Hi, his name is B.o.B. He doesn’t know why he says these reckless things that he says and neither do I. Nonetheless, he intends to sing his song. You see B.o.B is a little different and he’s known that from an early age. Unfortunately, so did his peers. His only way of escaping their non-stop playground jeers was to take asylum in his own rhyme book, a place where he was free to be whoever.
B.o.B took cues from the likes of DMX, OutKast and Goodie Mob to spawn his own rap/production career. His grand introduction to the masses would be “Cloud 9.” The smoked out, cheeba-blowing anthem’s laid back vibe and slowed tempo set him apart from his peers providing an alternative to the media’s perception of ATL’s snap and trap formula. And with his track “Haterz” [click to view] and A3C appearances [click to read] getting more popular each day it’s only a matter of time before you’re accepting B.o.B the way his narrow-minded classmates never could.
HipHopDX: I know you’ve been asked this a million times
B.o.B: [Laughs] I already know what you’re going to say. What does B.o.B. mean?
DX: Yup. [Laughs]
B.o.B: [B.o.B stands means]: business over bullshit, business over bitches, bring one beer, bring one blunt, bring one broad. I like big ol’ booties, broads bustin’ out their britches. There’s never been one better or been one before, burning on bud, books over bullets and…yeah. [Laughs]
DX: I’ve heard you say your parents really wanted you to do the school thing. At what point did you figure out that school wasn’t really the move for you and when did you start taking your rap career seriously?
B.o.B: [In] 6th grade actually. I had always been rapping my whole life. I just kept preparing and doing it more and more so when I got to eighth grade I was already like I want to do this as a career. By the time I got to 12th grade, I got tired. So that’s when I left [school] and was just like fuck it.
DX: Speaking of your folks, is it true your father’s a pastor?
B.o.B: [Laughs] Yeah.
DX: How’d he respond when he found you were aspiring to be a full-time rapper?
B.o.B: When he first saw me walking around the house with rap books all the time, he kind of raised his eyebrow like what are you doing, why would you want to do that. But you know me: like father, like son. I’m real headstrong so I was like I’ll do what I want to do. When he saw how I was using music for therapy and expressing myself creatively through it and [how] everything happening like me getting the deal and all that they were with it. 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.
DX: One of the first tracks of yours that I heard was “Cloud 9” and my initial thought of the track was that it was mad different. You could have easily came up with some fake shit about selling drugs or shooting people…
B.o.B: [Laughs and repeats] selling drugs or shooting people
DX: Instead you made a track about getting high. Why and were you surprised at how people responded to the track?
B.o.B: Yeah, definitely. To be honest, I didn’t even plan on finishing the song. But B-Rich and Playboy Tre were like, “Dog this shit is jamming, you got to finish it.” So I performed it and people really fucked with it. When I performed it (“Cloud 9”), it was at an open mic. And you know how those scenes are…real club-oriented. So me coming in with a slow, laid back smoking anthem was real different and I knew it would set me apart from day one.
DX: How do you feel about rappers up-top who hate on the success of the south? Also, when you’re in New York what kind of feedback are you getting up there?
B.o.B: You know it’s crazy, but people are really accepting of the south. They still keep it half and half. They still play a lot of New York rap but at this point…you really can’t knock it. The south…we’re doing our thing down here. We don’t really pay attention to a lot of outside factors. We’re just trying to get our hustle on down here. If people don’t want to get with it, it’s all love. But I feel the south is in its prime right now. It’s incredible.
DX: You have the huge LRG billboard in Times Square, you landed the cover of Urb and things are really coming together for you. How’s life really changed for you on the day to day basis?
B.o.B: It’s really become a lot more busy. I’m always doing something or on the way to doing something. I rarely ever get time to just sit down and do nothing. I’m always thinking about I gotta do this or I gotta do that, which is fine. That’s just a part of the hustle but my life has really changed. And when I’m in public people are really starting to recognize me. It’s been a trip seeing the whole transition.
DX: Do you have any funny stories about how your fame has shocked you?
B.o.B: There’s stuff here and there like I’ll be in Walmart and a family may stop me and take a picture. This one time when I was in the Waffle House and I gave the waitress a CD and she held it up [like], “Everybody, it’s B.o.B. We got 'Haterz Everywhere' in the building!” (chuckles) so I had to go to my trunk and get CDs for everybody. It’s just crazy sometimes seeing how people react…over me. I’m like dang it’s crazy.
