Tuesday night's Pitbull/Ke$ha double-bill at Bell Centre was a co-headlined event in name only. While Ke$ha's ribald humour fell flat in the defacto opener slot, Pitbull's Caribbean-infused club pop brought more to the table than his radio-friendly recorded output would have suggested.
It's strange that the difference in performance quality and crowd reaction between the two pop stars would be night and day, given how no one would bat an eyelash if they were played back-to-back on pop radio (and they frequently are). Pop music can feel a little too homogenized at times, and the act of partying has ostensibly become standardized, but it turns out a little on-stage charisma and a robust backing band can go a long way in turning a catchy jingle into something a little more lasting.
Pitbull, a Miami rapper who resembles a hairless seal more than his animal namesake, is by no means a great technical rapper, insightful lyricist or agile dancer. Before diving into Jennifer Lopez's Live It Up, where he has a cameo, he actually laid out his mantra quite explicitly. "People back home ask me why I don't rap about the streets anymore," the 32-year-old, who never removed his sunglasses, told the crowd. "It's because I rap to get out of the streets, not to stay in the streets."
