Pitbull Armando

Pitbull is known for the bilingual/hip-hop fusion that courses through his club-heavy music.  Songs like Culo, dripped in Lil Jon’s trademark yelps or the heavily downloaded chart-toppers, I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) and Hotel Room Service have hit with dance-popping frenzy, continuing his trek for international stardom.  Recent collaborations with pop/R&B artists, Usher (DJ Got Us Falling in Love) and Enrique Iglesias (I Like It), have extended his fan base and brand (Kodak), while transforming the dance scene.  

But upon his return to the dance floor, “Mr. Worldwide” releases his first Spanish album, Armando, re-surfacing Mami cat-calling and reggaeton beats, but proving that culture-specific music can get buried and compromised for the mainstream.

Releasing his first Spanish album isn’t much of a stretch, given the multiple Spanglish singles, but I’ve always been forgetful of the Cuban/hip-hop mix Pitbull alludes to.  As much as Pitbull tries to express his devotion to his Cuban roots, listeners are stuck with the same formulaic, Euro-like synth beats with subjects that foster the jam-ready tracks - girls, alcohol, Lil Jon’s “Yeah!” and “What?” exclamations that often start and end in confusion, and yes, more girls. 

The closest we get to Cuba is the diminutive intro track, named after the album, Armando (Intro), which quickly becomes a red herring when compared to the remainder of the album. Orguillo tries to expand on that premise, with blazing, high-pitched horns, a marching tempo, and Pitbull ranting honor for the strong Latino presence in the US.

A near plummet of the album is triggered by fixtures of remakes and sampled tracks.  Amorosa featuring Papayo, features unbalanced vocals and pallid 80s synth throwbacks. The flailing throwaway track, Mujeres samples the infamous Beastie Boys single, Girls, and the B-more house mix, Watagatapitusberry sounds like a scrapped version of Shots. Traces of Pitbull’s whooping yells take flight in predictive hits such as Vida 23 featuring Latin singer, Nayer and the groove-induced Bon Bon.

It would have been interesting to hear Pitbull experiment with the sonically percussive, rhythmic elements of Cuban music, and even break lyrically from the confinements of reggaeton, rather than staying in the realm of generic dance music.  For now, we’ll still hit the club, bobbing our heads, and follow what Pitbull has been saying all along: “Let’s have a real good time!” I’ll drink to that.