1988–2006: Early life and career beginnings Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. was born on November 15, 1988, in
Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He played the
trumpet in his school band from elementary school through high school. Although his parents wanted him to continue his education, B.o.B decided in sixth grade that he wanted to pursue a music career. His father, a
pastor, disapproved of his son's choices, until he realized B.o.B was using music as a form of therapy and a creative outlet. B.o.B later reflected on his experience, saying, "They've always supported me. They got my first
keyboard to make beats on and they helped me out getting equipment here and there. But it was kind of hard for them to really understand what I was really trying to accomplish." In 2006, because he was underage, B-Rich helped sneak B.o.B into Club Crucial, a night club owned by Atlanta-based rapper
T.I. There, B.o.B performed a song titled "Cloud 9", a self-produced,
spoken word-like
ode to
marijuana. In attendance was producer and industry veteran T.J. Chapman,
chief executive officer (CEO) of TJ's DJ's. Chapman agreed to co-manage B.o.B, which only a month later led to B.o.B's signing with
Atlantic Records and subsidiary imprint Rebel Rock, run by Florida-based producer
Jim Jonsin. His first single for Atlantic, 2007's "Haterz Everywhere", reached the top five of Billboard's
Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop singles chart. Along with his solo production career, B.o.B is part of the production/rap group HamSquad, along with Playboy Tre, DJ Swatts, DJ Smooth, Moss B, B-Rich and TJ Chapman. The
remix to "Haterz Everywhere" featuring
Rich Boy, was included used in the video game
Fight Night Round 4, and a music video was later released for that version. Another single, "
I'll Be in the Sky", was released in 2008 and it has reached at number 15 on the same charts.
About.com called the song a "smart, funky artrap and a strong prelude to his album" and included it at number 13 on its subjective ranking "Top 100 Rap Songs of 2008". Incidentally, another song produced by B.o.B called "
Generation Lost", listed alongside the song, on the ranking at number 32. This was followed by another single, "
Don't Let Me Fall". In October 2008, B.o.B was featured on the cover of
Vibe along with some of these same young musicians and was similarly identified as promising young talent. From 2007 to 2008, B.o.B released four
mixtapes;
The Future (2007),
Cloud 9 (2007),
Hi! My Name is B.o.B (2008)
Who the F#*k is B.o.B? (2008) and two
extended plays;
Eastside (2007),
12th Dimension (2008).
2008–2010: Mainstream success and debut album In 2008, it was announced B.o.B was included in
XXL's 2009 annual Freshman Class, and was featured on the cover alongside fellow up-and-coming rappers
Asher Roth,
Wale,
Kid Cudi,
Charles Hamilton,
Cory Gunz,
Blu,
Mickey Factz,
Ace Hood and
Curren$y. In February 2009, B.o.B crafted an original song, titled "Auto-Tune", for the videogame
Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned. On May 16, 2009, B.o.B released a
cover of
Manu Chao's "
Mr. Bobby" and said he wanted to be
known mononymously as Bobby Ray while also claiming he was taking his music in a "new direction": "Now I go by the name Bobby Ray. Make sure you put Bobby Ray. I'm really going into a new direction – more free and not trying to live up to any particular genre. I don't feel like I've been doing that. I don't feel like I've been trying to fit in, but I feel even more free-spirited. I have more willingness musically. That's all I'm about. I'm about guitars, chords and keyboards". On June 22, 2009, B.o.B released his fifth mixtape, appropriately titled
B.o.B vs. Bobby Ray. The mixtape, reminiscent of T.I.'s
T.I. vs. T.I.P. (2007), was mainly produced by Fury and B.o.B. The mixtape also included a song produced by
Red Spyda, titled "Fly Like Me" and another titled "Put Me On", which is a re-imagining of
A Tribe Called Quest's 1990
hit, "
Bonita Applebum".
