Pitbull Starring In: Rebelution (Deluxe Version)

Pitbull Starring In: Rebelution (Deluxe Version)

By the time Pitbull's fourth LP, Pitbull Starring In: Rebelution, hit the airwaves in the summer of 2009, the king of Miami was ready to tear the roof off every nightclub in the world. The album was released via Ultra Records—home to electro lords such as Steve Aoki and Armin van Buuren—which heralded Pitbull's smooth transition from bilingual Southern-rap dandy into full-blown dance-floor pied piper. “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho),” melding acoustic guitars and thumping EDM with cheer-inducing countdowns and seductive Spanish lyrics, raced up the Billboard 100 to land in the No. 2 position. The hit track was followed by another smash—“Hotel Room Service”—which sampled the iconic bassline from Nightcrawlers' 1992 rave classic, “Push the Feeling On.” With the added flair of resonant Latin percussion and Pitbull's unmistakable bravado, the track became an international sensation that reverberated on every dance floor from Miami to Ibiza. Despite Pitbull's laser focus on creating EDM bangers, genre voraciousness abounds throughout Pitbull Starring In: Rebelution. The project was helped by Baltimore producer DJ Class, who nods to the ‘80s heyday of Miami bass on “Shut It Down,” alongside Akon, while “Can't Stop Me Now” pulls out all the stops on some campy, hair-metal-inflected guitar riffs. Pitbull also finds plenty of opportunity to salute his Southern-rap roots. Mentor and frequent collaborator Lil Jon pops up on “Krazy,” a juiced-up crunk ode to letting loose. “Now jump up, let's get crazy,” he sings, stoking the flames of debauchery. In high contrast, his crossover with rapper B.O.B. on “Across the World” weaves slower BPMs and almost chiptune synths into a pensive meditation on hustle and success. The track is also packed full of Auto-Tune and saturated synths that echo the darker electro-pop beats heard earlier on “Call of the Wild,” as well as emblematic hits of the era such as Lady Gaga's “Dance In the Dark.”

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