DX: A lot of your records tell stories about people that are at the rock bottom, people who are in hopeless situations. Is that because you’ve experienced similar things or…
B.o.B: Oh yeah. I’ve been through every stage of being at rock bottom. Everybody goes through that stage when you feel like shit and you’re mad at the world. “Black and Mild” is definitely a song I made when I was going through one of those phases when you just want to smoke a Black then smoke a blunt. Sometimes you feel suicidal… [During] those times you just don’t feel like dealing with all the bullshit. But I was speaking for everybody that was going through something. I went through my own little spell when I was in high school trying to fit in. I couldn’t really afford [designer] clothes. All the clothes I had, I had to work for. I worked at Subway and I used to sell candy and snacks and shit…I was always a hustler because I had to be. It wasn’t an option. I had to find a way to get some extra bread. So [when I started getting it]…there was this feeling where you feel free to do whatever you want do in life. But those songs definitely speak to people being at rock bottom. “Cloud 9” is one them of songs like let me just light up this blunt and take it easy and forget about everything. And I feel like even though that song talks about smoking and other shit it’s still a song for that release you know. At the time when I recorded them songs I was dealing with the same shit. So I feel like when people listen to those tracks they can deal with it and get over it and move on just as I did when I made it.
DX: You have a wide variety of tracks in regards to different subjects, different sounds. Have you ever been worried about how the fans would receive B.o.B., the person?
B.o.B: I really never stopped to think about it. I would say from the questions that people asked me in interviews or just the shit people say when I’m out or on stage I definitely get [that] I’m different a lot. I’ve never really thought about it. I’m just really doing me. I’m not really trying to fit inside a perception. I feel [since I’m doing me] it’s easier for people to fuck with me on a personal tip. People don’t have to feel timid about coming up to me because I got like 80 niggas with machine guns around me or some shit. [Laughs] I’m really just doing me and there’s no “Naw man, this is rap I ain’t really gon’ do that [type of] song.” I’m really just doing anything. I really enjoy making music.
DX: When I speak to different people about Atlanta Rap, they all have this perception it’s all about trapping or dancing. How do you feel about how Atlanta is being represented by its rappers?
B.o.B: There’s definitely a perception about Atlanta that a lot of artists make songs about dancing, rolling and poppin’ pills and smoking weed but at the same time, that’s just what the media focuses on. That’s what labels push. A lot of artists in Atlanta don’t go into the studio thinking let me make a song about this or this or make up a dance. It’s really the la-…I’m not going to blame the labels because at the end of the day the artists are making the songs. As artists, we do have a choice on what type of songs we’re going to make. But at the same time, I feel it’s kind of slanted and I’m kind of bringing the balance. I’m not against it. I’m glad the south came up with all the different types of music that surfaced from the south. And I feel it gives other artists an opportunity to speak their minds and show what they’re good at doing.
DX: How are you planning to represent Eastside Atlanta differently then others who’ve came before you?
B.o.B: I feel like I’m just showing a new side [of Atlanta] and creating a new style. I’m showing people that they have the opportunity to do other things besides setting out to be a rapper. Because I set out to be a rapper but I’m becoming more then just a rapper. You know my cousin told me, “You’ve become a model on billboards and shit.” I can do a lot of shit outside rap. I play the guitar. I sing, produce and engineer. But there’s a lot more to it then just rapping.
DX: Tell me about your upcoming album.
B.o.B: The album is titled The Adventures of B.o.B. It’s set to come out this year. Everything’s feeling right about 2008. Right now I’m getting everything right and I’m planning on going diamond.
DX: Diamond?
B.o.B: Yup.
DX: Are there any features on the album?
B.o.B: Right now I got the Amy Winehouse track called “Grip Your Body.” Then I got a song with Boosie and DG Yola called “Fuck You.” I’m real excited about this year.
DX: Last, I’ve heard about your crew’s side hustle in the streets. Tell me about the Ham Squad and its members.
B.o.B: Ham Squad is me, Playboy Tre, DJ Swatts, DJ Smooth, Moss B, B-Rich and TJ’s DJs. The Ham Squad is always in the smoking section. Wherever there’s a restaurant that says no smoking, we’re not there because we’re always smoking. And what we smoke is hams. And what are hams? They’re hamstrings and if you see a lady with two big ol’ hams on her back you’ll know she’s been smoked by the Ham Squad…
DX: [Laughs]
B.o.B: [Then she’s] gotten her hamstrings smoked and stretched.