Reebok used "Put Me On" in celebration of the
Reebok Classic Remix collection. The track is available for download exclusively to customers who purchase styles from the Reebok Classic Remix collection, at Foot Locker stores nationwide. During the summer of 2009, B.o.B joined fellow up-and-coming rappers
Kid Cudi and
Asher Roth for 'The Great Hangover'
concert tour. B.o.B was to open
Blue October's Pick Up the Phone tour in October–November 2009, but the tour was cancelled after
Justin Furstenfeld was hospitalized following a severe mental anxiety attack. On January 13, 2010, B.o.B announced his debut studio album, tentatively titled
The Adventures of Bobby Ray, was expected to be released on May 25, 2010. To promote the album, B.o.B announced a mixtape titled
May 25, in reference to his album's release date.
May 25 was released on February 1, 2010, to critical acclaim. The mixtape
features guest appearances from
J. Cole,
Asher Roth, Playboy Tre,
Charles Hamilton and
Bruno Mars. The latter of whom was featured on the
bonus track and B.o.B's debut single, "
Nothin' on You". Due to the commercial success of his mixtape
May 25 and his single "
Nothin' on You", the release date of his debut album was advanced to April 27, 2010. Three other singles followed: "
Don't Let Me Fall" (released April 6, 2010), "
Airplanes" (April 13, 2010; featuring Hayley Williams), and "
Bet I" (April 20, 2010; featuring T.I. and Playboy Tre). A video for "Bet I" was released on Atlantic Videos on YouTube.
B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray was released under
Atlantic and
T.I.'s
Grand Hustle imprint, featuring guest appearances from
Lupe Fiasco, T.I., Playboy Tre,
Hayley Williams,
Rivers Cuomo,
Ricco Barrino,
Janelle Monáe and
Bruno Mars. The album, released April 27, 2010, was given generally positive reviews. His album sold 84,000 copies in the first week and debuted at number one on the
Billboard 200. It made B.o.B the thirteenth solo male artist to have a debut album arrive at number one in its first week. In July, B.o.B announced he will go on tour, naming it The SHOOTiN for Stars Tour. The dates and times were released on his website on July 13. B.o.B has received nominations for his album, singles, and himself by the
BET Awards,
Teen Choice Awards,
MTV Video Music Awards, and the new Suckerfree Summit. "Airplanes" was featured in the trailer for the upcoming movie
Charlie St. Cloud and his single "
Magic" featured him in an advertisement for
Adidas' "Magic" campaign. B.o.B was announced to be a performer at the
2010 MTV Video Music Awards on August 18. He was added to the lineup of
Eminem,
Linkin Park,
Kanye West,
Drake,
Usher,
Paramore,
Florence and the Machine, and
Justin Bieber. On August 14, 2010, Hayley Williams announced via the Official Paramore Fan Club that B.o.B would be the main support for Paramore's November UK Tour. B.o.B also opened for
Eminem and
Jay-Z's
The Home & Home Tour at
Comerica Park. B.o.B also did a
MTV Unplugged session. He performed songs off his debut album, as well as a cover of "
Kids" by
MGMT, with guests
Robin Thicke,
Melanie Fiona, and
Janelle Monáe. B.o.B also made an appearance in
Lollapalooza 2010. B.o.B made an appearance at the
2010 MTV VMA's on September 12, 2010. He performed parts of both his singles, "Nothin' on You" with Bruno Mars and "Airplanes" with Hayley Williams. B.o.B released his seventh mixtape, titled
No Genre, on December 7, 2010.
B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray was certified 2× platinum by the
RIAA on August 2, 2016.
