Pitbull

From the streets of Miami to VIP rooms around the world, Pitbull has been one of the biggest pop stars on the planet since the turn of the 21st century, bringing together sounds from all over the globe and packaging them with urgent beats and his forceful, dynamic boasts. Born Armando Christian Pérez in 1981, Pitbull's journey from "Mr. 305" to "Mr. Worldwide" was a crucial part of the Latin-pop explosion that defined the century's first two decades. The Lil Jon-assisted crunk-reggaetón hybrid "Culo" established Pitbull as a potent MC, the twitchy "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" mashed up reggaetón with Eurodance to delirious effect, and he flexed his multi-genre, multicultural charm in collaborations with Ne-Yo, Blake Shelton, and Enrique Iglesias. "One thing is when you spit to the block; another thing is when you spit to your city; another thing is when you represent your state; and another thing is when you represent your country," Pitbull told Apple Music. "But when you're making global music? It's a big difference. You're touching a lot of folks. When I [saw] that opportunity, I took full advantage of it." Since his debut, Pitbull has managed not just to speak to each of these communities—he's made them move to the beat of his forward-thinking bangers.