Pitbull struggles to hold his own on ‘Globalization’

While gaining more and more recognition – Pit hosted the AMAs this year and was chosen to sing the official FIFA World Cup song – Globalization was a perfect opportunity for the rapper to break out and be innovative. Unfortunately, Mr. Worldwide delivered the same tired tracks.

The album starts out with the dubstep-driven, “Ah Leke,” featuring Sean Paul. Like most Pitbull songs, this one is extremely repetitive without much depth. Paul’s contribution doesn’t go much further than repeating the same line again and again, while Pit goes on and on about his global identity.

Moving into more dance-friendly sounds, the album picks up with “Fun (feat. Chris Brown)” which gives listeners more of Pitbull’s classic Cuban beats. While this track’s backing and main melody are engaging, Brown does little to add to the song. His vocals are processed to the point where they could have been provided by anyone, and Pit, as per usual, raps only about his unimpressive ability to get women and drink copious amounts of alcohol.

The album’s peak comes in “Fireball,” a drunken ode to the popular cinnamon whiskey. The track’s chorus, provided by John Ryan, is catchy and would be easy to sing along to while drunk on its namesake beverage. The song even features what sounds like a room full of people joyously shouting “Fireball,” a sound not uncommon throughout campus on Friday nights. Long instrumental breaks and changes of pace make the song perfect for parties, tailgates or solo dance sessions. While in no way insightful, inspirational or innovative, the song does what it sets out to do. With Ryan’s help, Pitbull managed to produce a fairly entertaining party jam.

From this point on, the album trudges through more of the same chorus-driven tracks. Even with features from various artists such as Jason Derulo and Juicy J on “Drive You Crazy” and Ne-Yo on “Time Of Our Lives,” the clichés run rampant. Subject matter consists almost exclusively of partying, sex and living it up while still young. While there is nothing wrong with these sentiments — everyone loves a good night out — they become far too overdone to be enjoyable.

Adding to the repetitiveness are Pit’s constant reminders of his exotic nature. Every track features multiple mentions of Mr. Worldwide, the Miami area code 305 and his dale catch phrase. His “beachy” persona is epitomized in “Sexy Beaches” and “Day Drinking,” with both tracks having spring break vibes. “Sexy Beaches,” a not so subtle euphemism for referring to women as bitches, is classic Pitbull, letting featured artist Chloe Angelides do all the work. In “Day Drinking,” Pit tries for a slightly country sound and fails. The track is more laid back, which doesn’t mesh well with Pitbull’s faster paced rap style. Not to mention the slightly uncomfortable use of the phrase “crazy mother fuckers” in the chorus, as the song is not at all wild in comparison to the rest of the album.

Pitbull also struggles to find his place on some of his own tracks. In “Wild Wild Love (feat. G.R.L.)” and “This Is Not A Drill (feat. Bebe Rexha)” Pit sounds out of place, almost as though he is being featured on someone else’s song rather than the other way around. This is especially obvious on “This Is Not A Drill,” as Rexha’s contribution is undeniably her own sound, using more techo-based beats and sirens in the background. Essentially out of his element, with a lack of any Latin beats, Pitbull is unable to match her.

Ultimately, this album delivers exactly what listeners would expect — an alcohol fueled, sex driven compilation of laughably repetitive party songs. Tracks featured classy lyrical gems such as “Always like a squirrel, looking for a nut” and were largely based upon choruses that Mr. 305 had no part in. While Pitbull continues to embody his international character, his foreign flair is not enough to bring him success with Globalization.