Pitbull "The Boatlift"

For an artist who debuted less than four years ago in a largely uncharted genre, Miami's Pitbull has turned out an impressive number of bilingual hits. His saucy, up tempo party anthems Culo, Toma and Dammit Man helped his first record, M.I.A.M.I. (Money is a Major Issue), reach the top 15 on the Billboard 200 chart in 2004. Guest appearances on the Ying Yang Twins' Shake and Twista's Hit The Floor, along with his instant classic Ay Chico, from last year's adventurous El Mariel, kept the charismatic Cuban-American rapper from falling into a sophomore slump.

But in hip hop – the new pop – you're only as good as your last hit. With his third album, The Boatlift, Pitbull, aka Armando Christian Pérez, is likely hoping to synthesize the frenzied energy and tongue-in-cheek politics of his first two offerings into a commercial blockbuster. Not that he's selling out. Hit single and lead track Go Girl, a strip club version of Justin Timberlake's SexyBack, earns the album a "Parental Advisory" label in its first 20 seconds. The party continues on Dukey Love, a spare, hypnotic club number featuring Trick Daddy and Fabo of D4L and Midnight, a crunked-out house jam tailor-made for hot, sweaty bodies, from South Beach to San Francisco.

The Boatlift hits a few bumps when Pitbull slows things down or revisits older material. The xylophone-driven I Don't See Em and "My Life" are solid if uninspiring raps. Despite a valiant effort from guest vocalist Lloyd and an outstandingly meta music video featuring Steven Bauer of Scarface and ¿Qué Pasa, USA?, the ballad Secret Admirer comes off like a mushy rehash of My Boo by the Ghost Town DJs. "Fuego (Remix)" is essentially unchanged from its appearance on El Mariel, save with new vocals by one of reggaetón's best-selling artists: Don Omar. A similar calculation may have prompted "Tell Me", a re-remix of Pitbull's earlier Dime by Rakim y Ken-Y, this time featuring Frankie J on vocals.

The album gets its groove back with two inspired tracks: Un Poquito featuring Young Berg is built improbably on a sliding synthtar line, afro-caribbean percussion and the lasting rap hook "take money, make money" while The Anthem, a show-stopper, updates Wilfrido Vargas' 80s merengue smash El Africano with Lil Jon on hype duties and the meaty sax riff from Rune's Calabria. Grooving to these irresistible concoctions, it's easy to understand Pit's claim that he's "too Latin for hip hop and too hip hop for Latins."

With more anthems like Ying & the Yang and Sticky Icky – both produced by Lil Jon – there's enough material on The Boatlift to make it another must-have Pitbull party record. Whether that's enough or even the right material to launch a successful invasion of the mainstream is unclear though Mr. 305 could be walking a fine line between being the guy with whom you really want to party with and the guy who desperately wants to keep partying with you. It's a question Pitbull himself addresses with the deft jab: "If you didn't come to dance, then what did you come for?"

If you're having second thoughts, maybe you're at the wrong club.