me Quedaré Contigo" . His twelfth album, Trackhouse delved further into Latin influences.
Pitbull has sold over 25 million studio albums and over 100 million singles worldwide. He has over 15 billion views on YouTube as of May 2020. He was ranked by Billboard as the 45th Top Artist of the 2010s and the 24th Top Latin Artist of the 2010s. Pitbull's other ventures include brand ambassadorship and for various entities, activism and philanthropy in Latino American communities, a radio station—Pitbull's Globalization—on Sirius XM Radio, and ownership of the Trackhouse Racing NASCAR team. As of May 2019, Pitbull has won 35 Billboard Latin Music Awards.
Armando Christian Pérez was born on January 15, 1981, in Miami, Florida, to Cuban immigrant parents. While growing up, he was strongly encouraged by his family to "take advantage" of the privilege of living in America, and the opportunities that came with it. His family has a history of fighting against the Castro regime in Cuba. When he was three, he could recite the works of Cuban national hero and poet José Martí in Spanish. He learned English by watching Sesame Street as a child. His father was largely absent from his childhood; his parents separated when he was young, and he was raised mostly by his mother, later stating: "my mom is my father and my mother." He briefly stayed with a foster family in Roswell, Georgia. His parents struggled with substance abuse; as a teenager, he was also involved with drug use and dealing, which eventually led to him getting kicked out of the family house. He attended South Miami Senior High School and Miami Coral Park High School. While growing up, he was influenced by the Miami bass genre of pop music and has cited Celia Cruz and Willy Chirino as sources of inspiration, in addition to rappers such as Nas, Jay-Z, and Snoop Dogg. He stated that Miami's melting pot characteristics exposed him to various cultures which influenced his artistry and himself as a person.
It's a melting pot. I've grown up in good neighborhoods, bad neighborhoods, worse neighborhoods. But growing up around so many cultures, it's always allowed me to think out of the box and try new sounds and try new things. You learn something new from every culture, just like I learn something new from every record.
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