B.o.B took cues from the likes of DMX, OutKast and Goodie Mob to spawn his own rap/production career. His grand introduction to the masses would be “Cloud 9.” The smoked out, cheeba-blowing anthem’s laid back vibe and slowed tempo set him apart from his peers providing an alternative to the media’s perception of ATL’s snap and trap formula. And with his track “Haterz” [click to view] and A3C appearances [click to read] getting more popular each day it’s only a matter of time before you’re accepting B.o.B the way his narrow-minded classmates never could.
HipHopDX: I know you’ve been asked this a million times
B.o.B: [Laughs] I already know what you’re going to say. What does B.o.B. mean?
DX: Yup. [Laughs]
B.o.B: [B.o.B stands means]: business over bullshit, business over bitches, bring one beer, bring one blunt, bring one broad. I like big ol’ booties, broads bustin’ out their britches. There’s never been one better or been one before, burning on bud, books over bullets and…yeah. [Laughs]
DX: I’ve heard you say your parents really wanted you to do the school thing. At what point did you figure out that school wasn’t really the move for you and when did you start taking your rap career seriously?
B.o.B: [In] 6th grade actually. I had always been rapping my whole life. I just kept preparing and doing it more and more so when I got to eighth grade I was already like I want to do this as a career. By the time I got to 12th grade, I got tired. So that’s when I left [school] and was just like fuck it.
DX: Speaking of your folks, is it true your father’s a pastor?
B.o.B: [Laughs] Yeah.
DX: How’d he respond when he found you were aspiring to be a full-time rapper?
B.o.B: When he first saw me walking around the house with rap books all the time, he kind of raised his eyebrow like what are you doing, why would you want to do that. But you know me: like father, like son. I’m real headstrong so I was like I’ll do what I want to do. When he saw how I was using music for therapy and expressing myself creatively through it and [how] everything happening like me getting the deal and all that they were with it. 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.
DX: One of the first tracks of yours that I heard was “Cloud 9” and my initial thought of the track was that it was mad different. You could have easily came up with some fake shit about selling drugs or shooting people…
B.o.B: [Laughs and repeats] selling drugs or shooting people
DX: Instead you made a track about getting high. Why and were you surprised at how people responded to the track?
B.o.B: Yeah, definitely. To be honest, I didn’t even plan on finishing the song. But B-Rich and Playboy Tre were like, “Dog this shit is jamming, you got to finish it.” So I performed it and people really fucked with it. When I performed it (“Cloud 9”), it was at an open mic. And you know how those scenes are…real club-oriented. So me coming in with a slow, laid back smoking anthem was real different and I knew it would set me apart from day one.
DX: How do you feel about rappers up-top who hate on the success of the south? Also, when you’re in New York what kind of feedback are you getting up there?
B.o.B: You know it’s crazy, but people are really accepting of the south. They still keep it half and half. They still play a lot of New York rap but at this point…you really can’t knock it. The south…we’re doing our thing down here. We don’t really pay attention to a lot of outside factors. We’re just trying to get our hustle on down here. If people don’t want to get with it, it’s all love. But I feel the south is in its prime right now. It’s incredible.
DX: You have the huge LRG billboard in Times Square, you landed the cover of Urb and things are really coming together for you. How’s life really changed for you on the day to day basis?
B.o.B: It’s really become a lot more busy. I’m always doing something or on the way to doing something. I rarely ever get time to just sit down and do nothing. I’m always thinking about I gotta do this or I gotta do that, which is fine. That’s just a part of the hustle but my life has really changed. And when I’m in public people are really starting to recognize me. It’s been a trip seeing the whole transition.
DX: Do you have any funny stories about how your fame has shocked you?
B.o.B: There’s stuff here and there like I’ll be in Walmart and a family may stop me and take a picture. This one time when I was in the Waffle House and I gave the waitress a CD and she held it up [like], “Everybody, it’s B.o.B. We got 'Haterz Everywhere' in the building!” (chuckles) so I had to go to my trunk and get CDs for everybody. It’s just crazy sometimes seeing how people react…over me. I’m like dang it’s crazy.
