Pitbull's tragic childhood: both his parents were addicts

There was a time when there wasn't a commercial dance hit without Pitbull's name on it. Rarely has a nickname, like Mr. Worldwide, been so aptly given to an artist, whose club sounds truly did go global.

Cuban-American by heritage, his singing style, his gangster-movie-villain demeanor, and his neatly trimmed mustache were such a powerful brand image that it would be hard to imagine any other destiny besides stardom.

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What not everyone knows is that Armando Christian Pérez's path to fame was extremely challenging, with two parents who were deals and addicted to drugs, in a marginalized Miami neighborhood in the '80s.

The Daily Mail in 2018 reported the truth about his tough childhood. "I grew up around cocaine, crack, heroin... I saw people who had nothing give everything to a product," he was reported as saying, adding that his parents both used. "When I was born I was breastfed cocaine."

Indeed, Pitbull doesn't hold a grudge against his mother, as she raised him alone after his father left, working three jobs and doing the best she could without passing the stress onto her kids.

The artist shared on 'Access Hollywood' that he had an agreement with his mother.
"'I understand that you're gonna be out here, due to the neighborhood that we live in and you're gonna be dibbling and dabbling, whatever, but there's one thing that I don't want you to do and that's be involved with this type of substance or product,' and I did," he said, adding that when she found oout he was using, she gave him 20 minutes to pack his bags.

That wound took time to heal, but it did when Pitbull realized it was the best she could have done. Even though they are close now, Pitbull says they sometimes still fight. "I guess you could say that she raised me so well that sometimes we bump heads," he added.

Completely on his own, Pitbull drew on what he had learned on those streets of Miami: a spectacular fusion of musical genres that led him to a type of freestyle unknown until then.

His style caught the attention of Lil Jon, who he began working with in 2001 and who opened the doors to producers like Uncle Luke, who would end up being his mentor.

Thus, in 2004, 'M.I.A.M.I.', the artist's first album was released, and 'Culo', his first single, was a moderate success. However, the boom came five years later, with his fourth album: 'Rebelution' (2009).

Tracks like 'I Know You Want Me' led him to collaborate with stars such as Kesha, Enrique Iglesias, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, Ne-Yo, Afrojack, and Chris Brown, among other super pop stars.

Hits like 'Timber' or 'Feel This Moment' elevated Pitbull to the status of an essential star for artists wanting a guaranteed global hit. But over the years, his star has waned, even though he now has 12 studio albums.

In fact, in 2023, he released 'Trackhouse', his twelfth album, though it hasn't had as much impact as 'Rebelution' did.

What is sweeping the board is 'The Trilogy Tour', which he has been performing for months with his friends Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias.

Obviously, 20 years of successes, to a greater or lesser extent, imply hefty profits. According to 'Celebrity Net Worth', Pitbull has a net worth of over $100 million.

What he doesn't have, at least for now, is a wife, as he has never been married. That doesn't mean the artist doesn't have six children with five different women, whose identities are unknown, since he doesn't tend to talk about his personal life.

The reality is that Pitbull will probably never reach the incredible peaks of fame he achieved in 2009 again, but he remains on the crest of the wave and, what's best, he still has many years of career ahead, since he's still in his early 40s.

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