Pitbull

On El Mariel, Pitbull puts the entire Cuban expat community on his back. He goes after Fidel in "Come See Me," then attempts to demythologize Miami's South Beach culture on "Miami Sh*t." Of course, Pitbull is political as long as there's not booty jiggling in his face, and most of the album is consumed by Caribbean crunk. The style fits well as the bilingual Pitbull is one of hip-hop's most animated emcees. His screeches, chants and double-time raps make his lyrics almost irrelevant.

Few rappers can rock a Latin-flavored club beat as well as Cuban-American MC Pitbull. With
a slick bilingual flow, he mambos toe-to-toe with the Neptunes' conga-based track on
"Jealouso"; on "Ay Chico (Lengua Afuera)," Mr. Collipark's timbale-infused beat forms the
perfect backdrop to 'Bull's crass shout-along: "Bend over, girl, show me what you workin'
with." It's only when the limber MC slows things down that his limp lyricism jumps... More >