Recording and production Strange Clouds features B.o.B working with his usual collaborators such as
Jim Jonsin and
Dr. Luke, the latter of whom produced
hit singles "
Magic" and "
Strange Clouds". In an interview with
Rap-Up, Jim Jonsin spoke of his Rebel Rock artist's upcoming album: "We cut four songs and there's two that I really like. One record has like a
reggae vibe to it, hip-hop with some reggae. It's pretty big. I think that's a possible single. He's kinda figuring out the direction and I’m hoping to close out with him to do another three or four songs before the album's done", Jonsin told
Rap-Up. While his debut may have been jam-packed with
features, Jonsin didn't expect too many guests this time around: "I don’t think he's doing as many features. I think most of his singles will be him and he just wants the fans to hear a lot more of him on this album. It's gonna be incredible." Mack of Sound-Savvy inquired about how he approached this album differently from his previous projects to which B.o.B responded: "I feel like I had to combine the way I approached a
mixtape AND an
album. With
The Adventures of Bobby Ray, it was a very condensed version with only 11–12 tracks. I wanted to be able to show people who fell in love with the album and the people who fell in love with the mixtapes, from
Cloud 9 to
The Adventures of Bobby Ray, I wanted to make music for those fans." That said, he stressed the importance of remaining true to himself and always use his voice and candor to present his ideas and deliver a message. "My dad always says "Now you wanna show people you know music, but pretty soon you’re gonna wanna show people that you know people. And I feel like this album is more on that tip but it still has even better and more mature musicality." B.o.B told
Rap-Up, that for this album he was taking a more hands-on and honest approach: "I feel like this album is the culmination of my life story. I’m bringing people into my world with just the story and the building blocks that created B.o.B, and I wanted to spend a lot of time with it. It's a lot more centered with a core sound. I was a lot more honest on this album. I feel like I’m continuously honest in the moment to moment, but I’m constantly changing." In the same interview B.o.B claims he did about "60 percent of the production": "When I made this album, I wanted to make sure that I was a part of everything that was made, even from the time a demo was recorded to the time it's
mixed," he explained. "I really wanted to be hands-on with the project. You really got to treat it like a child. You gotta nurture it and give it the right amount of attention."
Songs and lyrics At the October 25th listening session at Tree Sound Studios, B.o.B played 8 songs from the album for a private audience, then sat down with Mack of Sound-Savvy to talk about the new album. One of the tracks premiered was "
Play the Guitar", B.o.B's
ode to his instrument of choice. He describes the song as one that expresses his "love for music and love for the guitar". The song features
André 3000 (who is notorious for his frequent
guest appearances). Of the song, B.o.B says: "I feel like it shows people that we are two different artists and we actually do sound different and have our own styles. Not to say that I wasn’t influenced by
Outkast and André, but I feel like it's a ‘pass-the-torch’ type of moment. He really gave me a lot of love on the feature and I'm looking forward to hearing what people have to say about it." The
hook for "Play the Guitar" features a
sample of
T.I.'s verse from
Drake's ‘
Fancy’. B.o.B. introduced this one with his origins on playing the guitar, which he picked up after urges from his brother. On October 8, 2011, American singer-songwriter
Taylor Swift brought out B.o.B at her
Speak Now World Tour concert at
Cowboys Stadium in
Dallas, Texas, where they performed "
Airplanes". After the performance, speculation of a collaboration between the two began. In March 2012, in an interview with
Fuse TV at the
SXSW music festival, T.I. confirmed Swift's slot as a featured artist on
Strange Clouds. On April 11, 2012, his collaboration with Swift, titled "
Both of Us" was
leaked. On March 20, 2012, B.o.B. released the third song from the album, "
Where Are You (B.o.B vs. Bobby Ray)". The song is in the same vein as
T.I.'s "T.I. vs. T.I.P." from his second studio album
Trap Muzik (2003). B.o.B previously touched on the subject of his two
alter egos, on his 2009 mixtape
B.o.B vs. Bobby Ray. The song's release came just a day after B.o.B's label revealed the cover art for the album. == Release and promotion ==