Self-proclaimed Mr. Worldwide, also known as Pitbull, released his 10th studio album “Climate Change” last week with some help from 16 of his closest artists friends. Running at 44 minutes too long, the album’s 12 songs present formulaic, familiar radio beats overplayed by pop artists years ago. While the album may be named “Climate Change,” in the wake of such a mild winter, Pitbull still does not seem to have heated anything up.
On a positive note, Pitbull reached out a helping hand to those singers whose reputations may have been wholly tarnished by their own indiscretions. For instance, Robin Thicke’s current lawsuit with ex-wife Paula Patton didn’t keep him too busy to belt out the chorus on the album’s second song, “Bad Man.” The song itself is a fast-paced dance hit with quick, heavy drums and repetitive guitar riffs that becomes redundant after the first 30 seconds. Additionally, perhaps as an attempt to rebrand after “Blurred Lines,” Thicke sings he is a “Bad man, in a woman’s world.” This high point is short-lived, though, as he regrettably continues singing “Come on over, give me what I deserve.”
“Bad Man” is followed by “Greenlight,” which has the makings of a classic Pitbull banger. Kicking off with Pitbull’s rhythmic chanting about taking shots and a chorus of claps on the downbeat, Pitbull does what he does best — hyping the crowd to live their best lives as they jam to a plucky bassline and fair share of millennial whoops during the hook. The “Miami Boys” — Flo-Rida, LunchMoney Lewis and Mr. 305 himself — deliver on “Greenlight” for a quintessential radio-friendly party song dedicated to love.
From there, the album starts to go back downhill. To throw in some variety, Pitbull attempts to slow things down on “Options” featuring Stephen Marley, son of Bob and Rita Marley. Though the song is overproduced, the accompaniment is a gentle guitar melody chopped up with a rhythmic bassline and Pitbull’s rapping. “Options” creates significant tension — the excessive production and autotune clashed with the one acoustic song on an album of hopeful club hits. While Marley’s voice rang out beautifully, the song itself fell short of expectations.
“Climate Change” is about what one would expect from a Pitbull release. Though there are only a few surprises along the way, the album gets the job done with a handful of bangers.
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