''El Mariel'' is the second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

Cuban-American Cuban Americans ( or ) are Americans who immigrated from or are descended from immigrants from Cuba. As of 2023, Cuban Americans were the fourth largest Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hispanic and Latino American group in the United States aft ...

rapper Pitbull. It was released on October 31, 2006 through

TVT Records TVT Records, originally Tee-Vee Toons, was an American record label founded by Steve Gottlieb in 1984. Initially created to release the '' Television's Greatest Hits'' series of classic TV theme tune compilations, the label would expand into ra ...

. The album was leaked onto the internet on October 27, 2006, four days before the album was released. The album features production from

Lil Jon Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971), better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, DJ, and record producer. Regarded as a progenitor of the club-oriented hip-hop subgenre crunk, his production and voice presence were inst ...

, Diaz Brothers,

DJ Khaled Khaled Mohammed Khaled (; born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ and record producer. Originally a Miami-based radio personality, Khaled has since become known for enlisting high-profile music industry ar ...

, Mr. Collipark,

The Neptunes The Neptunes were an American record production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provided backing vocals and music video appearances on the duo's productions, while H ...

and Jim Jonsin. It also includes

guest appearance The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting. The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists, featured artists, guest stars, or guest fighters, depending on context), are disting ...

s from

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper. He began recording as a member of Hip-hop, hip hop group D.I.T.C., Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.) in 1992, and pursued a sol ...

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean ( ; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, singer, and record producer. Born in Haiti, Jean emigrated to the Northeastern United States, United States as a child. He gained fame as a founding member of the Fugees, a Ne ...

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...

and

Trick Daddy Maurice Samuel Young (born September 27, 1974), better known by his stage name Trick Daddy, is an American rapper from Miami, Florida. He is best known for his 2004 single " Let's Go" (featuring Twista and Lil Jon), which peaked at number seven on ...

among others. A Spanish-language version of the album was also released on October 31, 2006 featuring the three singles from the album, along with twelve Spanish-only tracks. ''El Mariel'' was supported by four singles: " Bojangles", " Ay Chico (Lengua Afuera)", " Dime" and " Be Quiet". The album received generally mixed reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

and was a moderate commercial success. It debuted at number 17 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 48,000 copies in its first week.

Critical reception

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's David Jeffries noted that the album's political aspects are misleading, but praised it for having catchy party music mixed with the serious tracks and Pitbull for showing a little depth in his lyrical repertoire, concluding that, "While it's hard to deny the more mature Pitbull is something that needs to be explored further, it's just as hard to deny the rump-shaking, trunk-rumbling stunners he drops all over the album." Steve 'Flash' Juon of ''RapReviews'' praised the album's reggaeton sound and Pitbull's improvement as a lyricist and musician, concluding that, "Hip-Hop in South Florida is now more universal than ever thanks in large part to Pitbull's infectious flow and machismo." Agustin Gurza of the ''

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'' praised the record for conveying an artist that carries multiple dimensions and facets of a lived life, saying "we meet a Pitbull who is even likable and vulnerable." Jesús Triviño Alarcon of '' XXL'', while praising the tracks that involved serious topics, felt the record was overhauled by a majority of the nondescript dance club tracks, concluding that " e music may knock in the club, but Pitbull’s lack of diversity is a major issue." Evan Serpick of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' was critical of Pitbull's flow throughout the album, saying that it works in the party tracks but the slower ones bring out lyricism that's limp, concluding that "his hot flow and ice-cold lyrics are better served in the club." Andres Tardio of ''

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of Hip hop music, hip hop music criticism and news. ''HipHopDX'' has over 3.5M monthly readers, the website encompassing hip hop news, interviews, music, and reviews. The website's founder and CEO is Sharath C ...

'' said he saw potential based on the record's title and its serious tracks but felt it was wasted opportunity because of Pitbull not being able to stay on topic.

Commercial performance

''El Mariel'' debuted at number 17 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 48,000 copies in its first week. The album also debuted at number one on the US

Top Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' mag ...

chart, becoming Pitbull's second number one on the chart. As of April 2007, the album has sold over a total of 214,000 copies in the United States.

Track listing

Best Buy Bonus DVD # The Making of ''El Mariel'' (directed by Bobby Viera) # "Bojangles" (remix) video # "Bojangles" live performance Video (directed by Bobby Viera) # La Esquina: Trading Races Sample credits * "Come See Me" contains a sample of "La Murga de Panama", written and performed by Willie Colón and Hector Lavoe. * "Qué Tú Sabes D'eso" contains an interpolation of " What You Know", written by Clifford Harris, Gabriel Arillo, Aldrin Davis,

Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, backing vocalist, and arranger who ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto" ...

Leroy Hutson Leroy Hutson (born June 4, 1945) is an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter, arranger, producer and instrumentalist, best known as former lead singer of R&B vocal group The Impressions. His music concerns 1970s soul, as noted in the June ...

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Dubbed the " Gentle Genius", he is considered one of the most influential musicians of soul and socially conscious Afric ...

, and Billy Roberts. * "Ay Chico (Lengua Afuera)" contains an interpolation of "Todo el Mundo Con la Lengua Afuera", written by Agustín Ribot, Hansel Martinez, and Raúl Alfonso. * "Fuego" contains an interpolation of "

When I Hear Music "When I Hear Music" is a freestyle song produced by "Pretty" Tony Butler and sung by Debbie Deb. Production Background "Pretty" Tony Butler learned music by studying electronics, fixing stereos and televisions and DJing. Butler recalled in 1985 ...

", written by Tony Butler. * "Hey You Girl" contains: ** a sample of " Rock Lobster", written by Frederick Schneider and Ricky Wilson; performed by

the B-52's The B-52s, originally presented as the B-52's (with an errant apostrophe; used until 2008), are an American band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, k ...

. ** an interpolation of "One and One', written by

Luther Campbell Luther Roderick Campbell (born December 22, 1960), also known as Luke Skyywalker, Uncle Luke and simply Luke, is an American rapper, promoter, record executive, actor, and former leader of the rap group 2 Live Crew. He is known for having hel ...

, David Hobbs, Mark Ross, and Christopher Wong Won.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mariel 2006 albums Pitbull (rapper) albums Albums produced by the Runners Albums produced by Lil Jon Albums produced by Pharrell Williams Albums produced by Jim Jonsin Albums produced by Mr. Collipark Albums produced by DJ Toomp