M.I.A.M.I.


M.I.A.M.I. is the debut studio album by rapper Pitbull. It was released on August 24, 2004 via TVT Records.

Production

The executive producer of M.I.A.M.I. is Lil Jon, based out of Atlanta and known for producing crunk songs, in addition to the Diaz Brothers.

Commercial performance

Spending 40 weeks on the chart, the album peaked at number fourteen on the US Billboard 200 chart on September 11, 2004. The RIAA certified the album Gold on April 8, 2005 for reaching sales of 500,000.

Critical reception

M.I.A.M.I. received critical praise, especially in Pitbull's hometown of Miami. For the Miami New Times, Mosi Reeves especially praised Pitbull's performances in the second half of the album for "spitting thug raps and matching wits with Bun B from UGK, Trick Daddy, and Fat Joe." Evelyn McDonnell of The Miami Herald rated the album three out of four stars, calling Pitbull "a skilled rhymer with a fast, Eminem flow but a deeper, more serious voice" but criticizing the album for including "six gratuitous bump-and-grind tracks."
Nationally, the album got good reviews from Allmusic and Stylus Magazine. Alex Henderson of Allmusic rated the album three and a half stars out of five. While acknowledging that Pitbull "is hardly the first MC to rap about drugs and thug life or sex and women," Henderson praised "his willingness to combine Latin and Dirty South elements." For Stylus Magazine, Erick Bieritz scored the album eight out of 10 points, describing it as "that odd record frontloaded with weak material and then packed with great songs on the B-side" with an "excellent taste in collaborators."
While praising "Culo" and "Hurry Up and Wait", Alex P. Kellogg offered a more critical review for The Boston Globe: "... chosen topics do not exactly make for groundbreaking material. From his spitfire style to his hoarse catcalls, it's clear Pitbull is excited, but he's not always exciting." Jon Caramanica rated the album two stars out of five for Blender, calling the album outside of the Lil Jon-produced tracks "nimble but dull."
Nick Marino of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution graded the album with a D-minus, for continuing what he called "a long tradition of substituting sex drive for imagination" by rappers from Miami. Commenting about the Atlanta-based executive producer, Marino wrote: "Lil Jon...for all his crunk magic, can only help a guy so much."

Track listing

Samples

The song "Culo" samples a Coolie Dance riddim.

Charts