Lazaro Mendez, better known as DJ Laz, has been reppin' Miami for as long as he's been behind a mic: "I take a lot of pride in where I'm from, so whenever anybody from here does something big, to me it's like,'that's right I'm from Miami.'"

The Cuban-American DJ has been a staple on the "Morning Pimp Show" on popular South Florida radio station Power 96.5 for the last 20 years. In the early '90s, "DJ Laz" was one of the first jocks to mix Latin rhythms with the Miami Bass popularized by 2 Live Crew. Calling his style Latin Bass, DJ Laz pumped out regional hits like Mami El Negro and Journey Into Bass in the mid 90s. By the end of the decade, he had transitioned to a style he describes as "merengue swing," which adds live instrumentation. "You gotta evolve with the times," says the husky Mendez.

Also known as"The Pimp With The Limp," Mendez has remixed tracks for artists like Gloria Estefan, Will Smith and hometown heroes 2 Live Crew. His latest album, Category 6, is currently gaining momentum on the strength of Move Shake Drop (Remix), a Benny Benassi-meets-Luke Campbell club jam featuring Flo Rida, Casely and Pitbull. The album, DJ Laz's eleventh, also includes appearances by T-Pain and Rick Ross. Mendez, who began DJing when he was 15 years old, says there's still room for him to grow: "With this album, I feel that I have evolved. [I'm] not just Laz who makes Spanish and bootie records. We got a lil bit of everything."

See: myspace.com/djlaz965

Heard the phrase We the best! recently? Chances are it came from Miami's DJ Khaled.

A New Orleans native, the Palestinian-American DJ Khaled (real name: Khaled Khaled) began his radio hustle in the mid '90s. With trademark enthusiasm that sometimes borders on the obnoxious, DJ Khaled became one of the top jocks on WEDR 99 Jamz, the biggest hip hop station in South Florida. The Terror Squad-affiliated DJ eventually moved into production, plying his trade on underground mix-tapes before releasing Listennn... The Album in 2006. But his considerable talent behind the boards may not be as key to his success as the numbers on his cell – from Bun B to Kanye West.

A star-studded affair, DJ Khaled's debut launched his breakthrough single, Holla At Me Baby, with appearances by high-profile homies Lil Wayne, Pitbull, Paul Wall and Rick Ross. Khaled followed a year later with the approriately titled We The Best and scored two major hits: party banger We Takin Over with Akon, T.I., Rick Ross, Fat Joe, Birdman and Lil Wayne, and the synth-drenched ghetto anthem I'm So Hood, featuring Plies, T-Pain, Trick Daddy and usual suspect Rick Ross. His third album, We Global, is due September 16 but the first single, Out Here Grindin' is a clear sign there's more hyper collabs on the way with verses from Ace Hood, Akon, Lil' Boosie, Plies, Rick Ross, Trick Daddy and Young Jeezy.

Asked how he's been able get so many superstars on his albums, DJ Khaled demurs: "We the best!"

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.

Pitbull's new album, El Mariel, wants to boatlift American hip hop fans and drop them into a booty-shakin', Cuban-American party on Miami Beach. What was once rumored to be a heavy, political record – after the anti-Castro anthem Ya Se Acabó prematurely hit the airwaves last summer – is actually all about blowing up the dance floor.

On this sophomore release, Pitbull's choice of producers and guests – Neptunes, Mr. Collipark, Lil-Jon, Diaz Brothers & Ying-Yang Twins – demonstrates both musical maturity and the charming bravado of an artist who wants to be the life of his own party. The Neptunes produced "Jealouso" deftly balances a laid back swinging beat with Pitbull’s quick spit while the Jim Johnson produced "Hey You Girl," featuring the main riff from The B-52’s Rock Lobster, is so left field it might just appeal to the blog culturistas who have made Justin Timberlake so hip. Even ballads like "Raindrops" with Anjuli Stars or "Dime" with Ken-Y fail to sink the party ship with a mix of crisp beats and whispered sweet-nothings that are sure to make teen hairs stand up on end.

The backbone of the record can be found in the seamless mix of chants, congas and a synthetic clap on the Miami Bass-inspired tracks "Ay Chico (Lengua Afuera)," "Voodoo" and "Jungle Fever," which features both Wyclef Jean and a rainbow coalition nod to a chocolate-y heart of darkness. These are the fiercest songs of the set as well as the ones that sound the most “Latino," although they're unlikely to inspire Pitbull's new fans to search for the Buena Vista Social Club on P2P. At its best, El Mariel works a similar magic as Tego Calderón’s The Underdog, combining the music of more than two worlds into sparkly and new hits that somehow feel worn-in and comfortable.

Pitbull, aka Armando Cristian Pérez, says he wants us to prepare for his next release, Armando, a Spanish-language record slated to drop early next year. If those "afro-cuban-hardcore" tracks are half as good as the 25-year-old Pitbull says they will be, the world will have an excellent companion to the already near-perfect El Mariel.