New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Atlantic Records) -
Rebel Rock Entertainment/Grand Hustle/Atlantic recording artist
B.o.B has announced details of his hugely anticipated debut album. "B.o.B Presents: The Adventures Of
Bobby Ray" - which includes the hit single, "Nothin' On You (Feat. Bruno Mars)" - arrives in stores and at all online retailers on April 27th.
"Nothin' On You" is shaping up to be a breakout hit for the ATL-based rapper/musician/producer, earning both immediate acclaim and popular success. The track has ascended to the top 10 on Billboard's "Rhythmic Airplay" chart - the fastest rising debut track since Drake's 2009 smash, "Best I Ever Had" - while also reaching No 16 on Billboard's "Hot 100" with 257,097 units sold to date. What's more, Billboard praised "Nothin' On You" for its "feel-good singalong hook," noting that the single "provides a solid launching pad for this promising talent."
Having spent much of last year sharing stages with such like-minded artists as Asher Roth, Kid Cudi, and Shwayze, B.o.B will herald the release of "B.o.B Presents: The Adventures Of Bobby Ray" with a full-scale US tour. The dates - supporting 1st & 15th /Atlantic labelmate Lupe Fiasco's "Steppin Laser Tour" - began Friday, March 5th at Claremont, California's Bridges Auditorium and continues through early May (see attached itinerary).
One of hip-hop's most inventive and exciting young artists, B.o.B has quickly drawn a bounty of rapturous critical applause. In its 2010 "Faces To Watch" feature, Billboard celebrated the rapper's "versatility," declaring that he "recalls both OutKast's Big Boi and crooner Raheem DeVaughn and may be the first rapper to play the guitar well." XXL - which named B.o.B among its "10 Freshmen of 2009" - called him "ready for stardom," while John Ivey, program director at Los Angeles' influential KIIS-FM, told Entertainment Weekly that the multi-talented MC is his pick for "next big thing," explaining that "a lot of hip-hop guys are just rappers, but (B.o.B) plays guitar and just kills it." Smooth celebrated B.o.B's "virtuosic talent" and "lyrical directness," while Ozone called him "one of the most anticipated newcomers in the game." Nylon hailed B.o.B as a leading figure of "a new generation of hip-hop upstarts" and the Wall Street Journal concurred, praising the MC for "testing the genre's conventions." Additional profiles have appeared in such publications as Complex and Paste, which included B.o.B in its "The Best of What's Next '09" round-up.
"B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray" sees the resourceful rapper producing the majority of the album by himself, while also playing multiple musical instruments, including piano, trumpet and French horn. In addition, tracks such as "5th Dimension" and "Friday Night Star" offer a funky and fascinating journey into a gifted new talent's far-reaching imagination.
"I just want to show people that there are endless possibilities of what you can do," B.o.B says. "You don't just have to be a rapper, you don't just have to be a trapper; you can be anything you want to be and whatever you do, just love it and it will show."
Born Bobby Ray Simmons, B.o.B is already a significant force in Southern hip-hop, having captured underground interest with a variety of mixtapes and his smokers anthem, "Cloud 9." In 2006, while he was still attending high school, the accomplished musician and producer came to the attention of renowned producer/songwriter Jim Jonsin (Lil' Wayne, Pretty Ricky, Twista, Danity Kane, Trick Daddy), who promptly signed the young MC to his Rebel Rock Entertainment label.
B.o.B scored a breakthrough hit in 2008 with the smash single/video, "Haterz Everywhere," which was an MTV "Jam of the Week" as well as a top 10 hit on the network's Sucker Free Countdown. A number of blockbuster mixtapes followed, including 2009's celebrated "B.o.B VS. BOBBY RAY" (available at B.o.B's own https://bobmixtapes.wordpress.com). As if all that weren't enough, the much-admired rapper teamed up with Reebok on a unique reinterpretation of A Tribe Called Quest's classic "Bonita Applebum" in celebration of the Reebok Classic Remix collection.
A wide range of media attention greeted B.o.B's arrival on the hip-hop scene, with features and reviews appearing in such national publications and online outlets as The Source, Complex, Spin, URB, XXL, Fader, Rolling Stone, and Murderdog. Vibe recently hailed his leading role in the emerging ATL sound, noting that "a musical renaissance has begun to take shape, and locals like B.o.B are putting a new movement in motion."
