Previously on The Adventures of B.o.B aka Bobby Ray, Atlanta rapper/singer B.o.B was busy claiming the many plaudits for what was a superb year for him back in 2010. Emerging from under the tutorship of DJ Drama and southern kingpin T.I., Bobby Ray broke away from the limited expectations many had of his career and became a household name thanks to a charming persona plus a clutch of monumental Hip Hop records that tugged at the hearts of daytime radio's core audience.
Now a name which the masses instantly gravitate to, B.o.B's next adventure finds him tackling the much dreaded second album, which has claimed many careers due to the difficulty of matching the lofty heights of one's previous efforts. How will his sophomore effort Strange Clouds fare in the challenge?
It's become almost mandatory that every rapper, DJ and so forth claim that he or she is the best in their field. But when making it a slogan for your team or set, that's when the naysayers will multiply in abundance. Just ask Miami DJ Khaled, whose continuous hollering of 'We The Best' has put him under the firing line by many. But for every doubter, there's an abundance of supporters, including some heavyweight talent which goes from Miami all the way to NYC. So how will an album fare from a DJ who (fortunately) does very little rapping? This is the question that We The Best Forever will hope to answer.
“When we’re in the studio what are our muses? Alcohol. Lot’s of it. And candy bars. And we like wild animals running around...” Bruno Mars jests with a straight face.
This, along with an awful imitation of a British accent, sets the tone for our hilarious interview.
By the time Bruno’s feature on B.o.B’s “Nothing On You” brought the singer/songwriter/producer into the public consciousness, he had co-written and produced Sugababes’ “Get Sexy”, Flo-Rida’s number 1 single “Right Round”, K’Naan’s breakout World Cup track “Wavin’ Flag” and Brandy’s “Long Distance” with his production comrades Phillip Lawrence and Ari Levine [better known as two thirds of The Smeezingtons].
The latest Bruno-assisted cuts capturing audience attention are Travie McCoy’s “Billionaire” and Cee Lo’s “Fuck You”.
On Thursday night Bruno Mars was the latest emerging talent to grace the infamous stage at west London's weekly hip-spot, YoYo (in the Notting Hill Arts Club). Like any YoYo night, the small basement club was packed beyond capacity with fans, industry heads and London's contrived 'cool kids'.
Following an energetic performance from Mike Posner, Bruno took the stage with fellow Smeezington Phillip Lawrence and the rest of his band. He opened with "Other Side", which, on wax features Cee Lo and B.O.B. Bruno coaxed the sound engineers through the microphones' technical difficulties during the song, which detracted from the opening.
However, the shaky start was only a hiccup, and Bruno and his boys easily won the crowd over with his interpretation of "Nothin' On You", his hit with B.O.B.
"I've always dreamed of performing Hendrix in London, can I play some Hendrix?" Bruno asked before rocking out on his electric guitar to Jimi Hendrix's "Fire". He followed this up with "Billionaire".
The characteristics of "Hip Hop" have undergone several changes over the years. The genre has become associated with many new trends; one of which is the rappers themselves accompanying their verses with their own singing (Biz Markie made it humorous, Ja Rule suffocated the style). Andre 3000 took on this format some six years ago and to this day his Love Below album is still held in high regard. The next ATL superstar who hopes to follow in the same path is B.O.B. Possessing a fiery Southern delivery, Bobby Ray also lays claim to an impressive falsetto voice, which has flooded over many mixtapes and guest collaborations. But when it comes to his first solo outing, which of his skills will triumph; the harmonic soul star or the brazen lyricist?
Within the realms of Hip Hop there are tons of beat makers, rappers and flat out illiterate sounding assholes, but you rarely hear about musicianship. That’s why it was a surprising pleasure to find out about B.O.B (born Bobby Ray Simmons), an Atlanta based rapper-musician-producer that’s just been inked to Grand Hustle.Featured on the cover of XXL’s Hip Hop Class of ‘09 (with other newcomers like Wale, Charles Hamilton and Asher Roth), B.o.B’s music gained momentum with a hand-full of guest slots as well as being featured on tons of end years list when he does release a song. But after EPs and mixtapes (with his latest mix being B.o.B aka Bobby Ray: May 25th) in preparation for his new album, he still has something to prove. People still need to know who B.o.B is, simple and plain.
