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Armando Christian Perez was born on January 15, 1981[7][8] to Cuban expatriates in Miami, Florida. When he was 3, he could recite the works of Cuba's national hero and poet, José Martí, in Spanish.[1] Growing up, he was influenced by the Miami bass genre of pop music[5] and has cited Celia Cruz and Willy Chirino as sources of inspiration for his music.[9] Pérez's parents separated when he was young, and he was raised by his mother; he later spent time with a foster family in Roswell, Georgia.[10] He attended South Miami Senior High School before graduating from Miami Coral Park High School, where he focused his career on rapping.

He said he chose his stage name of Pitbull because the dogs "bite to lock. The dog is too stupid to lose. And they're outlawed in Dade County. They're basically everything that I am. It's been a constant fight".[10] After meeting Lil Jon in Miami,[10] Pitbull was featured on Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz' album Kings of Crunk in 2002.[5] Pitbull's song "Oye" was featured on the soundtrack to the film 2 Fast 2 Furious the following year.[10] In addition, Pitbull released several mixtapes, composed of freestyles and remixes of popular rap music. Campbell featured Pitbull in his single, "Lollipop".[5]