2011–2012: Strange Clouds Jessie J released a single featuring B.o.B, titled "
Price Tag", on January 30, 2011. The song was quick to reach number one in the United Kingdom charts selling 84,000 copies in its first week of sales. On March 22, 2011,
Electronic Arts released the Launch Trailer for the upcoming first-person-shooter
Crysis 2 which featured a song by B.o.B titled "New York New York" containing the main piano chorus from the song "
Theme from New York, New York" commonly sung by
Frank Sinatra; the artist who sang the chorus is unconfirmed. The full song later appeared on his eighth mixtape
E.P.I.C. (Every Play Is Crucial), showing the song was produced by Mike Caren. In early 2011,
Odd Future's
Tyler, the Creator released a song titled "
Yonkers". In the song Tyler raps ''(What you think of Hayley Williams?) Fuck her, Wolf Haley robbing 'em / I'll crash that fucking airplane that that faggot nigga B.o.B is in / And stab Bruno Mars in his goddamn esophagus / And won't stop until the cops come in''. In response, on March 25, B.o.B released "No Future" a song in which he takes aim at the hip hop collective and their leader. In June 2011, it was announced that B.o.B was featured and produced a song on
Tech N9ne's twelfth studio album, ''
All 6's and 7's''. The track, titled "
Am I a Psycho?" features rapper
Hopsin as well, who also seems to have issues with Tyler, the Creator. B.o.B also appeared on the official remix to
Kesha's hit single "
Blow". The remix was released to
iTunes on May 17, 2011. In the summer of 2011, B.o.B was announced the new face of
T.I.'s clothing line
AKOO. He will be featured in AKOO Clothing's upcoming fall 2011 national advertising campaign alongside
Curtis Granderson of the
New York Yankees,
Carl Crawford of the
Boston Red Sox, and star of the BET hit sitcom,
The Game,
Hosea Chanchez. He will be appearing in a
graphic novel for A.K.O.O titled
Hide in Plain Sight – Saving the World From Fashion Conspiracy. On August 27, 2011, a video appeared on YouTube of B.o.B performing at Colorado State University, where he previewed a song titled "
Strange Clouds" and announced it features
Lil Wayne. In an interview with
Syracuse University's
The Daily Orange, B.o.B spoke of his second studio album for the first time. He went on to say "It's a more mature sound but nothing too experimental. It's a happy medium between the sound of
B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray and the mixtapes, so everyone should be able to enjoy it. I'd say I'm 90 percent done with it right now, but the album title is still
TBA." On September 23, 2011, B.o.B released a
trailer, through his website, for the upcoming single "
Strange Clouds". The trailer announced the single will be officially released October 3. The single
leaked prior to the release date on September 25, causing the single to be released on iTunes on September 27. Later that day B.o.B appeared on an online video stream on radio station V103 and announced the title of the album to also be
Strange Clouds and was set to be released in early 2012. Bobby Ray held the first listening session for his album
Strange Clouds at Tree Sound Studios on October 25, 2011. Seven new songs were previewed during the listening session, including the promotional single "
Play the Guitar" which features
André 3000. Other big guest appearances confirmed, as the album was not fully complete, include Lil Wayne,
Big K.R.I.T.,
Nelly and a song with
T.I. titled "Arena". In addition he has worked with
OneRepublic on a song and has been quoted as having: "the song of 2012 with a mega feature from somebody who never does features with anyone!". On November 15, 2011, B.o.B said he would be releasing a mixtape titled
E.P.I.C. (Every Play Is Crucial) prior to the album's release. The mixtape was released on November 28, 2011, featuring guest appearances from
Eminem,
Mos Def,
Roscoe Dash,
Meek Mill, and
Bun B amongst others and included production from
Ryan Tedder to Lil C and
Jim Jonsin. While on set for the "Strange Clouds" music video, MTV interviewed B.o.B and confronted him of a rumor that he and
T.I. are working on a collaborative album, B.o.B responded: "The joint album, it actually started as a joke. Tip would always refer to me as 'the Martian', and in one of his lyrics, he said, 'It's the man and the Martian,' and we said, 'Man that could be an album title.' We kinda just played around with it. But it seems to be taking form in a very organic way." On December 1, 2011, B.o.B appeared on New York City's
Hot 97 radio station and confirmed that he and T.I. are indeed working on a collaborative album titled
The Man & The Martian. On December 22, 2011, B.o.B released a snippet of "
Play the Guitar", a promotional single, featuring
André 3000 and a
sample of "
Fancy" as performed by
Drake, T.I. and
Swizz Beatz. "Play the Guitar" was later released to digital retailers on December 27, 2011. On February 14, 2012, B.o.B released a
trailer for the second official single, "
So Good". The song, produced by
Ryan Tedder, was released on February 21. In 2012 in an interview with PopCush, B.o.B expressed his desire to work with
Kid Cudi,
James Blake and
Skrillex: "I would also like to work with James Blake. That'd be crazy. I think me, James Blake and Kid Cudi should do a song and it should be produced by Skrillex. I think the sky would fall if we did that song and the sky would come down to Earth and party with us." On March 20, 2012, B.o.B released "
Where Are You (B.o.B vs. Bobby Ray)", the second promotional single from
Strange Clouds. "
So Hard to Breathe" was released as the third promotional single on April 17, 2012. In an April 2012 interview with
HipHopDX, B.o.B announced he would be releasing a
rock album. B.o.B appeared on
Haley Reinhart's debut studio album
Listen Up! on the intro track "Oh My".
