Globalization

Recording information: 1916 Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Al Burna Co.; Carrington House Studios, Burbank, CA; Conway Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA; Delta Lab Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark; Eightysevenfourteen Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Extreme Mobile Recording, Miami, FL; Hourglass Studios, New York, NY; La Romana, Dominican Republic; Larrabee Studios, North Hollywood, CA; Luke's In The Boo, Malibu, CA; Miami Lights Studio, Miami, FL; Montréal, Québec; Reel.Life.Feel.Good Studios, Van Nuys, CA; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Secret Garden Studios, Montecito, CA; Side 3 Studios, Hollywood, CA; Start From Infinity "Oxnard Sessions"; The Franchise, Miami, FL; the Record Plant, Hollywood, CA.
Photographer: Greg Waterman.
"The world is my block/The globe is my home" barks Miami rapper Pitbull on his eighth album Globalization, an ironic title as it infers the icky idea of a worldwide cultural homogenization. Pitbull's homogenish mix of pop, dance, hip-hop, reggaeton, and etc. would be the perfect setup if one wanted to make the whole world sing in perfect harmony, but his cleverness, his charisma, and his infectious material always kept him firmly in the category of "genuine," at least up to this point. Living large and loving it a bit too much, Globalization stumbles on its filler with the Chris Brown feature "Fun" not being much fun at all, plus, when returning customers are given some background info on "Sexy Beaches" -- it's an uptempo number and features the phrase "Lil' Mama" repeatedly -- the song they conjure in their head will be the song they encounter on this album. Still, "Wild Wild Love" with G.R.L. is a swinging and swaying example of all Pitbull does right, while "Celebrate" -- which comes from the Penguins of Madagascar soundtrack, of all places -- puts a Euro-disco stomp under Rare Earth's "I Just Want to Celebrate" for a love it or hate it highlight delivered with all the pumped-up joy of Pharrell's "Happy." Putting an all-star, Official FIFA World Cup Theme at the end -- "We Are One (Ole Ola)" with Jennifer Lopez and Claudia Leitte -- just makes the small, samey stuff sound all the more iffy, and in the end, the bumpy Globalization comes off like a prime EP with some unwanted extras shuffled in. ~ David Jeffries