The Bite Magazine - Spring 2016 - Issue 15

I love it. I wear it on my chest. Every- where I go everybody knows Mr. 305, Mr Dade County, Miami boy representing. When I say Mr.Worldwide, it’s because we’re all around the world.” Pitbull’s ascension into the limelight began when he appeared on Luther Campbell’s single ‘Lollipop’ which got him noticed by the Diaz Brothers management team who introduced him to Lil Jon. After his freestyle rap on the Kings of Crunk album, Pitbull followed this up with a track called ‘Oye’ which appeared on the 2 Fast 2 Furious soundtrack in 2003 and the release of his debut album M.I.A.M.I (backronym for Money Is A Major Issue ) under the TVT label the following year. It wasn’t long before he was making guest appearances on tracks by other artists such as theYingYangTwins, Elephant Man, Usher, Enrique Iglesias, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira and Janet Jackson. It was perhaps when he titled his sixth album Planet Pit in 2011 that he felt he had finally conquered the world to a degree.“I’m not suggesting I run the world, I just feel like I’ve built my own planet,” he said. “I’m catching a lot of people’s ears, whether it’s with my music or appearing on someone else’s track.When ‘I KnowYouWant Me (Calle Ocho)’ took off, I started travelling the world, and I saw the impact that a global hit can have – the way it brings people together. So now I’ve set my goals higher.” From ditching his corn-rows and baggy t-shirts in 2007 to today stepping out in custom suits, sharp ties and fine leather shoes, Pitbull has certainly made a turnaround in his life that his mother would be proud of. However, some have questioned his transformation. “What I’ve shown is evolution through the music business,” he said. “When people ask, ‘How come you don’t do music for the streets no more’, [I answer] “Man, I made music to get out [of] the streets, not to stay in the streets.” ‘How come you be putting on these suits now?’ It shows maturity; it shows growth; it shows evolution. This is what I want to teach y’all; this is what this music is about.This is what this journey is about.” R&B singer Usher showed his respect for the rapper by saying: “He’s the truth. He’s consist- ent. He constantly is a gentleman.There’s something about a man who at every turn shows up with a suit on – and will sweat for two hours in it. He’s commit- ted, man.” With a head for business and citing Carlos Slim Helu, Warren Buffett and Mark Cuban as business heroes, Pitbull has a line of fragrances for men and women, a TV development company and partnerships with Bud Light, Kodak, Dr. Pepper, Voli Vodka and Playboy. If you were to ask him for his best advice on investments, he would say something like this: “Don’t be afraid to lose. Listen. And always invest in yourself.” It seems nothing will stop the rapper from achiev- ing his goals. Having impressed a few people on his way to stardom including Rolling Stone journalist Simon Vozick-Levinson who said, “Pitbull is only going to get bigger. He’s someone who’s not going to stop until he takes over the entire world”, the rapper has certainly made quite an impact. When you watch the younger Pitbull compared to how he is today, you can see that he has really matured. Gone is the street talk that is so the norm with rappers and in its place is a confident, talented and business-minded man who is said to approach music as a CEO would a business. On his appointment as ambas- sador of SLAM! (Sports Leadership and Management Academy), a charter school in Little Havana, Miami where he grew up, he told CBS This Morning: “To be an ambassador for this school, who better than someone from Miami, born and raised, Cuban-American, first generation and someone who can speak to these kids [and say]: ‘I’m not here to lecture you, I’m gonna talk to you and give it to you straight cos I know that’s how you’re going to listen to me. And you know that I know exactly what you’re going through’” Talking about how his father advised him to stay out of trouble, another turning point in his life was when a high school teacher encouraged him after seeing him rap with a huge crowd gathered around him. “Miss Martinez was the one who told me,‘are you doing this every day, you’re attracting all these people? If you’re attracting these many kids, you have talent! All I want from you when you win an award just mention my name because I believe in you.’” Not satisfied with achieving major hits and lending his names to businesses and community projects, Pitbull has been behind and in front of the screen. He appeared in a documentary as himself in bitemusicceleb