Pitbull

Pitbull grew up in Miami and was raised only by his mother as his parents got divorce when he was just a kid. However, after being kicked out of his house by his mother because of his involvement in drug dealing business, he spent his life with a foster family in Roswell, Georgia.

Pitbull began rapping at a very young age, drawing influences from the likes of Nas, Notorious B.I.G. and Big Pun. After graduating from Coral Park High School, he decided not to continue his study to college. Instead, he focused on his rapping career. In 2002, he was tapped as a featured guest in Lil Jon and East Side Boyz' album "Kings of Crunk". The next year, he scored music called "Oye" for movie "2 Fast 2 Furious".

Pitbull released his debut album "M.I.A.M.I." under TVT Records in 2004. The title of the record is an acronym for Money Is a Major Issue. Having Fat Joe, Trick Daddy and Lil Jon as collaborators, he reached number 14 on Billboard Hot 200. Singles from the effort included "Culo" and "Toma".

Following the success of "M.I.A.M.I", Pitbull became the most-wanted collaborator for other Hip-Hop artists. He was signed to join Anger Management Tour which was headlined by Eminem and 50 Cent. He also lent his vocal to several singles from such big stars as Ying Yang Twins, Twista and Wyclef Jean.

Two years after the arrival of his first album, Pitbull came out with his sophomore set "El Mariel". The title of the album referred to the boat that transported Cuban refugees to Florida in the movie "Scarface". He dedicated this record to his father, who died that year in May. With this studio project, he peaked at number 2 on Billboard Hot Rap Albums chart and at number 1 on Independent chart. As for Billboard Hot 200, he managed to climb to number 17.

Pitbull's third studio effort "The Boatlift" was put out in 2007. Though having a bunch of contributors such as Trina, Jim Jones and Lloyd, this album failed to rank in the top 20 of Billboard Hot 200. It only debuted at number 50 on the chart, selling 22,203 copies in its first week, far below expectations. In its second week, it added 9,686 copies and dropped to number 134 on the chart.

On August 31 2009, Pitbull returned with "Rebelution". Two of its singles reached top 10 on Billboard Hot 100. "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" secured the second spot, while "Hotel Room Service" peaked at number 9 on the U.S. singles chart. Another track titled "Blanco" was featured in film "Fast and Furious".

Pitbull followed up the album with another one, an all-Spanish-language record called "Armando", in 2010 before putting out "Planet Pit" in 2011. The latter album featured hit singles "Hey Baby (Drop It to the Floor)" and Ne-Yo-assisted "Give Me Everything".

In 2012, he dropped his seventh studio effort called "Global Warming" that included the hits "Back in Time" and "Feel This Moment". A deluxe reissue of the record came out in the following year, featuring a collaboration with Ke$ha titled "Timber".

In early 2014 Pitbull released the single "Wild Wild Love" which had vocals from girl group G.R.L. The song debuted at number 30 on the Billboard Top 100. A few months later he announced the release of his eighth studio album, "Globalization", which later arrived at the tail-end of 2014 and boasted collaborations with Chris Brown, Sean Paul and Dr. Luke among others. There's also the single "Time of Our Lives" which finds him reuniting with his "Give Me Everything" collaborator, Ne-Yo. The track has peaked at No. 11 on Billboard Hot 100 and at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Rap Songs.