Strange Clouds, B.o.B's second studio album, was released May 1, 2012, to critical acclaim. The album debuted at number five on the U.S.
Billboard 200, with 76,000 copies sold the first week. "
Both of Us" serves as the album's third single and was sent to Top 40 Mainstream radio on May 22, 2012. The song features American singer-songwriter
Taylor Swift. It debuted on Australia Top 50 singles chart at number 46. The song sold 143,000 copies first week, along with the album release, debuting at number 18 on the
Billboard Hot 100 and became the week's top debut.
2012–2014: Underground Luxury and No Genre On October 9, 2012, B.o.B was featured on the annual
BET Hip Hop Awards cypher, alongside his Grand Hustle label-mates
Iggy Azalea,
T.I.,
Chip and
Trae tha Truth. On November 15, 2012, B.o.B released his ninth mixtape, entitled ''Fuck 'Em We Ball''. The mixtape features guest appearances from
T.I.,
Juicy J,
Mac Miller,
Playboy Tre,
Snoop Lion, Spodee and
Iggy Azalea, with much of the production coming from B.o.B himself. The mixtape also spawned a single, with the release of the club banger, "
We Still in This Bitch". In early December, B.o.B revealed to
MTV plans to release a
rock music-influenced
extended play: "I've been holding back so much rock for so long. I have been performing with my band for a while, so I guess this is a real good canvas for me to paint on. No one's really expecting anything so I can do what I want to do." He also spoke lightly on his third studio album as well: "My album is basically a continuation of
The Adventures of Bobby Ray and
Strange Clouds. I feel like it kinda bridges the gap between where all my fans are and finally getting everybody up to speed on what my sound is and exactly where I'm going." Rap-Up TV caught up with Bobby Ray, where he stated his rock EP is in the works and will reflect his diverse influences: "When I drop it, everyone's gonna have an eargasm. It's really how I fell in love with rock music, from indie to alternative to classic rock to even some forms of country music." On April 22, 2013, it was announced B.o.B would tour with fellow American rappers
Wiz Khalifa,
A$AP Rocky,
Trinidad James,
Joey Bada$$, and
Smoke DZA, for the Under the Influence
concert tour. The tour would then begin on July 17, 2013. On May 12, 2013, B.o.B
tweeted: "Underground Luxury ... coming this summer... #staytuned", revealing the title of his third studio album. In May, B.o.B also premiered a music video for a newly released song of his titled "Through My Head". The video was directed by Peruvian film director
Ricardo de Montreuil. On May 13, 2013, radio personality
Funkmaster Flex premiered "
HeadBand" (featuring
2 Chainz), the lead single from
Underground Luxury. The song would be released to retail on May 21, 2013. The song has since peaked at number 65 on the
Billboard Hot 100. B.o.B later revealed in an early September interview, that the album would be released in December 2013. In September 2013, B.o.B revealed he has plan to launch his own record label imprint. During an interview, he stated "I'm putting my
CEO pants on, man. I'm finna start a label called HamSquad and I'm looking for artists to be the flagship artists for the label. So I'm really excited about that." In the same interview he announced
Underground Luxury, would be released in December. On October 17, 2013, during an interview on
BET's
106 & Park, B.o.B announced that the album would be released on December 17, 2013.
