M.I.A.M.I.

M.I.A.M.I. (backronym of Money Is a Major Issue) is the debut studio album by rapper Pitbull. It was released on August 24, 2004 via TVT Records.[1]

For other uses, see Miami (disambiguation).

M.I.A.M.I.
Studio album by Pitbull
Released	August 24, 2004
Recorded	2003–04
Genre	Hip hop crunk Reggaeton
Length	62:17
Label	TVT
Producer	The Diaz Brothers Lil Jon Bigg D Jim Jonsin DJ Khaled Nasty Beat Makers
Pitbull chronology
M.I.A.M.I. (2004) Money Is Still A Major Issue (2005)
Singles from M.I.A.M.I.
"Culo" Released: July 6, 2004 "That's Nasty" Released: October 27, 2004 "Back Up" Released: December 22, 2004 "Toma" Released: February 1, 2005 "Dammit Man" Released: April 9, 2005

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.[2][3]

Commercial performance

Spending 40 weeks on the chart, the album peaked at number fourteen on the US Billboard 200 chart on September 11, 2004.[4][5] The RIAA certified the album Gold on April 8, 2005 for reaching sales of 500,000.[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution	D-[7]
Blender	[2]
The Boston Globe	Mixed[8]
The Miami Herald	[9]
Miami New Times	Favorable[10]
RapReviews.com	(7/10)[11]
Stylus	(8/10)[12]

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."[10] 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."[9]

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."[1] 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."[12]

While praising "Culo" and "Hurry Up and Wait", Alex P. Kellogg offered a more critical review for The Boston Globe: "...[the] chosen topics (partying, not giving a damn, and, ooh, giving up a life of crime) 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."[8] 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."[2]

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."[7]

Track listing

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"305 Anthem" (featuring Lil Jon)	Lil Jon	4:13
2.	"Culo" (featuring Lil Jon)	Lil Jon, Diaz Brothers	3:39
3.	"She's Freaky"	Diaz Brothers	3:20
4.	"Shake It Up" (featuring Oobie)	Lil Jon	3:14
5.	"Toma" (featuring Lil Jon)	Lil Jon	3:33
6.	"I Wonder" (featuring Oobie)	Lil Jon	3:51
7.	"Get on the Floor" (featuring Oobie)	Lil Jon	3:05
8.	"Dirty" (featuring Bun B)	The Demi	4:36
9.	"Dammit Man" (featuring Piccallo)	Jim Jonsin, Bigg D	4:01
10.	"We Don't Care Bout Ya" (featuring Cubo)	Diaz Brothers	5:06
11.	"That's Nasty" (featuring Lil Jon, Fat Joe and Lil Scrappy)	DJ Nasty & LVM	4:12
12.	"Back Up"	Diaz Brothers	3:38
13.	"Melting Pot" (featuring Trick Daddy)	DJ Khaled	3:57
14.	"Hustler's Withdrawal"	Diaz Brothers	4:09
15.	"Hurry Up and Wait"	Tru	3:34
16.	"Culo (Miami Mix)" (featuring Mr. Vegas and Lil Jon)	Lil Jon, Diaz Brothers	4:09

Samples

The song "Culo" samples a Coolie Dance riddim.

Charts

Chart (2004)	Peak position
US Billboard 200[13]	14
U.S. Independent Albums (Billboard)[14]	1
U.S. R&B Albums (Billboard)[14]	7
U.S. Rap Albums (Billboard)[14]	2

References

1. Henderson, Alex. "M.I.A.M.I. AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
2. Caramanica, Jon (August 24, 2004). "Little Havana MC is crunk with Lil Jon, sunk without him". Blender. Archived from the original on November 3, 2004. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
3. Reeves, Mosi (May 27, 2004). "Dirt Hustlin'". Miami New Times. Archived from the original on August 24, 2004. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
4. Whitmire, Margo (2004-09-01). "McGraw's 'Live' Powers To No. 1". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
5. https://www.billboard.com/music/pitbull/chart-history/billboard-200/song/460213
6. Gold & Platinum search. RIAA. Accessed July 28, 2018.
7. Marino, Nick (August 24, 2004). "Listen Up! Fall Music Preview". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. E1. Archived from the original on April 22, 2006. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
8. "CD report". The Boston Globe. September 17, 2004. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
9. McDonnell, Evelyn (August 24, 2004). "Miami on his mind, homeboy can rhyme". The Miami Herald. Archived from the original on August 25, 2004. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
10. Reeves, Mosi (August 26, 2004). "Pitbull: M.I.A.M.I. (TVT)". Miami New Times. Archived from the original on September 22, 2004. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
11. Juon, Steve (August 24, 2004). "Pitbull :: M.I.A.M.I :: TVT Records". RapReviews.com. Archived from the original on August 26, 2004.
12. Bieritz, Erik (September 20, 2004). "Pitbull: M.I.A.M.I." Archived from the original on October 10, 2004. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
13. HDD Charts/Album Sales Archived 2014-09-15 at the Wayback Machine
14. "Original Hits - Pitbull | Awards". AllMusic. 2012-05-08. Retrieved 2014-04-06.