B.o.B

Recording artist, musician

• Born: November 15, 1988
• Place of Birth: Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Contribution: Bobby Ray Simmons Jr., best known by his stage name B.o.B., is an American recording artist and musician. His 2010 single “Nothin’ on You,” a collaboration with Bruno Mars, was nominated for two Grammy Awards. Some of his subsequent albums include Ether (2017), Somnia (2020), and A Town Full of Nowhere (2023).

Background

Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Simmons was one of four children of the Reverend Bobby Ray Simmons and his wife, Karen, an electrical engineer. As a child, Simmons experimented with a variety of musical instruments.

His parents bought him a trumpet when he was in the first grade, an instrument he studied for three years. Simmons was somewhat of a prodigy in the genre of hip-hop and had already begun making music professionally for Atlanta-area artists by the time he was fifteen years old.

Career

Simmons adopted the moniker B.o.B. at age thirteen when he began rapping in the Klinic, a hip-hop group he cofounded with his cousin. The group was predominantly influenced by notable hip-hop artists such as DMX, Outkast, and Eminem. When his cousin departed Atlanta to pursue a college education, B.o.B. embarked on his solo career.

In 2006, B.o.B.’s ballad-like hip-hop ode to marijuana, entitled “Cloud 9,” garnered him significant attention throughout the Atlanta hip-hop community. The single’s success led a mutual friend to introduce B.o.B. to rap producer Jim Jonsin, who signed the young artist to his Rebel Rock recording label, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records. B.o.B’s first single for the label, “Haterz Everywhere,” was featured among the top five hip-hop and R & B singles of 2007 by Billboard magazine.

B.o.B. spent the next two years working in the studio on tracks that would later become his debut record. The recording harnessed many of B.o.B.’s newly established connections with prominent hip-hop artists and producers, notably Dr. Luke and Alex Da Kid. The album also included several notable names from across numerous music genres, including Bruno Mars, guitarist and songwriter Rivers Cuomo of Weezer, and one of B.o.B.’s early influences, Eminem. B.o.B. would eventually title the record B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray.

The album’s single “Nothin’ on You,” featuring Mars, debuted in February of 2010, eventually reaching the number-one spot on Billboard’s hip-hop singles chart and becoming certified platinum. Two top-ten singles from the album, “Airplanes” and “Magic,” followed.

“Nothin’ on You” was nominated for the 2010 Grammy Award for record of the year, highlighted by a live televised performance of the track by both B.o.B. and Bruno Mars on the Grammy Awards nomination telecast. Following the success of his debut album, B.o.B. toured internationally and signed national endorsement deals with several established US brands, including Target, Coca-Cola, Adidas, and Electronic Arts (EA).

B.o.B. continued utilizing the diverse skills of a collaborative group of well-known producers and accompanying artists for his 2012 sophomore release. On Strange Clouds, B.o.B. attempted to fuse a hip-hop narrative with elements of existential philosophy while presenting a more mature, refined sound than he displayed on his debut release. The record was recorded over a period of fourteen months.

The concept album drew on the talents of producers such as T.I. and Jonsin. Notable artists who contributed to tracks on the album included the actor Morgan Freeman, singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, and hip-hop icons Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj. Rolling Stone magazine heralded the release as a display of “vast talent,” though the album did not receive the mass critical appeal of B.o.B’s award-winning debut. His third album, Underground Luxury, followed in 2013, however, it did not fare as well as his first two.

Between 2014 and 2016, B.o.B. released eleven mixed tapes, including New Black (2014), the well-received Psycadelik Thoughtz (2015), and the Element series: WATER (2015), FIRE (2016), EARTH (2016), and AIR (2016). The series was later rereleased as the compilation album Elements in late 2016. The following year, he released his next two studio albums, Ether and The Upside Down. His sixth studio album, Naga, came out in 2018. At the time of its release, B.o.B. announced that it would be his last album; however, a seventh album called Southmatic was released in 2019.

In addition to his music career, B.o.B became known for believing several conspiracy theories. He most notably believes that the Earth is flat; he has gotten into altercations on Twitter with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson about the subject, writing a diss track about the scientist called “Flatfline.” In addition, in 2017, B.o.B sought to collect $200,000 in donations in order to launch satellites into space to verify his theory about the Earth’s shape.

In the years that followed, B.o.B continued recording new music and released several additional albums. The first of these was 2020's Somnia, which was followed by Better Than Drugs in 2022. The next year, B.o.B released another studio album, A Town Full of Nowhere (2023).

Impact

By his early twenties, B.o.B. had established himself as one of the premier musicians, performers, and producers working in the hip-hop genre. B.o.B.’s penchant for working with other popular musicians in disparate genres has propelled his status as a hip-hop innovator, following in the legacy established by the titans of the genre, notably Kanye West and Jay-Z.

Personal Life

B.o.B. withdrew from his senior year of high school after signing a record deal. His sister is also a musician and has played piano in his backing band.

Bibliography

Anderson, Sarah D. “B.o.B. Explains Concept Album ‘Strange Clouds,’ Collabos and a New Term for ‘Ballin.’” Pop Crush. PopCrush.com, 19 Mar. 2012. Web. 28 July 2013.

Batey, Angus. “B.o.B: The Rapper Who Put the Romance Back into Hip-Hop.” Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 29 July 2010. Web. 1 Aug. 2013.

"B.o.B." AllMusic, 2024, www.allmusic.com/artist/bob-mn0000726348. Accessed 24 Sept. 2024.

B.o.B. Interview by Trill Chris. “Interview with Bobby Ray a.k.a. B.o.B.” Keep It Trill. Trill Promotions Group, 1 June 2009. Web. 28 July 2013.

“B.o.B.: About.” B.o.B. Atlantic Records, n.d. Web. 28 July 2013.

Jones, Deena. “Parents of Grammy Nominee Speak.” Examiner.com. Clarity Digital Group, 24 Feb. 2011. Web. 29 July 2013.