A natural to use bilingual rap

WHEN it took place five years ago, aspiring rapper Pitbull didn’t think much of a rhyme battle that placed him against DMX collaborator Drag-On. But the Miami-based rapper impressed enough insiders during that lyrical grudge match to earn the ear of independent rap impresario Luther “Luke” Campbell, who in the mid-1980s launched the career of the controversial quartet 2 Live Crew and sold millions of records in the process.

Given a shot to audition for rap royalty, Pitbull delivered an animated verse that included Spanish and English lyrics that wowed Luke and earned Pitbull a recording contract with the mogul. Pitbull appeared on Luke’s “Something Nasty” album in 2001 and toured the United States with the rap legend to promote the album.

“From Luke, I learned how to do everything on my own,” Pitbull says from New York. “He’ll teach you how to be independent and basically work around the labels. If they don’t believe in a record or believe in you, you’ve got to make them believe.”

Pitbull applied those lessons -- eventually landing a contract with TVT Records and unleashing dance-floor hits such as “Toma.” As he arrives in Long Beach for a New Year’s Eve performance at Vault 350, Pitbull’s debut album “M.I.A.M.I.” (an acronym for Money Is a Major Issue) has sold more than 500,000 copies.

The major issue in Pitbull’s ascent seemed to be his relentless promotion. After his contract with Luke expired (and with Luke focusing more on adult entertainment than music), Pitbull returned to Miami and created a buzz for himself in the streets, earning a deal with TVT, also home to platinum producer Lil Jon.

His first single (the title is a Spanish word for a person’s posterior), recorded with Lil Jon, became a hit on radio and in clubs in 2004. After TVT released “M.I.A.M.I.,” “Toma” (Take That) gave Pitbull and Lil Jon another hit, establishing Pitbull as a rare rapper able to perform in English and Spanish -- and to appeal to fans of both rap and reggaeton.

“He has elements that nobody in the game has,” says producer Mr. ColliPark, who featured Pitbull on the Ying Yang Twins’ “Shake” and Twista’s “Hit the Floor.” “He has the Hispanic background and a history in bass music, and being around Luke gives him an edge that only a few cats that are still viable in the game have.”

Pitbull says growing up in Miami gave him a tremendous edge too. A melting pot of cultures, Miami boasts a lively atmosphere that Pitbull describes as a mix of Los Angeles and New York, with a twist of the Caribbean.

With his Cuban heritage, Pitbull thought that rapping in Spanish and English was the natural thing to do. But when he started rapping in the 1990s, the idea was still novel, and most of his peers were less than enthusiastic.

“I remember when I was first doing it and people were telling me, ‘Yo, you’re crazy. Why are you rapping in English and Spanish?’ ” he says. “It turned out to be my blessing.”

TODAY, that crossover is helping Pitbull in more places than just the recording studio. During conversations with Sean “Diddy” Combs over the last two years, Pitbull impressed the entrepreneur with his knowledge of the emerging Latin musical movement. Diddy offered Pitbull a consulting position with his Bad Boy Latino record company. In this capacity, Pitbull will be a talent scout who suggests artists for Diddy to sign and also designs ways for the imprint’s acts to be marketed.

With the recently released “Money Is Still a Major Issue” CD-DVD package bridging the gap between “M.I.A.M.I.” and his second album, “El Mariel,” due this spring, Pitbull hopes that his future material will inspire and educate his listeners. That’s why he decided to name his forthcoming album after the 1980 boat lift in which the Cuban government allowed its citizens to leave the country. Most who participated fled to the United States.

“I feel like the game has let me in,” Pitbull says. “Now it’s time to come to work, kind of like El Mariel.”

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Soren Baker can be reached at weekend@latimes.com.

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Pitbull

Where: Vault 350, 350 Pine Ave., Long Beach

When: 8 p.m. Saturday

Price: $35

Info: (562) 590-5566