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Album Reviews

Working his Miami bounce hard, 2005 found Pitbull challenging Snoop Dogg and his own mentor, Lil Jon, in the guest appearance department, jumping on tracks by everyone from Nina Sky to Twista. It's a shame his Twista collaboration "Hit the Floor" isn't here, but there's a ridiculous amount of spicy party music on this collection of remixes, new tracks, and team-ups that come in practically any urban dancefloor flavor you care to mention. The album kicks off with a new collabro with Pretty Ricky, "Everybody Get Up," that is bread-and-butter hip-hop, Pitbull at his hardest and most street, delivering a solidly crunk club track. From there it's off to the island of Jamaica with Elephant Man and the excellent "Rah Rah" before jumping into the time machine and kicking it old-school with the "Shake" remix, a brilliant dancehall interpolation of George Kranz's classic club track "Din Daa Daa." The killer trilogy is a whirlwind of exciting genre-hopping with Pitbull's rousing delivery and the street slang stingers he's so good at dropping holding it all together, and while the momentum is stalled later with lesser numbers, there's plenty of updated hits along the way to bring everyone back to the dancefloor. The remix of "Culo" simply stretches the massive track a bit longer, but the infectious number is always welcome. The sleazy party pleaser "Dammit Man" brings electro and Eminem humor to the South in the provided remix with Lil' Flip, while the DJ Buddha remix of "Toma" mashes Lil Jon's shouts into an all-star brew of Jamaica's finest toasters and singers for a track that could put the genre-defying DJ Diplo out of business. Lesser known gems like the reggaeton "Mil Amores" and "She's Hotter" -- which incorporates dancehall, reggaeton, Southern rap, Latin rap, and even party soca into just one song -- are what really makes Money Is Still a Major Issue worth seeking out, proving Pitbull has plenty to offer past the radio favorites. Had someone taken the time to mix these tracks together, it might have given the collection a better flow and made the fact this is a placeholder until the next real album a little more transparent, but the packed-in DVD not only includes the man's videos but a wealth of dynamic live appearances from all over the place. It makes this placeholder a better value than the man's debut, so if you want to introduce yourself to the cocksure Latin kid who has a love and understanding of both the syrup-sippin' Southern street and the piña colada-drinking island life, you might as well start here. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide