After wooing reggaeton fans with the smash single El Tiburon, featured on Luny Tunes' Mas Flow 2, the hardworking duo is now set to unleash its debut album The Pitbulls, which is promising to make the world bark to a new tune.
"I'm very cerebral; I tend to have a lot of concepts, and Alexis has to let me know whether he thinks they can executed," 26-year-old Joel "Fido" Martinez says of his contribution to the duo's chemistry. "I'm much more reserved than Alexis. He's much more animated."
His partner, 26-year-old Raul "Alexis" Ortiz, agrees. "I'm the aggressive one, the one who gets the crowds jumping."
Born in Cidra, Puerto Rico, and raised between the towns of Cidra and Cayey, Alexis first made his mark on the reggaeton scene in 1994, when he appeared on DJ Stefano Vol. 2 alongside two neighborhood friends.
Although he knew music was his calling, he found himself secluded from the genre's pioneers by virtue of living outside of the metropolitan area, the hub of activity at that time. Frustrated by the hardships of gaining recognition, he decided to retire and spent almost five years away from the studio.
Similarly, Cayey native Fido started pursuing his musical ambitions at an early age.
"I've been singing since the music was called 'underground,' before it was even named reggaeton," he says. "I started when I was 11 years old. Around the time when Vico C released La Recta Final, I was doing talent shows and performing wherever I could."
But like Alexis, Fido was discouraged by the competitive nature of the developing movement and decided to put his career on pause for a few years. That is, until, he saw the streets' growing interest in the musical form.
"I started getting back into it when people started selling their own cassette tapes in the streets," he recalls. "We'd record our own tapes at home, wrap them in some plastic and sell them on the street."
In 1995, Fido scored an appearance on a DJ Stefano production, followed by a single on DJ Nelson's Little Boys from the Underground 3.
But despite the inroads he'd made, Fido felt overwhelmed by the difficulties before him. He once again decided to withdraw from the scene but, this time, he envisioned a different life for himself, enlisting in the Army and executing a four-year stint.
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"I was frustrated again - I felt like we weren't being given the opportunities that we deserved because we weren't from the metropolitan area," Fido says. "Back then, they used to say that Carolina was the reggaeton Mecca."
While Fido was in the military, his good friend Yandel (of the duo Wisin y Yandel) linked up with Wisin during an MC competition in Salinas, Puerto Rico. Their newly established partnership proved fruitful, and they quickly began to raise eyebrows among the genre's frontrunners.
"I've known Yandel since I was in sixth grade," Fido says. "I was the one who told Yandel he needed to start performing. When I came back from the Army and he had teamed up with Wisin, they decided to help me."
Meanwhile, Alexis made his reentry into the genre in the year 2000, appearing in La Mision III with the songs Sigan Perreando and Otra Noche Mas, and in the production Grayskull with the party anthem Manos Arriba. He then appeared in Wisin y Yandel's De Otra Manera and on both Wisin and Yandel's subsequent solo albums.
"I was friends with Wisin," Alexis says. "We used to sing around the neighborhood together, and Fido was always with Yande, so we were all part of the same crew. After Wisin y Yandel got together, Fido and I spent even more time with each other."
Still, the two continued to pursue their own separate paths. It wasn't until the compilation album Desafio that Alexis y Fido tested out their potential as a duo.
"There were 23 tracks recorded already so there was only room for one more track in the production," Alexis says. "One of us was going to be omitted so the producers suggested that we perform together."
Their synergy was palpable and so the two continued to perform together, displaying their skills on songs like Gata Racing off of Blin Blin Vol. 1 and El Palo on El Band 2 Korrupto.
"El Palo was a real turning point in our careers," Alexis says of the song that thrust them into the limelight in 2003. "That was the song that earned us our respect." Fido agrees wholeheartedly, "El Palo would have been as big as Gasolina, but the album wasn't funded appropriately so it wasn't really promoted overseas, but in Puerto Rico it was the No. 1 song for months."
After El Palo's success, the duo was in heavy demand. They recorded such hits as Tocale Bocina on Noriega's Contra La Corriente, El Rolo on La Mision IV and Gata Michu Michu on the top-selling Hector El Bambino Presenta Los Anormales.
They quickly became known as "Los Pitbulls" because of Alexis' tendency to bark on his records. He introduced the trademark sound early on in his career at Yandel's prompting.
"One time, I went out with my son and Yandel and his son," Alexis says. "When we were on our way home, both kids started getting cranky, and I started making barking noises to make them laugh. Yandel was like, 'How do you do that? You have to put that in your records!' After that, I started using the slogan 'Alexis el Pitbull ladrando' (Alexis the Pitbull barking). "
He says that although the "Pitbull" moniker was initially his, Fido more than deserves to share the title. "I'm the one who barks, but Fido is the one who bites," he jokes.
After years of performing together and amassing a huge fan in Puerto Rico, the duo unleashed their picaresque song El Tiburon on Luny Tunes' Latin Grammy-nominated album Mas Flow 2, which was released earlier this year. The song established them as international superstars.
"People really appreciate our originality," Alexis says. "We have fun concepts and we use la lot of adult humor. The sexual aspect of our lyrics is only evident to adults, and we make sure that we never say anything that could be offensive towards women."
For his part, Fido has earned a name for himself as an accomplished beatmaker. He was responsible for the unique rhythmic patterns Wisin y Yandel's En La Disco Bailoteo and Esta Noche Hay Pelea, and he produced the singles Dale Caliente, El Muro and No Me Dejes Solo on Daddy Yankee's multi-platinum-selling Barrio Fino album.
"I made those songs from beginning to end," Fido says. "Urba y Monserrate did the mixing on those tracks, but I came up with the rhythms."
His production genius is evident in Los Pitbulls through such singles as Eso Ehhh, El Cumbiaton and Tu No Sabes, which he concocted with the help of producer Nesty.
"Sonically, this album has a bit of everything," Alexis says. "El Cumbiaton mixes cumbia with mariachi sounds, Perro Caliente uses beatboxing sounds, Tributo Borincano has a dancehall flavor and Tu no Sabes is a softer ballad-style song."
The much-anticipated effort features appearances by the likes of Terror Squad's Tony Sunshine, Hector "el Father," Zion y Lennox, Trebol Clan and Baby Ranks and production by heavyweights like Noriega, Nesty, Echo, and Luny Tunes.
With such a remarkable pedigree and an insatiable hunger, it's no mystery why Alexis y Fido are known as reggaeton's only pitbulls.
decidir
Alexis y Fido Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Decidiriririr quienes van a vivir
Decidiriririr quienes van a morir
Por el techo van a salir
Mi fuego van a sentir (x2)
Alexis
Oigame escucheme enseguido eres mio como le va
Yo soy el rapero el que se ve en una con la A
El de la letra sobrá, A, A, Alexis
Se mete y activando, no te dejes ir pa atras
Oye porque tu no aceleras como uno verdadero
Yo vengo tirando desde los tiempos de Playero (Tu sabes)
(Go, go) Anda a punto rebulero
Que antes que yo me muera
Se que te mueres tu primero
Dale, dame un motivo pa acabar contigo
Yo les campeo y sin ver te desvivo
No saben quien soy, nadie meta conmigo
Tu vida esta en la mano
Alexis y Fido
Fido
Decidiriririr quienes van a vivir
Decidiriririr quienes van a morir
Por el techo van a salir
Mi fuego van a sentir (x2)
Alexis
Mas vale que tengan la calle agarrada por la mano
(Porque..!) En solo una vez acierto el disparo
Le tienen panico a mi AKA
pa que frontean si nunca estuviste embalao
Aprieto el martillo, jalo el gatillo, boto el casquillo, los acribillo
Pra, pra no los dejo vivo
Me gusta ver la cara que ponen cuando me ven
Se ponen colorados, agitados y no saben que hacer
Si no quedastes satisfecho saca pecho
Mi socio siempre los saca del techo
Del dicho al hecho hay un largo trecho
Mejor que ande derecho (Que la va a buscar)
Fido
Decidiriririr quienes van a vivir
Decidiriririr quienes van a morir
Por el techo van a salir
Mi fuego van a sentir (x2)
Queeee...!
