HOLLYWOOD (CNS) – The rapper Pitbull will receive the 2,584th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today, honoring a career that has produced No. 1 hits in more than 15 countries, sales of more than 70 million singles and 6 million albums, and more than 9 billion online views of his videos.
Motivational speaker Tony Robbins and Luther Campbell, whose Luke Records signed Pitbull in 2001, will join him in speaking at the 11:30 a.m. ceremony.
Pitbull’s star will be in front of the Eastown apartment complex at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Argyle Avenue, which is designated as Celia Cruz Square for the late Cuban singer of Latin music he has cited as an inspiration for his music.
The ceremony will come hours before Pitbull’s concert at Honda Center in Anaheim, the sixth stop on his The Bad Man Tour.
Born Armando Christian Perez on Jan. 15, 1981 in Miami, Pitbull turned his attention to rapping upon graduating from high school, making a series of underground mixtapes.
He released his first album, “M.I.A.M.I,” in 2004. It was followed in 2006 by “El Mariel” and “The Boatlift” in 2007.
Pitbull’s fourth album, “Rebelution,” released in 2009, included his first internationally popular song, “I Know You Want Me,” which reached second on the Billboard Hot 100.
In tribute to his late father, Pitbull released his first Spanish- language album, “Armando,” in 2010.
Pitbull’s 2011 album “Planet Pit,” debuted at seventh on the Billboard Top 200 and included one of the best-selling singles of all-time, “Give Me Everything,” which sold more than 8 million copies and was certified as quintuple-platinum by the music industry trade organization the Recording Industry Association of America.
Pitbull was chosen by FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, and Sony Records to write and record the official song of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, “We Are One (Ole Ola)” with Jennifer Lopez and Claudia Leitte.
Pitbull released his second Spanish-language album, “Dale,” in 2015. It included “Como Yo Le Doy,” whose video was certified as platinum by the video hosting service Vevo for having more than 100 million views, and the gold- certified, “Piensas” and “El Taxi.”
“Dale” brought Pitbull the Grammy for best Latin rock, urban or alternative album this year. He shared a Latin Grammy with Papayo in 2013 for best urban performance for “Echa Pa’lla (Manos Pa’rriba).”
Pitbull’s other greatest hits include “Timber,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three consecutive weeks, went six times platinum with global sales surpassing $8 million as the sixth best-selling song of 2013; “Fireball,” “Time of Our Lives” and “Freedom.”
