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| PITBULL INTERVIEW: |
| On September 22, 2006, we had the opportunity to speak with Pitbull, Armando Christian Pérez, one of the most successful Latino rappers, for an in-depth interview about his career, growing up, his thoughts on President Bush, and new album (El Mariel). |
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| ABOUT PITBULL: |
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Armando Christian Pérez (born January 15, 1981, in Miami, Florida) better known by his stage name Pitbull, or his other nicknames, Lil' Chico or Mr. 305, is a Cuban-American rapper. Before releasing his debut album titled M.I.A.M.I (Money is A Major Issue) in August 2004, Pitbull was featured on Lil Jon's Kings of Crunk (2002) album and the 2 Fast 2 Furious soundtrack (2003). His breakout hit was the Lil Jon collabo "Culo" produced by Lil Jon & The Diaz Brothers. In addition, Pitbull has also released several mixtapes, the most recent being Unleashed Volume 6, which are mostly composed of freestyles and remixes of popular rap music. Both thematically and musically, the 25-year-old is seen as a modern-day equivalent of earlier Miami rappers such as the 2 Live Crew and Afro-Rican. It was in fact former 2 Live Crew leader Luther Campbell who gave the up and coming rapper his first chance to shine. (Source: Wikipedia)
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| Can you give us an overview of your background of when you started rapping, when you got discovered, and how you connected with Lil' Jon? |
| PITBULL: Basically, I started rapping at school, at different parties freestyling, different neighborhoods, and just going from school-to-school battling. I just wanted to get my name out there. As far as getting discovered, I got discovered at the DMX video shoot battling Drag-On from the Ruff Ryders. I got discovered by Irv Gotti and from that whole situation, I hooked up with Luke. I was with Luke for a year and learned everything that I had to learn about the game from Luke. From there, I got with the Diaz Brothers, who I am still with, and through the Diaz Brothers met Lil' Jon. That was in 2001 when I met Jon. So that's basically my history right there, in a nutshell! |
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| What was life like for you growing up? |
| PITBULL: Growing up, I moved around a lot to different neighborhoods, different cultures, different people. I lived in good neighborhoods, bad neighborhoods and basically got to soak it all in and look at the world from both sides. It built a lot of character, moving around a lot. Just knowing to have something, not necessarily that I had anything, but just to know what poverty is all about. So it gave me a different type of appreciation for things. |
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| Who did you listen to back in the day? |
| PITBULL: You had 2 Live Crew back in the day. During my teenage years, I listened to Jay-z, Biggie, Nas, and Snoop Dogg. |
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| Moving on to your album, who else did you collaborate with on the album besides the Ying Yang Twins and Lil' Jon? |
| PITBULL: Of course, you got the Ying Yang Twins and Lil' Jon on there. You got Bun B, Trick Daddy, Rick Ross, Wyclef, Fat Joe and some other cats on there. |
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| Do you think the Hip Hop community as a whole has a misconception of Pitbull? And if so, what do you want people to perceive you as after the release of your new album, El Mariel? |
| PITBULL: Well, people just think Pitbull makes music for the club and all that, which I do, but at the end of the day if you know about Pitbull like how the South knows Pitbull then you know that there is another side to him. For this album, I got a lot of treats and Hip Hop hits and for those who love lyrics. This album will basically show my versatility. |
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