(B.o.B by artist Nuri Durr)
I caught up with B.o.B., also known as Bobby Ray after his headlining show featuring Vonnegutt and Playboy Tre. The rising superstar has steadily built a following beginning with the strength of his 2007 single “I’ll Be In the Sky.” Since then, he’s toured nationally, appeared in commercials, and performed in cool spots like the Mo’Nique Show and the ESPN Espy Awards.
The Grand Hustle team member shared the latest on handling a growing career, his take on the Tiger Woods scandal, the “cinematic” first album and, of course, those nagging comparisons to André 3000.
Get to know B.o.B.
Shannon Barbour: What do you prefer to be called?
B.o.B: Well, Bob is real short and simple and then Bob’s short for Bobby and Bobby’s short for Bobby Ray and then B.o.B. is in there so it’s all good.
S.B.: You’ve been in the game for several years. What really set it off? When did you know that music is really what you wanted to do?
B.o.B.: A lot of artists wait for that feeling of feeling successful and accomplished. It’s really a feeling you have to carry with you the moment you set out to do something. I’m watching everything unfold. It’s kind of like a having carpet before you roll it out. You know it’s a carpet and you even know what color it is, but you never know how it’s gonna unfold. And I always had faith that my career would unfold.
I still never really feel satisfied in terms of ‘ah man, I finally reached that point,’ like a sense of relief. I have that drive; every point I get to I still have to push harder.
S.B.: What are you looking to accomplish in your career? Do you have set goals that determine that you’ve made it or do you take it as it comes?
B.o.B: You have to take it as it comes. I’ve found that when you plan too much and stick to a script, it always changes. There is nothing in my career that has happened as I planned it.
S.B.: So you feel like the success that has happened in your career is spontaneous? You’ve been just been really fortunate.
B.o.B: I definitely feel very blessed and very fortunate. It’s a spontaneous thing, but just the fact that I’m open to it, the fact that I’m open to being grateful for it, the events that happened fill in that openness that I have… it’s like a response, like the universe is responding to the dreams that I set out. When you have dreams as an artist you get really attached to it and territorial over it. It’s you, but it takes a huge team and it’s literally impossible to do by yourself. I wouldn’t advise anybody to do that.
S.B.: How would you advise someone on how to assemble a tight team?
B.o.B.: You have to know your strengths and weaknesses, and really your weaknesses are your strengths. Make sure you trust everybody, make sure that everybody’s on the same page. And everybody’s grateful for the opportunity you have. I feel blessed for the team that I have. I think everybody knows it’s a blessed experience that we’re in and it’s something that can go as quickly as it came. So I think our appreciation for it is what keeps us going.
S.B.: On “Patron and Swag” in the beginning of the B.o.B vs. Bobby Ray mixtape you say, “constantly they comparing me to 3 Stacks.” Do you still get that? Do you feel that people are still comparing you to André 3000?
B.o.B.: It’s something that I felt at the time when I wrote it. I was just venting. It’s like the backlash to it. It’s still getting played now, it’s still on the mixtape so it’s still out there, but up to [this] date, I don’t really feel it.
S.B.: When is the album dropping?
B.o.B.: Spring. April. The Adventures of Bobby Ray.
S.B.: What's the first single?
B.o.B.: “Nothing On You” featuring Bruno Mars
S.B.: I have to ask you this: what do you think of the whole Tiger Woods saga? (Earlier, Playboy Tre offered some unprintable banter about Tiger; that he and the troubled golfer not only share a December 30th birthday, but similar ability to please women.)
B.o.B.: I feel I like the whole celebrity thing and press and tabloids is becoming taboo in a sense. The backstage of celebrity lifestyle is becoming the forefront of culture and the media. It’s changing, it’s really evolving. It’s kinda unfortunate when some of your dirty laundry spills out into the public for them to see it.
S.B.: What about when you’ve made a living based on having a clean image?
B.o.B.: People see what they want to see. We’re no different. No human being is different than any other human. The only thing that’s different is the choices we make.
We’re so used to seeing an image. And when you see a different side that you didn’t want to see, then it’s like, ah man, you judge it. You throw them under the bus because you didn’t want to see it.
S.B.: So we’re wrong for placing someone on a pedestal?
B.o.B.: They’re not any more wrong for placing anybody on a pedestal any more than they are for throwing them under the bus.
S.B.: O.K. Let’s bring it back to you. What do you want people to get out of this new album?
B.o.B.: I want the album to be a classic, cinematic album. I can’t pull from any format or anything because it’s never been done. It’s just like I have a wide open, wide canvas. I’m thinking ‘what do you want to paint on it what do you want to do?’ That’s kind of what I’m facing. It’s like a broad road and a broad horizon. I’m trying to zero in on how I want to present myself to the world for the first time in my life. That’s the dream.
S.B.:Thank you very much.
B.o.B.: Thank you.
Look for The Adventures of Bobby Ray in April 2010.
To get the latest hip-hop happenings in and around Atlanta, SUBSCRIBE above for delivery to your inbox. We will never share or publish your email. For suggestions and ideas, email: hiphopcontributor@gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter @ShannonB1020.
Comments