Born January 14, 1981 in Miami, Florida, USA
Birth Name Armando Christian Pérez
Nicknames Mr. Worldwide
Mr. 305
Height 5' 7" (1.7 m)

Armando Christian Pérez, known by the stage name Pitbull or Mr. Worldwide, is an American rapper. His first recorded mainstream performance was on a solo track from Lil Jon's 2002 album Kings of Crunk. In 2004, Pitbull released his debut album M.I.A.M.I. under TVT Records. It included production producers Lil Jon and Jim Jonsin. Pitbull later released his second album El Mariel, in 2006 and his third, The Boatlift, in 2007. His fourth album, Rebelution (2009), included his breakthrough hit single "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)", which peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Pitbull's 2011 album Planet Pit, featured the single "Give Me Everything", which was his first US number-one single. His 2013 track "Timber" from his Meltdown EP topped the charts in twenty nations, including the US and UK. He performed the song "We Are One (Ole Ola)" along with Jennifer Lopez and Claudia Leitte, which served as the official theme of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Armando Christian Perez was born to Cuban expatriates in Miami, Florida. When he was 3, he could recite the works of Cuba's national hero and poet, José Martí, in Spanish. Growing up, he was influenced by the Miami bass genre of pop music and has cited Celia Cruz and Willy Chirino as sources of inspiration for his music. Pérez's parents separated when he was young, and he was raised by his mother; he later spent time with a foster family in Roswell, Georgia. He attended South Miami Senior High School before graduating from Miami Coral Park High School, where he focused his career on rapping.

He said he chose his stage name of Pitbull because the dogs "bite to lock. The dog is too stupid to lose. And they're outlawed in Dade County. They're basically everything that I am. It's been a constant fight". After meeting Lil Jon in Miami, Pitbull was featured on Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz' album Kings of Crunk in 2002. Pitbull's song "Oye" was featured on the soundtrack to the film 2 Fast 2 Furious the following year. In addition, Pitbull released several mixtapes, composed of freestyles and remixes of popular rap music. Campbell featured Pitbull in his single, "Lollipop".

In 2001, Pitbull was signed to Luther Campbell's Luke Records by Jullian Boothe, then the label's vice-president of A&R. In 2001, Pitbull was introduced to Robert Fernandez of Famous Artist Music & Management, an independent label and management company specializing in developing artists, by the Diaz Brothers, a producer duo signed to the company. Fernandez "saw the eagerness and hunger he had" and, with the Luke Records deal ending, began working to develop Pitbull. Together they focused on creating a more radio-friendly sound. Fernandez later told HitQuarters: "At that time his music had a lot of verses and took a long time to get into the hook, and so we took time in getting the songs catchier and less on the rap side." Fernandez introduced Pitbull to Lil Jon, hoping to secure the rapper a small guest intro spot on Lil Jon's upcoming album Kings of Crunk. According to Fernandez, Jon took a liking to Pérez and offered him a track on the album; it is called "Pitbull's Cuban Ride Out." This track helped raise the young rapper's profile.