Pitbull

Repping for the Sunshine State, Cuban-American rapper Pitbull mixes the most danceable elements of hip-hop and Latin flavors in his music. On his fourth studio album, The Boatlift, he unabashedly embraces the synthetic beats that most of contemporary rap is hiding in its bass drum, using every inch of the club scene with freestyle, dancehall and techno all sharing time in the strobe light.

As he hopscotches from style to style, the Miami native does a surprisingly effective job of capturing the international flare of his city along the way. Swigging a few sips of the Lil Jon crunk juice he was raised on, Pitbull takes it down South by way of the shallow bounce and artery-clogged EKG machine beeps of "Go Girl." He then eases his way through the Caribbean islands, coasting on the lazy steel drums of "I Don't See Em." Later, the 4/4 kick and cheese-whiz casio stabs of "Midnight" are slicker than well-oiled Euro chest hair.

Pitbull may not be much of an MC but he is a decent rapper, chanting his decidedly blue lyrics with a Caribbean-fueled fire that's slyly compelling. However, considering the juvenile nature of the lyrics, not being able to understand English might make the album easier to enjoy—yet another argument in favor of its international appeal. In fact, it's probably best to think of The Boatlift as a musical vacation destination. Lots of sun, too much drinking and a few bad decisions that you won't remember tomorrow. It's a nice place to visit—enough said.

—Chas Reynolds
01.21.08

On his 2007 effort The Boatlift, Pitbull's love of club tracks and anthemic party tunes is once again tempered by some serious material, and once again the album's title references the early-'80s mass exodus of Cuban people from their homeland. This is the same formula that was used for his 2006 album, El Mariel, but here the measurements are off, with too much attention being paid to production and hooks while talent and personality get short shrift. Tracks like the appropriately titled "The Anthem" and "Sticky Icky," with Lil Jon and Jim Jones, are infectious, the exciting "Midnight" features Euro-trance keyboards and singer Casely as a worthy Justin Timberlake replacement, plus there's a handful of those Latin rap meets crunk numbers that are so identifiable as Pitbull's. These deep Miami tracks are complemented by some street level interludes and freestyles that are rich with wit, but The Boatlift dies on the slow tracks with "Secret Admirer" being too sugary to take and "My Life" dropping embarrassing bombs like "sometimes I feel/all I can give you is sex/I'm sorry." Get past these plaintive and uninspired tales of how heartbreaking the jet-set lifestyle is and you're left with enough gloss and polish to consider The Boatlift a fun floor-filler, but just not up to Pitbull's usual standards. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide