MIAMI (WSVN) - The Magic City is the place to be to catch Mr. 305 himself as he hosts “Pitbull’s New Year’s Revolution.” The homegrown talent spoke about ringing in the new year in his hometown.
Mr. Worldwide is back in Miami for New Year’s Eve to host “Pitbull’s New Year’s Revolution,” on Saturday, from Miami’s Bayfront Park.
“It’s called ‘revolution’ ’cause we wanna unmute New Year’s. We want the new New Year’s. Take it from the Big Apple to the pineapple and make Miami the mecca.”
The star is bringing some of the biggest names in music to perform at the event from Emmy, Grammy and Golden Globe award winner Queen Latifah to entertainment icon Snoop Dogg.
Pitbull served as grand marshall for the Winterfest Boat Parade during his most recent visit to South Florida, and he’s hoping to keep bringing the holiday magic to South Florida.
Even though he’s gone from Mr. 305 to Mr. Worldwide, the music star has never forgotten his roots. Armando Christian Perez, aka Pitbull, started his rise to international success on the streets of Miami.
After following in his father’s footsteps and dealt drugs on the streets, he turned to rapping and quickly turned from a troubled teen to an international hit maker.
“People say, ‘You can’t, you won’t, you never will.’ Those kind of things turn me on,” Pitbull said. “‘No’ is great. I love ‘no’ ’cause I know I’m going to get to a ‘yes’ one way or another.”
Pitbull released his first full-length debut album “M.I.A.M.I.” in 2004. As the star continued dropping albums, he tossed out his baggy clothes and stepped into his tightly tailored suits.
“I made music to get out of the streets, not to stay in the street, you know?” he said. “‘How come you be putting on these suits now, Chico?’ ‘Cause this shows maturity. It shows growth. It shows evolution, you know? This is what I want to teach y’all. This is what this music is about. This is what this journey is about.”
The Latin Grammy winner soon found himself establishing his name with other powerhouse artists including Usher, Enrique Iglesias and Jennifer Lopez. He ultimately earned the name “King of Collaboration.”
“Collaborating to me is so key. Why? ‘Cause you’re bringing everybody’s people together, and you’re doing what music is supposed to do — break beyond boundaries, beliefs, barriers,” Pitbull said. “That’s what makes this powerful.”
His songs climbed to the top of the charts in more than 15 countries, and his music videos are so popular on YouTube that they’ve been watched more than nine billion times.
He says his Cuban heritage is what helps drive his ambition
“Being Cuban a lot of our mentalities is like that meaning, ‘We start making the sandwiches, then we’ll own the restaurant,’ Pitbull said. “‘We’ll clean the shoes, and then we’ll own the shoe store.’ ‘Clean the house, then we’ll own the house.'”
He’s done everything from perform at the White House and even took center stage at the World Cup. He’s living up to his title of Mr. Worldwide.
And he says his mission for success comes from one thing — making his Cuban community proud. “If you don’t know where you’re from, you don’t know where you’re going,” he said.
“If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything, and believe me, I know where I am, and I love it and enjoy it. I wear it on my chest. Everywhere I go, everybody knows Mr. 305, Dade County, Miami boy represent.”
And if you want to party with Pitbull, you can catch his “New Year’s Revolution” right here on 7, this Saturday, at 11 p.m.
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