TheUrbanian.com » B.o.B.

Bruno Mars ft. Cee-Lo & B.o.B “The Other Side”

Bradley Kevin MacDonald — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:33:46 +0000

Bruno Mars is a name you should be well familiar with, as he sings a couple of the most popular hooks this year so far on B.o.B’s Nothin On You and Travie McCoy’s Billionaire.

Assuming searches on Bruno Mars on the Google raised considerably after people heard Mars’ smooth vocals is a fair one. You may have come to find out Mars is no stranger to hits – He’s co-written songs like chart-topper Right Round by Flo Rida and the World Cup’s official song, Wavin’ Flag by K’Naan.

2010 is making out to be Mars’ year as he slowly – but very loudly – emerges from the background of hits and dashes into the forefront like he was there all along.

The music video to his song, The Other Side, which appears off his debut EP, It’s Better If You Don’t Understand, recently saw its release.

The song also features Cee-Lo and B.o.B. These three voices together on a track sounds great.

Janelle Monáe – Tightrope ft. Bob x Lupe [VID]

Kenny — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 18:27:12 +0000

Like Savage Garden, I too, love this truly, madly, deeply, and that’s Janelle Monáe’s Tightrope. She certainly has a real recipe for success brewing with her progressively crafted hip-pop diva arch-android mold. That and her collaborations with the big boys, both figuratively and literally, have aided her path to success.

Now, this video doesn’t quite measure up to her sensational original Tightrope production ft. Big Boi; but judging by the teaser trailer, this vid was done as shits-and-giggles type production. By no means is it bad, hell, how could it be? B.o.B., Lupe, and Monáe, enough said. Enough reading, more watching.

Official

Pre-Production Teaser Trailer

Janelle Monae ‘Tightrope’ Remix w/ B.o.B & Lupe

Bradley Kevin MacDonald — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 18:06:06 +0000

In a way to perfectly set off a second push of her recently-released album, ArchAndroid, Janelle Monae has graced us with a Tightrope remix.

Joining Monae this time around are B.o.B and Lupe Fiasco. Not a bad trifecta of musical greatness if you ask me.

Listen:

Janelle Monáe featuring B.o.B & Lupe Fiasco – Tightrope (Wondamix) by Hypetrak

B.o.B Covers MGMT’s “Kids”

Bradley Kevin MacDonald — Thu, 27 May 2010 23:29:31 +0000

I think MGMT could make a healthy living from here on out by merely clearing samples and selling their production to rappers. Hip-hop and MGMT is the new peanut butter and jelly.

The latest hip-hop and MGMT merger comes from B.o.B, as he covers Kids.

Listen and download.

Epic Week for Hip Hop Comes to an End

Bradley Kevin MacDonald — Sun, 02 May 2010 17:52:47 +0000

The week of April 25 through May 1 saw many expected musical delights in the hip-hop realm, along with some major surprises.

The week started off with the release of B.o.B’s debut album, The Adventures of Bobby Ray. He captured our attention with an album full of great collaborations, pop melodies, and summertime-feel music. It was a great stamp into music for the Atlanta-based artist.

We also got a couple solid mixtapes from a couple up-and-comers. Theophilus London dropped the soulful I Want You and the trio of Pac Div gave us Don’t Mention It. Like B.o.B, it’s hard to classify him as just a rapper, as he explores the notion of a hip hop-meets-soul blend, and he definitely does it well. Then we have Pac Div, where they are one of the most exciting hip-hop groups to be excited about it quite some time. Finding a refreshing hip-hop group is rare, so these guys are an act to start listening to now rather than later.

The week also saw the release of a new Drake song, which I’m sure got a lot of people excited. The track, Find Your Love, is produced by Kanye West and sounds like an 808s & Heartbreak B-side. It’s definitely an unoriginal and boring track but I understand the hype around it. Drake has shown glimpses of genius in some of his songs, but lately he’s been more miss than hit. The reason a lot of people will check out his debut, Thank Me Later, is to see if the Fear Drake or Young Money Drake will show up.

Jay Electronica, a definite talent, but someone who hardly ever releases music, gave us something of a tribute song to Notorious B.I.G which featured Diddy. The Ghost of Christopher Wallace isn’t the greatest song he’s ever done, but it’s still a solid track.

