Armando Christian Perez, the twenty-three-year-old Cuban-American rapper known as Pitbull, has a theory about why he's one of the few hip-hop artists ever to break out of Miami. "Too many distractions," he says. "So many beautiful women, and you can easily get caught in the drug game." A protege of Atlanta rapper-producer Lil Jon (who calls Pitbull his "Cuban cousin"), Perez brings a tenacious work ethic and a distinctly Caribbean sensibility to the hedonistically amped-up "crunk" sound that currently rules the hip-hop charts. His debut, M.I.A.M.I. (Money Is a Major Issue), sets rapid-fire Spanglish rhymes over glitzy, club-ready productions that reflect his city's tradition of neon-lit abandon.

The son of Cuban exiles, Perez grew up in a world where everybody "had a Scarface in their family." Inspired by Nas, Biggie and Big Pun, he began rapping in high school. When Perez was in his late teens, he met 2 Live Crew's Luther Campbell, who advised the young rapper to make himself ubiquitous in Miami by battling on radio, becoming a fixture at hip-hop clubs and -- taking a page from 50 Cent's book -- rhyming over beats from local hits on a cavalcade of mix tapes. "I hear a beat, and I go in the studio and just freestyle," Pitbull says. "Most of the time you end up with something better than the original. I print them myself and tell everybody to bootleg my shit."

One of his ad-hoc tracks, "Culo" -- a party jam featuring Lil Jon and a borrowed Jamaican dancehall rhythm -- became a Miami radio hit last year before getting picked up around the country this summer. "With the war and shit, you go to the club and you just want to have a good time -- not just here in the booty capital but all over," he says. "That's what me and Lil Jon are all about."