El Mariel is the name of a boat that brought over 100,000 Cubans to Florida in hopes of a better life. As the title of his second album, perhaps Pitbull thinks of himself as a gateway between the Cuban and American cultures, and in a lot of ways, his signature sound has been a blend of the two and was altogether new for hip-hop. His 2004 debut did mark a new era, but you may be ready to see more from the Miami rapper than booty ballads. Unfortunately, El Mariel is full of them with only a few hints of more serious content.
One thing that cannot be denied is the bass-bumping beats that appear on the album. Pitbull gets help from some heavy hitters like Atlanta's Mr. Collipark on "Ay Chico," which will remind you of your high school marching band that always turned the football game into a party instead of sporting event. And what would a dirty south album be without an appearance by Lil Jon, who produces the "Dime (Remix)" and lends his crunkness to the "Bojangles (Remix)," which also features the Ying Yang Twins, both of which have club worthy production.
Pitbull shows a slightly different side to himself on a few tracks of El Mariel. "Blood is Thicker Than Water" is slightly political in its mentioning of events such as the tsunami tragedy and poverty as a whole. Also worth a listen is "Come See Me," which begs you to think twice about having anything to do with selling drugs. Then Mr. 305 gets surprisingly emotional on "Rain Drops," a song about his deceased father and best friend. If your looking for substance, these three tracks seem to carry the album, which otherwise is filled with more party tracks than you can probably stand.
Not since Big Pun or Fat Joe has the Latin American community had a hip-hop advocate, and Pitbull certainly has made his impact. That's the good news. The bad news is that hip-hop cannot live off of partying forever, and El Mariel is essentially one big night at your local hot spot. The beats are interesting enough and the guest appearances -- including Rick Ross, Trick Daddy, Wyclef, and Bun B -- bring some creativity to the 21 track effort. Other than that, you can probably do without most of the songs on the album because of a lack of diversity in his rhymes. Perhaps the third time for Pitbull will be a charm, but you'll just have to wait and see.
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