Then to top it all off, we got something we’ve all been waiting for: The return of Eminem. Sure he’s been lingering around for awhile now, but Relapse Eminem isn’t the slim shady we all know and love (and he even admitted it). First he dropped a freestyle, Despicable, sending the internet into a frenzy, then just like that we got the new single off his upcoming album, Recovery. Not Afraid showcases a positive Eminem, rapping about change and hope.

This was quite a week to remember. Other notable releases were Big Sean’s Made (unfinished track) which features Drake and Game’s Ain’t No Doubt About It, which features Justin Timberlake.

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You can contact Brad at brad@theurbanian.com or @bkmacdonald

‘Adventures of Bobby Ray’ is Adventure into New Mainstream

Bradley Kevin MacDonald — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 20:27:32 +0000

A few years ago, B.o.B was an artist releasing mixtapes for free for the general public to indulge in. In 2008, he signed to Atlantic Records, and now his debut album is finally being released.

Having your debut album finally get a release two years after signing a deal is quite the head scratcher. Getting this album to you was quite the adventure in itself for B.o.B. He had many problems dealing with the label to get the exact kind of deal and control he wanted with the label.

Some may want to attach the rapper label to B.o.B, but he’s not. He definitely carries rap-like influences, but with this release it is apparent he is a pop artist – and a damn good one.

With so much negativity surrounding mainstream music, some may not like to refer to him as a pop artist. If you listen to Adventures of Bobby Ray, it’s quite impossible to refer to him as just a rapper.

B.o.B uses a wide range of artists to collaborate on the album, further illustrating his understanding of pop music. The truth is, almost the entire album is radio-friendly. The only songs falling short of spectacular are the ones where he does try to just be a rapper – Bet I, Fame, and 5th Dimension.

With the rest of the album he will continue to draw comparisons to Andre 3000, just like he mentions in Airplanes Pt. II. Andre 3000 is beloved by many and it’s probably an honor to be compared to him, but B.o.B is not that much like him (Both are wildly creative, but B.o.B has a long way to go before he’s as notorious as three stacks. Plus, B.o.B is in fact way more mainstream friendly). He is in fact a new-wave type of an artist, who we should all be willing to follow into this adventure of the new mainstream.

What B.o.B has done with this album is take the elements of what makes a song radio-friendly and making it better. The album is layered with infectious hooks, eclectic production, and heartfelt lyricism.

Not only does he not rely on others to write for him, but he also produces some of his own songs. On top of that, he’s made a great selection of collaborators for the album. He picked out a few hip-hop heavyweights in Eminem, Lupe Fiasco and T.I, an up-and-coming and sure-to-be R&B superstar in Janelle Monae, and very familiar voices in pop/rock in Rivers Cuomo and Hayley Williams. These names will attract all sorts of music lovers from different genres to the album for listening pleasures. B.o.B is further blending genres – and in a very good way.

At the mere age of 21, B.o.B appears poised to lead us into the new mainstream. Adventures of Bobby Ray is a stellar debut – only containing a few misses – and comes off as a great summer album. Whether he’s playing guitar and singing, or just holding a mic and rapping, B.o.B is the future of mainstream music.

Just Because It’s On the Radio Doesn’t Mean It’s Not Good

Bradley Kevin MacDonald — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 02:41:19 +0000

The tracks leaking from B.o.B’s debut album are fogging the internet up lately, just like the Eyjafjallajokull volcano’s ashes are fogging up the Earth’s sky. While sifting through some online music forums, I started noticing some people lashing out against B.o.B for being too radio-friendly.

What I saw was people saying B.o.B is going into a direction his label must be forcing him to go in, and B.o.B is abandoning the kind of songs he did earlier on. There was mentions of his lyricism falling off, and that B.o.B just isn’t want he used to be.

First off, anyone who would like to classify B.o.B under the rapper category, is delusional. He’s been on record many times saying when he first started, he tried the whole southern rap persona but it’s something he didn’t really like and he eventually switched gears. While he definitely carries rap-like elements, B.o.B has portrayed a unique spin to the genre, with many pop and radio-friendly sentiments.

We must keep in mind the reason B.o.B didn’t find the radio airwaves sooner was because of label troubles. The Adventures of Bobby Ray has been a long thing coming, due to Atlantic Records. What a lot of people don’t understand is when you sign a contract to a label, there are many, many stipulations regarding your next step into the musical foray. What we are hearing from these new B.o.B songs, is what B.o.B has always intended and the musical direction he wanted to go in.