DX: A lot of your records tell stories about people that are at the rock bottom, people who are in hopeless situations. Is that because you’ve experienced similar things or…
B.o.B: Oh yeah. I’ve been through every stage of being at rock bottom. Everybody goes through that stage when you feel like shit and you’re mad at the world. “Black and Mild” is definitely a song I made when I was going through one of those phases when you just want to smoke a Black then smoke a blunt. Sometimes you feel suicidal… [During] those times you just don’t feel like dealing with all the bullshit. But I was speaking for everybody that was going through something. I went through my own little spell when I was in high school trying to fit in. I couldn’t really afford [designer] clothes. All the clothes I had, I had to work for. I worked at Subway and I used to sell candy and snacks and shit…I was always a hustler because I had to be. It wasn’t an option. I had to find a way to get some extra bread. So [when I started getting it]…there was this feeling where you feel free to do whatever you want do in life. But those songs definitely speak to people being at rock bottom. “Cloud 9” is one them of songs like let me just light up this blunt and take it easy and forget about everything. And I feel like even though that song talks about smoking and other shit it’s still a song for that release you know. At the time when I recorded them songs I was dealing with the same shit. So I feel like when people listen to those tracks they can deal with it and get over it and move on just as I did when I made it.
DX: You have a wide variety of tracks in regards to different subjects, different sounds. Have you ever been worried about how the fans would receive B.o.B., the person?
B.o.B: I really never stopped to think about it. I would say from the questions that people asked me in interviews or just the shit people say when I’m out or on stage I definitely get [that] I’m different a lot. I’ve never really thought about it. I’m just really doing me. I’m not really trying to fit inside a perception. I feel [since I’m doing me] it’s easier for people to fuck with me on a personal tip. People don’t have to feel timid about coming up to me because I got like 80 niggas with machine guns around me or some shit. [Laughs] I’m really just doing me and there’s no “Naw man, this is rap I ain’t really gon’ do that [type of] song.” I’m really just doing anything. I really enjoy making music.
DX: When I speak to different people about Atlanta Rap, they all have this perception it’s all about trapping or dancing. How do you feel about how Atlanta is being represented by its rappers?
B.o.B: There’s definitely a perception about Atlanta that a lot of artists make songs about dancing, rolling and poppin’ pills and smoking weed but at the same time, that’s just what the media focuses on. That’s what labels push. A lot of artists in Atlanta don’t go into the studio thinking let me make a song about this or this or make up a dance. It’s really the la-…I’m not going to blame the labels because at the end of the day the artists are making the songs. As artists, we do have a choice on what type of songs we’re going to make. But at the same time, I feel it’s kind of slanted and I’m kind of bringing the balance. I’m not against it. I’m glad the south came up with all the different types of music that surfaced from the south. And I feel it gives other artists an opportunity to speak their minds and show what they’re good at doing.
DX: How are you planning to represent Eastside Atlanta differently then others who’ve came before you?
B.o.B: I feel like I’m just showing a new side [of Atlanta] and creating a new style. I’m showing people that they have the opportunity to do other things besides setting out to be a rapper. Because I set out to be a rapper but I’m becoming more then just a rapper. You know my cousin told me, “You’ve become a model on billboards and shit.” I can do a lot of shit outside rap. I play the guitar. I sing, produce and engineer. But there’s a lot more to it then just rapping.
DX: Tell me about your upcoming album.
B.o.B: The album is titled The Adventures of B.o.B. It’s set to come out this year. Everything’s feeling right about 2008. Right now I’m getting everything right and I’m planning on going diamond.
DX: Diamond?
B.o.B: Yup.
DX: Are there any features on the album?
B.o.B: Right now I got the Amy Winehouse track called “Grip Your Body.” Then I got a song with Boosie and DG Yola called “Fuck You.” I’m real excited about this year.
DX: Last, I’ve heard about your crew’s side hustle in the streets. Tell me about the Ham Squad and its members.
B.o.B: Ham Squad is me, Playboy Tre, DJ Swatts, DJ Smooth, Moss B, B-Rich and TJ’s DJs. The Ham Squad is always in the smoking section. Wherever there’s a restaurant that says no smoking, we’re not there because we’re always smoking. And what we smoke is hams. And what are hams? They’re hamstrings and if you see a lady with two big ol’ hams on her back you’ll know she’s been smoked by the Ham Squad…
DX: [Laughs]
B.o.B: [Then she’s] gotten her hamstrings smoked and stretched.
