Miami rapper Pitbull
is preparing to release his sophomore album El Mariel.The
new release is named after the infamous Cuban boatlift that relocated almost 125,000
Cubanos to Florida. According to Pitbull, El Mariel will offer a political perspective
from the rapper, who addresses the current state of his native Cuba, as well as
the war in Iraq.“They
have this misconception about Pit,” the 25-year-old MC said. “They’ll
say, ‘He’s just this Latin rapper, he’s a reggaeton act, he’s crunk.’ They
don’t know what to say about me. [After El Mariel] a lot of folks are gonna
start saying, ‘You gotta watch out for that boy Pit.’"“Some
[Marielitos] yes were criminals, some came from a negative background but you
have those who became politicians, lawyers, judges, and doctors, you name it,”
continued Pitbull, who sees his musical rise as following the example set by those
who arrived in the boatlift. "Now that I got my foot in the door it’s time
to take opportunities like the Marielitos did."El
Mariel is the follow up to Pitbull’s debut album M.I.A.M.I.: Money
Is A Major Issue.
The2004 release, which sold more than 600,000 copies, was the biggest-selling bilingual
hip-hop debut since Cypress Hill’s 1991 self-titled debut, spawning the singles
“Culo,” “D##### Man,” and “Toma.”Although,
El Mariel is slated to hit stores Oct. 17, fans won’t have to wait
long for another Pitbull as the rapper will follow with the release of his first
full-length Spanish only album, Armando.“[Armando]
is an Afro-Cuban based project. A lot of energy and just a different movement,”
explained Pitbull, who revealed the album will contain production from Lil Jon,
Orishas, the Diaz Brothers, Jim Jonsin, Echo from Puerto Rico and Mr. Collipark.
“I
would love for me and Jon to have a number one record on the Latin charts,"
Pitbull said. "It would be me bringing him over just like he brought me over
to his side.” Armando
is scheduled to be released in early 2007.