On to the bigger issue now. Over the past few years, people have grown to decide, if it’s on the radio, it’s not good. Fans deem the radio picking up an artist’s song as the end of it all. This could be because the radio is no longer the dependent for discovering new music. Through the beauty of the internet, one is able to discover and listen to new artists at the click of the button.

The ability to discover artists with ease, makes the listener form a closer relationship with the artist. They found that artist on their own and didn’t have to listen to some mainstream media outlet to do so. For some people, finding the artist means they want the artist to stay under the radar. The less people who know about the artist, the better. I feel like we’ve all been there. We find an artist so unearthly good, and we want them to stay good. And by that, I mean we don’t want them to fall entrapped to the corrupt mainstream media. When they do, we see things like what we’re seeing with B.o.B – People decide they became corrupt due to the record label, radio stations, or just outright fame.

What we all must get through our thick skulls is that just because it’s on the radio, doesn’t mean it’s not good, nor does it mean the artist has changed their musical direction. Let’s instead try to take the positive route and think about how maybe the general public’s view on music has gotten better.

Plus, if they are really fans of the artist, then they should be happy for them. Getting strong radio play will churn out a good amount of money to further support the artist to tour and continue making music. Does it suck to have to go see B.o.B open for Lupe Fiasco and everyone stand around during his set until Nothin on You comes on? Yeah. However, an artist we’ve supported and loved since their earlier times getting radio play is something we should be happy about.

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You can contact Brad at brad@theurbanian.com or follow him on Twitter.

Excitement Builds for B.o.B’s Debut Effort

Bradley Kevin MacDonald — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 17:53:06 +0000

There are a lot of albums slated to release this year that a lot of people are buzzing about. Albums from Kanye West, Eminem, and possibly even Dr. Dre are expected, along with debuts from Drake, Mike Posner, and Big Sean.

The one debut we’re really looking forward to here is from 21-year-old B.o.B. His current single which features Bruno Mars, Nothin’ On You, is currently sweeping the nation and getting major radio play.

The tracklisting for his debut album, The Adventures of Bobby Ray, was also just released and it revealed an incredible lineup of features consisting of: Eminem, Lupe Fiasco, T.I., Janelle Monae, River Cuomo (Weezer), and Hayley Williams (Paramore).

As the release date (April 27) draws near, another track, Don’t Let Me Fall, has leaked.

This song in my opinion is better than Nothin On You and gives us an amazing taste to what to further expect from the album.

B.o.B’s styling is so fresh and unique to me. His album dropping is going to be the perfect way to bring in summer. I can already imagine tons of people cruising along with the windows down blasting the album.

Have a listen to Don’t Let Me Fall below:

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You can contact Brad at brad@theurbanian.com or follow him on Twitter.

All-City Chess Club is a Win for All

Bradley Kevin MacDonald — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 23:58:01 +0000

The internet is beaming after Lupe Fiasco tweeted about All-City Chess Club. First he tweeted, “All City Chess Club was in the studio last night…” which instantly raised questions. Then a few hours later he tweeted again telling us All-City Chess Club is Asher Roth, B.o.B, The Cool Kids, Charles Hamilton, Blu, Diggy, J. Cole, Wale and Lupe Fiasco. Whoa, some major and interesting names right there.

People are saying it’s for a remix to I’m Beaming, and I’ve even heard it’s for an entire project. Whatever the case, one thing is for certain: This is good for everyone. Let’s run through why this is going to be good for each involved.

Lupe Fiasco: Fiasco is unlike many rappers. It feels like he’s been around forever, yet only has two official albums. He’s recently spoken out about label troubles and his career in general. Although he has the mainstream talent and appeal it seems he doesn’t want any part of it. He even said he doesn’t want to be Jay-Z. He’s crafty, smart, and definitely cares about the product he puts out. However, due to this kind of thinking is why he was left off of something like MTV’s Hottest Emcees, which really ticked him off. Despite having a strong and large fan-base, he does seem to often get lost in the industry when people think of the best rappers. Getting a huge project like this started it just the punch in the face to the genre and its listeners he needs to do. Especially with the kind of talent and names he has assembled.

