S. Samuel
Grand Hustle artist B.o.B. recently talked about his ability to make organic music without having a large budget from a record label.
From “Bobby Ray’s” perspective, his best records came from not having excessive resources.
“I made the best music when I didn’t have a budget. And when I say best, I mean more organic music when I had a smaller budget, and that’s something that I’m trying to stay in touch with,” he states, reflecting on the days when he would go so far as to record himself tap dancing into a mic to produce a unique beat. “It’s like, who’s to say what sounds right? If it sounds good to me, then that’s cool because I’m the artist. You have so many people who are forcing the hand of artistry. And I think that’s what I don’t want to lose [as] the budgets get bigger.” (YRB Magazine)
Recently, B.o.B. producer Alex da Kid spoke with SOHH about working on the rapper’s debut, The Adventures of Bobby Ray.
“I met B.o.B. about two years ago in LA, it was like a last minute session and we actually didn’t really do anything in that session, we were just talking and then I went to the strip club, [laughs],” Alex told SOHH about befriending B.o.B. “He’s a super cool guy, but we didn’t speak for a little while because we were so busy but obviously I’m just super proud of him. He was on the label for a while and you see that so much where an artist will get signed and then kinda left on the label and then he did the deal with T.I. over at Grand Hustle which made people kinda stand up and pay more attention. He’s got a great team around him and what I love about him is he does something different, he’s not just a regular rapper. He’s super talented, he can play guitar and sing and do something different.” (SOHH)
Earlier this year, B.o.B. talked about working with Eminem on his album.
“[His manager] Paul Rosenberg played him the Cloud 9 mixtape and it kind of gave him an idea of what my music,” B.o.B revealed in an interview. “Eventually he started playing Em more of my stuff and was keeping him updated on my progress and eventually he wanted to get in the studio with me, so that was a gift. It’s really reassuring to know that every artist has a way of working but it’s all … the essence of it all to get in that vibe and to get in that zone, and everybody has a different way to get in that zone…It’s good to see a different way, because you know, ‘OK, I can do this or I can do that.’ It kind of showed me where I was thinking inside of a box and where I can open up even more.” (MTV)
B.o.B.’s debut topped the charts upon its release in late April.
Grand Hustle rapper B.o.B.’s Adventures of Bobby Ray debuted this week at No. 1. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the Southern-grown emcee’s debut album has sold 84,300 records after a week in stores. (SOHH Sales Wrap)
Check out a recent B.o.B. interview down below:
