It’s as if one of your buddies has suddenly leapt onstage. That’s how it feels when you attend a Pitbull show. You might be hanging with a group of guys—and on Pitbull’s opening night at Axis theater last Saturday, that group included entertainment manager Larry Rudolph, Live Nation exec Kurt Melien, Caesars Entertainment head Jason Gastwirth and festival architect Rehan Choudhry—and suddenly someone from this entourage winds up in the middle of the action amid a half-dozen scorching dancers.

Pitbull is the guy to take the reins. He is the overlord of the party. If there is another Hangover movie in the offing, he should be the star.

The Cuban-born, Miami-residing rap artist and festival purveyor is back in action on the Strip. His first residency spun the meter so effectively, selling better than 80 percent of his original series at Planet Hollywood, that Live Nation and Caesars Entertainment brass were giddy to return him to the stage for the latest version of his Time of Our Lives residency at the 4,200-seat Axis.

Always wearing the shades with what seems a reversible black-and-white suit, Pitbull has established a unifying message in his roaring, unbroken showcase at Planet Hollywood. Essentially, he’s asking, “Who among us doesn’t love a party?” Especially one hosted by a 35-year-old bundle of energy who, if he were a pro athlete, would be known as a “young veteran.” There’s a certain worldliness to Mr. Worldwide, one of his collection of nicknames (his given name is Armando Christian Pérez, and he also goes by Mr. 305, Miami’s area code), a man who evokes the cool of Sinatra one moment and the buoyancy of Ricky Ricardo the next.

The opening stretch of the show reminds fans, via LED screen, that Pitbull’s family is originally from Cuba and that his grandmother fought against the forces that put Fidel Castro in power, the event that chased his family to Miami. His expatriate parents fairly forced him to read Cuban poet José Martí, fertilizing his ability to convey a message. This biographical overlay effectively links Miami and Las Vegas as sister Sin cities, as the mobsters who operated casinos in Cuba in the late-1950s fled to Vegas.

Pitbull reaches across the continent to bridge those eras and cultures. He has further enhanced his Vegas affiliation by opening a charter school, an offshoot of his Miami-based SLAM! Academy, in Henderson. March 11 was deemed Pitbull Day in Las Vegas by Mayor Carolyn Goodman, and it seems everyone who has come in contact with Pitbull raves about the guy.

It helps that he can simply throw it down onstage. Pitbull is an equal mix of style and substance, a natural showman who has obviously rehearsed the hell out of these shows. He’s not a great dancer, but an effective frontman who moves flawlessly and rhythmically. His six backing dancers carry that artistry, and they’re fun to watch, bedecked in knee-high boots and varying sequined bustiers. A five-piece band—powered by a percussionist, bassist, drummer and a pair of keyboards—keeps the beat moving all night.

Musically, Pitbull rolls out an impressive collection of club hits that leave you thinking, “I didn’t know that was a Pitbull song.” In a highly anticipated moment, Axis co-inhabitant J.Lo turned up for “On the Floor,” (Pitbull had appeared during the premiere of the video). Pitbull swaps lines with Marc Anthony on “Rain Over Me” and Christina Aguilera on “Feel This Moment.” Artists sampled in the show include Ozzy Osbourne (“Crazy Train”), Phil Collins (“In the Air Tonight”), Survivor (“Eye of the Tiger”), Guns N’ Roses (“Sweet Child o’ Mine), The Sugarhill Gang (“Rapper’s Delight”) and Nirvana (“Smells Like Teen Spirit”).

It wasn’t merely a musical extrasensory experience, though. Using his celebrity to make a clear political statement, Pitbull called out to the various ethnicities in the audience, then said, “We gotta make sure Trump doesn’t become mother-f*cking president of the United States!”

The show ended in a flurry of confetti, and someone who knows numbers remarked that the cleaning bill for the current Pitbull residency would exceed $70,000. Hey, it’s a small price to pay for a man whose appeal can be explained with the refrain of one of his biggest hits: “You Really Want Me.” Pitbull knows it, and he wears it well.

Pitbull: Time of Our Lives Wednesday, Friday & Saturday, 9 p.m., $39-$169. Axis at Planet Hollywood, 702-777-6737.