Asher Roth: Roth is a talented rapper who seems to have gotten lost in expectations of society. In a way, he kind of became the anti-Lupe. While Fiasco makes it extremely apparent he won’t step outside of his own comfort zone and into one of his label’s, Roth seemed to step inside to MTV’s zone, and abandon his. When Roth’s album dropped, it became something of a disappointment to most hip-hop heads. Roth definitely still lingered in the hip-hop realms but appeared destined for a one-hit wonder tag. Between this project and his latest mixtape, Roth can potentially climb his way back up the relevant ladder and remind hip-hop heads he’s still on his grind.

B.o.B: Bobby Ray appears to want to continue the buzz generating leading up to the release of his album on April 27. He’s not sitting around and having Nothin’ On You do all the buzzing for him, he constantly stays on the campaign trail. He dropped a mixtape to promote the album (even though now the title of it is irrelevant since the release date changed), and now has his name attached to this project, which will certainly have people constantly prying for more information on. Whether this comes out before or after the release of the album, it will still create a good push for him and his music.

Charles Hamilton: Hamilton needs all the help he can get to win people back over and make them care about what he does. Having his name attached to a project with a solid group of up-and-comers is his ticket back to relevance and resurgence of his career that he needs. It’s also good he’s attached to something with Wale, since it appeared for the longest time Wale was not a fan of Hamilton and would never work with him. Even though Wale did come out and say there was no beef, the fans were always questioning it. Working with him is the one way to finally show there’s no dispute. If fans see Wale overcoming whatever beef/hatred he had for him, then the fan might too.

The Cool Kids: I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a group’s buzz go so high, disappear, then go up again over and over like the Cool Kids. They are working on an album that appears like will never release. Their name is in-and-out of the talking-point circuits and never seem to be constantly talked about. This project is another oppurtunity to have people talking about the Cool Kids once again and go on to ponder about what the heck is going on with their debut album.

Wale: This project is the perfect way for Wale to avoid becoming just an afterthought. It’s now been sometime since his debut came out, so this is opportunity for him to remind people he had one of the best hip-hop albums of last year. His album was solid but didn’t quite crack into the mainstream as much as he probably hoped. This project is a nice platform to further push the Wale campaign and really get people excited about his next release (whenever that will be).

Diggy: The internet went nuts when his Made Ya Look freestyle video dropped, and just a matter of days after that, he was signed. He’s had more material leak since but this is his first major collaboration and chance to prove that the 15-year-old really can flow with the big boys.

J. Cole: A lot of people point to him being the next big lyrical all-star. Since the Warm-Up, his buzz and stock has been slowly growing and 2010 marks the year for the big push toward the release of his album. He started it off with the XXL Freshman 10 cover, and this project is the perfect next step. He’s aligned with more up-and-comers and already established names to associate himself with on this. If he can continue his lyrical madness, he can come out of this a real winner and get people even more excited for his debut.

Blu: He’s easily one of the best lyrical rappers around but can never seem to break through the strong niche following he already has and make more people appreciate and acknowledge his work. Being involved with this project is a major shot into popular mainstream hip-hop for him. Most of us know he can spit, but this time he’ll be doing so alongside some big names.

Whenever multiple rappers are on a song or a project, the discussion of who had the better verse or song is always going to happen. People like to discuss whom renegaded whom on a song. So this project is a definite chance for the up-and-comers involved to really get their name out and prove they are worthy of your attention.

All-City Chess Club is for sure an odd name but extremely fitting. Not only are all these guys involved pretty smart, but this project serves as quite the strategic game for them to all push themselves and their own music. It’s a win for all of them, but most importantly for us, the fan, because we get to listen when it’s done.

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You can contact Brad at brad@theurbanian.com or Twitter.

The Closest Thing We’ll Get to OutKast?

Bradley Kevin MacDonald — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 17:00:27 +0000

I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s been sitting around hoping to hear news of a new OutKast album, or even a track. Maybe not even that, just a whimper of noise from Andre 3000. Where are you Andre!? Come back to us!

B.o.B has been my substitute for the past year or so as I patiently wait for Andre to reemerge to the scene, saving us all from the dreaded mainstream music we’ve had to deal with as of late.

Well, this remix to B.o.B’s hit, Nothin on You with Big Boi just dropped. B. Rich says it’s unofficial. However, unofficial or not, it’s great to hear B.o.B and Big Boi on the same track. It brings me back to that feeling of the good old days when OutKast was dropping music.

What do you guys think, is this the closest we’ll get to an OutKast song for the time being? When is Andre 3K coming back to us!?

Listen and download.