He has been derided as a sell-out and all that’s wrong with pop’s present generic sounds. But it’s probably hard to hear all that hate when you are playing to capacity crowds and stadiums nearly every night.
Ever since arriving on the scene 15 years ago, Pitbull – real name Armando Christian Perez – has grown from a scruffy reggaeton rapper to a pop superstar and energetic celebrity endorser (clients ranged from Kodak and Dr Pepper to Miami Subs Grill).
With lyrics such as “All I wanna do is have some fun / I got a feelin’ that I’m not the only one”, Pitbull may not be a great example of hip-hop poeticism, but the 35-year-old was the one to call to get the F1 After Race Concerts party started at du Arena on Thursday.
Pitbull came into my life five years ago when I was enjoying a night out with friends in Cairo. This was during a time when life was uncertain. There was turmoil in the region and those of us living in Egypt clung to any small morsel of happiness – which often turned out to be a dance party.
One night, when a curfew had been lifted, his 2011 Rain Over Me was playing in one such gathering – and it was glorious. Ever since then, I became a dedicated Pitbull fan and whenever I am asked to defend my controversial choice, I provide the following reasons why.
The beats
As soon as a Pitbull song started playing, people hit the dance floor, myself included. And I rarely dance – although to be fair, I chair-dance like a champ.
I downloaded his album, Planet Pit, and soon knew all the songs by heart. That's when I knew I was developing an obsession. I began asking the DJs to play Pit songs every night and that's when I first saw it: the eye roll.
There was even one night when I began to lip-sync This Moment and a stranger joined in performing Pitbull's part while I mouthed Christina Aguilera's. My friends still talk about how the entire place just stopped to watch the show. And I loved every minute.
The jokes from friends came rolling in but it didn’t bother me. I began picking out lyrics from his songs to show people that there was more to Armando Christian Perez.
The lyrics
Critics say Pitbull's lyrics are vapid, but check this line out from his 2011 chart topper Give Me Everything: "Reach for the stars and if you don't grab them, at least you'll fall on top of the world." Now, that's deep. Or how about this fun wordplay: "She reads books about red rooms and tie-ups" – Pitbull has obviously read Fifty Shades of Grey.
He keeps his word
In 2012, an online contest was launched. Pitbull revealed that he would perform at Walmart, at the branch that received the most virtual votes. And so a prank was born.
A couple of online jokers, David Thorpe and Jon Hendren, decided that it would be hilarious to make sure that Pitbull would have to go to one of the most remote places in the United States: Kodiak, Alaska.
Needless to say, even people who didn’t live in the area started voting for Kodiak – and that ended up being the winning store.
Pitbull could have complained or even cancelled the contest – instead, he gamely played along. I was lucky (although not so lucky as to have been in Kodiak myself) that I had a friend in the town who sent me photos every step of the way.
lgraves@thenational.ae
