Let’s pretend I was not a fan of hip hop. Let’s pretend I didn’t pay attention to lyrical flow. And if airplanes were shooting stars, I’d wish B.o.B. aka Bobby Ray had emerged in the rap scene earlier because his flow would surely have made me a fan of hip hop! B.o.B.’s prowess on the mic and versatility in musical ability sets him apart from the rest. You may recognize him better from his hit single “Nothin’ On You” featuring Bruno Mars. But let’s take a step back and learn a bit more about this new and talented artist chosen in 2009 by XXL Magazine as a noteworthy rapper in their annual Freshmen 10 series.
Bobby Ray hails from Atlanta, Georgia and established a buzz through street mixtapes and non-album singles. He is currently signed with Mr. Clifford Harris (welcome back) and Grand Hustle. B.o.B.’s clean cut image and lyrical content provides a delightfully complementary contrast to that of T.I. making this partnership extremely effective. While rapping is B.o.B.’s forté he can also play multiple instruments and sing, all of which is apparent in his musical style. Instruments are definitely utilized more than the average rapper’s hip hop producer beats. B.o.B.’s style and hometown has also garnered him comparison to André 3000, an immense honor in itself.
In his debut album The Adventures of Bobby Ray, B.o.B. demonstrates his lyrical finesse and holds his own alongside legendary heavyweights T.I. and Eminem. The most prominent track(s) on the album is “Airplanes”. The song is impressive with just B.o.B. and undeniably epic with Eminem’s verse. If you need a song to get you through the day “Don’t Let Me Fall” is positively uplifting. B.o.B.’s flow is breathtaking on almost every song in the album and especially on “Bet I” with T.I. and Playboy Tre. However, I could live without the tracks where he is predominantly singing such as “Ghost in the Machine” and “Lovelier Than You”. His singing ability is great for a chorus or hook and unlike most rappers he doesn’t need to utilize auto-tune, but I don’t think it is enough to carry a whole song. I find myself anxiously hoping for him to rap something before the song is over and he never does. Some may argue that these songs provide a nice break in between the rapping, but I don’t reckon a break is needed! Therefore if you listen to the songs in order as it was intended, the album starts off pleasant and ends strong.
One question that has baffled me throughout is what exactly does B.o.B. stand for? The answer is: B.o.B stands for many things and anything you would like to associate Bobby Ray the artist with. For me B.o.B. stands for Best of the Best in the new generation of hip hop.
Hey I agree with you about everything! Specifically, I wished that he had rapped on those two tracks. That’s pretty much exactly what I wrote when I reviewed it for my blog.