In-between cities on a promotional tour, the 21 year old rapper met me at a down home blues restaurant in downtown Columbia for a southern fried lunch and sit down. When he arrived (after sitting with members of his entourage including manager and local label reps) I didn’t know what to expect.
Before I wanted to get into any questions, the kid was antsy. Looking at the stage of the restaurant called Mac’s On Main, the stage with full-working P.A. system was tempting to the young artists.
“That stage makes me want to grab my guitar and my trumpet right now and start playing.
I have my in. I ask him about his history of live instrumentation...
Dual personalities in Hip Hop have been around from the jump off. From Kool Keith to Redman to MF Doom, pseudonyms have allowed artists to express themselves in numerous ways, most often they are heralded for their uniqueness. Fast forward to 2010 and we find B.O.B aka Bobby Ray continuing with the trend. Having sprung forth in 2009 with the optimism-fuelled anthem 'In The Sky', May 25thaims to introduce the world to B.O.B’s dual personas - in addition to acting as a promotional tool as May 25th is the release date for his forthcoming album.
Previously on The Adventures of B.o.B aka Bobby Ray, Atlanta rapper/singer B.o.B was busy claiming the many plaudits for what was a superb year for him back in 2010. Emerging from under the tutorship of DJ Drama and southern kingpin T.I., Bobby Ray broke away from the limited expectations many had of his career and became a household name thanks to a charming persona plus a clutch of monumental Hip Hop records that tugged at the hearts of daytime radio's core audience.
Now a name which the masses instantly gravitate to, B.o.B's next adventure finds him tackling the much dreaded second album, which has claimed many careers due to the difficulty of matching the lofty heights of one's previous efforts. How will his sophomore effort Strange Clouds fare in the challenge?
It's become almost mandatory that every rapper, DJ and so forth claim that he or she is the best in their field. But when making it a slogan for your team or set, that's when the naysayers will multiply in abundance. Just ask Miami DJ Khaled, whose continuous hollering of 'We The Best' has put him under the firing line by many. But for every doubter, there's an abundance of supporters, including some heavyweight talent which goes from Miami all the way to NYC. So how will an album fare from a DJ who (fortunately) does very little rapping? This is the question that We The Best Forever will hope to answer.
“When we’re in the studio what are our muses? Alcohol. Lot’s of it. And candy bars. And we like wild animals running around...” 
On Thursday night Bruno Mars was the latest emerging talent to grace the infamous stage at west London's weekly hip-spot, YoYo (in the Notting Hill Arts Club). Like any YoYo night, the small basement club was packed beyond capacity with fans, industry heads and London's contrived 'cool kids'.
Following an energetic performance from Mike Posner, Bruno took the stage with fellow Smeezington Phillip Lawrence and the rest of his band. He opened with "Other Side", which, on wax features Cee Lo and B.O.B. Bruno coaxed the sound engineers through the microphones' technical difficulties during the song, which detracted from the opening.
However, the shaky start was only a hiccup, and Bruno and his boys easily won the crowd over with his interpretation of "Nothin' On You", his hit with B.O.B.
"I've always dreamed of performing Hendrix in London, can I play some Hendrix?" Bruno asked before rocking out on his electric guitar to Jimi Hendrix's "Fire". He followed this up with "Billionaire". 
The characteristics of "Hip Hop" have undergone several changes over the years. The genre has become associated with many new trends; one of which is the rappers themselves accompanying their verses with their own singing (Biz Markie made it humorous, Ja Rule suffocated the style). Andre 3000 took on this format some six years ago and to this day his Love Below album is still held in high regard. The next ATL superstar who hopes to follow in the same path is 
Within the realms of Hip Hop there are tons of beat makers, rappers and flat out illiterate sounding assholes, but you rarely hear about musicianship. That’s why it was a surprising pleasure to find out about 