Pitbull Talks Upcoming Albums

The 305's finest Latino rapper Pitbull is preparing to release his sophomore album El Mariel.

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.The album is named after the infamous Cuban boatlift that moved almost 125,000 Cubanos to Florida.

“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.

The 2004 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,” “Dammit Man,” and “Toma.”

El Mariel is scheduled to hit stores Oct. 17, but fans won’t have to wait long for another Pitbull LP 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.