You..! jaja
Que les quede claro a todos ustedes
Que nosotros somos los unicos cantantes
Que poseemos la magia, la magia musical
Nos adueñamos dle mundo
Ahora nos vamos a adueñar de la galaxia
Ando con los Jedais
Monserrate y Dj Urba
Yomi, la era la has hecho por otro nivel
Que les quede claro, tu sabes
Estos son los reyes del perreo
Alexis, Fido..!
(Gracias a Alvaro por esta letra)
The song "Decidir" by Alexis y Fido is a fast-paced rap song that talks about deciding who will live or die. The lyrics speak about gun violence and the power to take someone's life. The chorus repeatedly sings about making the decision of who will live or die, emphasizing the theme of violence and control. The song also speaks about the artists' rap skills and their dominance in the music industry. Alexis boasts about being a talented rapper and how he's been in the music scene for a long time. He warns other rappers not to mess with him or face the consequences, which would be their lives in his hands.
The song's lyrics convey the dangers of gun violence and the potential consequences of making the wrong decisions. It also shows the confidence and skill of the artists, who are dominating the music industry. The use of repetition in the chorus adds emphasis to the theme of violence and the urge to make decisions.
Line by Line Meaning
Decidiriririr quienes van a vivir
We are the ones to decide who lives
Decidiriririr quienes van a morir
We are the ones to decide who dies
Por el techo van a salir
They will try to escape through the roof
Mi fuego van a sentir
They will feel my fire
Oigame escucheme enseguido eres mio como le va
Listen to me, you're mine right away, how are you?
Yo soy el rapero el que se ve en una con la A
I am the rapper you see in a collaboration with the A
El de la letra sobrá, A, A, Alexis
The one with the extra lyrics, A, A, Alexis
Se mete y activando, no te dejes ir pa atras
I get involved and get things going, don't back down
Oye porque tu no aceleras como uno verdadero
Why don't you speed up like a true one?
Yo vengo tirando desde los tiempos de Playero (Tu sabes)
I've been throwing since the times of Playero (You know)
(Go, go) Anda a punto rebulero
Go, go, you are almost a rascal
Que antes que yo me muera
Before I die
Se que te mueres tu primero
I know you'll die first
Dale, dame un motivo pa acabar contigo
Come on, give me a reason to finish you off
Yo les campeo y sin ver te desvivo
I camp them and without seeing you, I'll kill you
No saben quien soy, nadie meta conmigo
They don't know who I am, nobody mess with me
Tu vida esta en la mano
Your life is in my hand
Mas vale que tengan la calle agarrada por la mano
They better have the street grabbed by the hand
(Porque..!) En solo una vez acierto el disparo
(Because..!) I hit the shot right on the first time
Le tienen panico a mi AKA
They are afraid of my AKA
pa que frontean si nunca estuviste embalao
Why act tough when you were never into it?
Aprieto el martillo, jalo el gatillo, boto el casquillo, los acribillo
I pull the hammer, pull the trigger, drop the casing, and riddle them
Pra, pra no los dejo vivo
Pra, pra, I won't let them live
Me gusta ver la cara que ponen cuando me ven
I like to see the face they make when they see me
Se ponen colorados, agitados y no saben que hacer
They turn red, nervous and don't know what to do
Si no quedastes satisfecho saca pecho
If you're not satisfied, puff out your chest
Mi socio siempre los saca del techo
My partner always gets them out of trouble
Del dicho al hecho hay un largo trecho
There's a long way from saying to doing
Mejor que ande derecho (Que la va a buscar)
Better walk straight (Or else it'll be looking for her)
Queeee...! You..! jaja
What...! You...! Haha
Que les quede claro a todos ustedes
Let it be clear to all of you
Que nosotros somos los unicos cantantes
That we are the only singers
Que poseemos la magia, la magia musical
That we possess the magic, the musical magic
Nos adueñamos dle mundo
We took over the world
Ahora nos vamos a adueñar de la galaxia
Now we're going to take over the galaxy
Ando con los Jedais
I'm walking with the Jedi
Monserrate y Dj Urba
Monserrate and Dj Urba
Yomi, la era la has hecho por otro nivel
Yomi, you have made the era at another level
Que les quede claro, tu sabes
Let it be clear to them, you know
Estos son los reyes del perreo
These are the kings of perreo
Alexis, Fido..!
Alexis, Fido..!
Contributed by Adrian W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.