Underground Luxury debuted at number 22 on the
Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 35,000 copies in the United States. This was a steep decline in sales from his first two albums which respectively sold 84,000 and 74,000 in their first week. In its second week the album dropped to number 30, selling 19,000 more copies in the United States. In its third week the album sold 9,000 more copies. In its fourth week the album sold 6,600 more copies in the United States. On June 9, 2014, in an interview with Bootleg Kev, B.o.B announced his new record label imprint,
No Genre, named after his 2010 mixtape. On July 9, 2014, B.o.B released
No Genre 2, the sequel to his seventh mixtape.
No Genre 2 features guest appearances from
Kevin Gates,
Victoria Monet, Mike Fresh,
Ty Dolla Sign,
Sevyn Streeter,
Mila J, T.I. and more. On October 14, 2014, B.o.B released a song titled "
Not For Long", featuring
Trey Songz, as a single via digital distribution. On October 7, 2014, an up-and-coming singer named Tora Woloshin, announced she signed to No Genre. On October 24, 2014, B.o.B released a song titled "Fleek", the song was credited to B.o.B's new label imprint, No Genre. The song features No Genre's newly signed artists, Lin-Z and London Jae. On November 28, 2014, B.o.B released
New Black, his eleventh solo mixtape. The project is a cohesive
concept album, compiled of politically charged songs, including "
Generation Lost", as the third track.
2015–2017: Psycadelik Thoughtz and Elements series On February 24, 2015, B.o.B appeared on
Tech N9ne's "
Hood Go Crazy", alongside
2 Chainz, which received moderate success. Later that year, B.o.B spoke about the possibility of a collaborative mixtape with Tech N9ne. On August 14, 2015, B.o.B released an experimental project titled
Psycadelik Thoughtz, stating that it was "one of the most defining projects" for his artistry. It features guest appearances from singers
Jon Bellion and
Sevyn Streeter. The commercial mixtape, which was released without any promotion or pre-release singles, debuted at number 97 on the U.S.
Billboard 200 chart. Having released multiple projects with Atlantic, including three
extended plays (EPs), three studio albums and a retail
mixtape, the two sides separated soon after B.o.B claimed that the label was "suppressing" him. "There's a ban on BoB," he wrote on
Twitter, before diving into his issues with his then-label. "They
boycott me, they are afraid I'll get too much exposure," he continued. "My own label doesn't even
promote my albums, mixtapes, shows or events... ZERO promo." Since his split with Atlantic, B.o.B ventured off with his label
No Genre and partnered up with
Empire Distribution. On January 2, 2016, B.o.B said "I haven't forgotten about the rock album.. when the time is right." On January 18, 2016, B.o.B released his second mixtape in as many months. The mixtape, titled
FIRE, follows the concept of his previous one, adopting the title of an element and the use of acronyms. On April 22, 2016, in celebration of
Earth Day, B.o.B released a mixtape titled
EARTH, which includes the controversial
flat earther anthem "
Flatline", in which he espouses multiple
conspiracy theories. On November 4, 2016, B.o.B released his first compilation album,
Elements, composed of songs from his last four solo mixtapes,
WATER,
FIRE,
EARTH and
AIR. The mixtapes contained in it focus on his political and philosophical views.
2017–present: Independent albums On May 12, 2017, the rapper released his fourth studio album,
Ether. The album features
guest appearances from artists like
Lil Wayne,
Young Thug,
T.I.,
Big K.R.I.T.,
Ty Dolla Sign,
Usher,
CeeLo Green and
Young Dro.
Ether follows the
conscious hip hop themes of his
Elements mixtapes, and was met with positive reviews from music critics. Though he stated at the time that it would be his last, a follow-up mixtape,
Southmatic, was released the following year. In 2020 and 2021, he released two further projects, his sixth studio album
Somnia and the compilation album
Lost Tapes. ==Artistry==