Hello r/TCJ!

You may have caught my earlier reviews over on [1] /r/trance regarding a few compilations that have been released this year, including Markus Schulz’s LA ’12, ASOT 2012, and ISOS 10. I also contributed to a mini-review of the “Album of the Week” over in r/trance, so I figured I would do the same thing here.

Let’s begin.

This week we hear from one of the hit names in today’s music scene: Pitbull. Pitbull first made a name for himself contributing to one of Lil’ Jon’s legendary albums back in 2002. Since Pitbull was a struggling artist no doubt held down by the 1%, his debut album in 2004 reflected his struggle, entitled “M.I.A.M.I.” aka “Money is a Major Issue.” But, like all pop artists, he found the formula for quick hits, releasing 3 albums since then, which is twice as much as those lazy bums over at Anjunabeats ever did. He’s produced such hits such as “I Know You Want Me” and “Krazy,” the K is for Kool.

But music isn’t Pitbull’s only passion. He hosts a Spanish-language program on Mun2 called “La Esquina” along with co-founding “Bad Boy Latino,” focusing on the rising trends of Latin Rap, Soul, and Pop, with offices in NYC and DirtyMiami. He even product endorses Kodak, Dr. Pepper, and Voli Vodka, ensuring that his massively popular songs get teenagers to buy products they wouldn’t (or can’t) anyway.

His latest album was “Planet Pit,” influenced by the sounds of Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force from their hit, “Planet Rock.” He collaborated with known trance producers, including T-Pain, J-Lo, and the legendary Afrojack. One of the hit singles is our album of the week: “Give Me Everything.”

This is a seminal work from Pitbull. It’s his first number 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 and in the UK. It’s sold 8.2 million copies all on Beatport at $4.99/song in 128kbps format (lossless of course). Like many popular songs, it was recorded in 2 separate locations, features 4 artists, 3 writers, and 1 producer. The tempo is perfect at 129 bpm, which is faster than that summer A&B trance that most people listen to, but slower than the old trance from the mid-90s (only ’90s kids will get this).

Anyway, on to the review. Like most of my reviews, I will analyze the song by section (instead of by track), provide some hit/misses at the end, and provide a general overview of the song.

Intro Verse (0:00 – 0:15): 10/10 The intro piano here is perfect. It sets the tone off slow for the evening, as Pitbull is a gentlemen with the ladies. Within the first few lines, we see a “shout-out” to Kodak, one of the premier camera makers in today’s modern age. Further, the vocals here are extremely well-thought out and intelligent. Pitbull talks about taking his life from “negative to positive,” which is also what one does with film to produce stunning images. Finally, Pitbull provides an inspirational message: “Let’s Enjoy Life.” He concludes our short intro by telling us who’s involved with this song, because our attention spans, unfortunately, are 3 seconds or how long it takes to hear the chorus in “Levels,” whichever is shorter.

Chorus (0:15 – 1:00): 9.5/10 I love the synths from Afrojack here. Basic beats, harking back to the earlier progressive days of trance and house. I truly believe this is one of Afrojack’s seminal works, showcasing why I believe he deserves to best Guetta and possibly Skrillex this year in the DJ Mag Top 100. The auto-tune in Tesra’s voice is superbly done, building up the drums in the background. Then we get the drop with Ne-Yo. I’ve died and gone to heaven. My body is in sync with the song; nothing else matters. They’ve pulled me into a state of trance, and despite traveling and hearing trance around the world, it’s only tonight that matters in this global dj broadcast. The lyrics paint the same story of hope and staying in the moment: “We might not get tomorrow” and “Let’s do it tonight.” Ne-Yo tells us to “give [him] everything tonight” as the beats continue rocking and that plucking synth surges around the dance floor. In fact, my only complaint here is the scratch near the end to advance to the first verse; not necessary in my opinion.

Verse 1 (1:00 – 1:38): 9.8231 oz of Voli’s Vodka/10 The synths die off a bit, and we get the classic 4/4 beats from Afrojack. The pianos kick back in as we go to our short bridge until we hit the chorus. As with many trance songs, the focus is the beats, the music. The vocals don’t matter: they only enhance the songs. This is the brilliance behind trance vocals, and how Pitbull uses very little words to establish his message. He further repeats this message over and over (again, due to the average attention span of an EDM fanatic). The lyrical poetry in this verse is sublime: “I got it locked up like Lindsay Lohan.” It’s catchy and relevant in regards to Lindsay’s drug issues. For the Europeans reading this, it is considered polite, respectful, and good taste to reflect and connect other celebrities poor moments and decisions in their lives with your song’s lyrics. It’s empowering and is a sign of support and encouragement. Finally, we see Pitbull is an honest man, telling us he “can’t promise tomorrow” but only tonight. Don’t expect any hits from him later down the road. Or even in the next song. Just enjoy the moment; right now. Surround yourself, embrace yourself as the rush comes as you listen to this song over those singing satellites.

Chorus (Repeated)

Verse 2 (2:22 – 2:44): 9.81 m/s2 / 10 In this verse, we see a bit more scratches and synth work from Afrojack, which is different from our first verse where the synths kick out. As our night progresses, so does the song, keeping the energy up as we dance the 4 minutes away.

Lyrically, Pitbull goes into his wit and charm side again, letting us know that we’re on top of the world even if we miss the stars we shoot for. But since we’re clumsy and will slip up, he’s going to “fall on top of [our] girl” and protect her. How thoughtful and respectful of him. Finally, we see Pitbull become a bit emotional and sensitive in this song (rare for him) and open up to us as a human, telling us about how his family came from Cuba, but he still feels like a true patriot of America, emulating historic figures such as Ryan Seacrest. A true visionary of our time.

Chrous/Bridge (Repeated)

The rest of the song is repeated from prior parts, a hallmark of many trance songs. We get the continued repeating snare hits, drum beats, beautiful melodic piano, and the classic Afrojack Synths. It’s a symphonic harmony, only barely surpassed by the greats of Mozart and Beethoven.

So, that wraps up the song. So how’d Pitbull do?

Move over Armin:

–Synth Work: Afrojack continues to establish himself as a moving force in the trance scene, providing an intricate array of synth, drum, and piano work for this song. Honestly, it brings me back to the early days of Trance and Progressive, one I thought I would not see again with this new Trance 2.0 wave.

Ay caramba:

–Scratch Work: Truthfully, the only fault in this song is a bit of the vinyl scratch that Afrojack employed. It’s a bit un-necessary in this song and is really only there as a call-out to those fake vinyl DJs who think scratching, flipping, and beatmatching in vinyl is suppose to be a display of skill or something.

Overall Rating: 9.783275/10 (m/s2)*(oz Voli’s Vodka)/(4)

So that wraps up the review. This is one of Pitbull’s best works to date, and really highlights the current trance and EDM music, which is a driving force in the US now after being shadowed by crunk for so long.

F.A.Q.

Should I buy this song?

The better question is: why would you not buy this song? For $4.99 on Beatport, you get 4:26 of bliss and pure euphoria. You’ll be listening to this and telling Pitbull this song really is your ecstasy, your real life fantasy It’s this or a Bic Mac Combo at McDonald’s. Trust me, you’ll survive a day without McDonald’s if you have this song on your parent’s iPhone that you borrow anyway while simultaneously tweeting #Applesux and #OWS.

How does this compare to Pitbull’s earlier works, like MIAMI?

Better actually. In his crunk days, Pitbull’s latino influences really weren’t a great match. But with Afrojack and EDM at the wheel, we see the perfect harmony of beautiful trance melodies with spanglish advertisements. I could sing to the sun and moon every time I hear this over my radio.

Will Pitbull continue to Give Me Everything in the future?

Who knows? Remember, we only care about the now, tonight. We don’t know what the future will hold. But if this song is any indication, expect great works from Pitbull, Ne-Yo, Afrojack, Nayer, and Tesra in the future.

Finally, where should Afrojack be in this year’s Top 100?

Honestly, I’d say #3. Right now, my top artists are Skrillex and A&B. I think that Afrojack might just edge out Guetta, Armin, and Tim Berg (aka Avicii) with this song, with Paris and deadmeow5 a distant 7th and 8th respectively. We’ll see soon enough.