The Future

With so many artists out there today, it's hard to single out one that's changing the game in a positive way and making an impact on the industry. I went out to Best Buy today to pick up B.o.B.'s 1st album in support for what he's been doing. I've been listening to all of his singles he's been dropping and each one has really connected with me in one way or another. Listening to them online, I could hear his lyrics, feel his flow, and get his message, but when I got home and listened to Adventures of Bobby Ray on my system, every different part of the song just sunk in to me and I couldn't help but be inspired. It's a very mysterious, dreamy album that talks of his travels on his way to the game and how people would always shut him down. On this album is of course his hit, Nothin' On You, but the tracks that made the biggest impression on me were Ghost In the Machine and The Kids. His positive outlook is expressed by talking about how the youth is being corrupted by artists that only talk about drugs, sex, and death. On most hip-hop sites, B.o.B has been taking a lot of shit for being more pop than hip-hop. When hip-hop was first being noticed in the US, it was basically a mixture of all different types of music all around the world. As the genre grew, it really killed the smaller genres. Reggae died down, as well as jazz and rock. Since it's been some time that we've added a different style of music, people don't realize that hip-hop is really just a bunch of smaller genres in one. As pop makes it's way into hip-hop, the older listener's opinions are usually frowned towards this style, while younger people, such as my generation, are more open to this concept. I think in a sense of where hip-hop is going, progressives such as Bobby Ray will be more accepted in the later part of their career. He's an innovator. Coming from Atlanta where "Hood" rap is dominant, B.o.B. tells stories with his music. While he is in fact a southern rapper, he uses his voice to create his chorus' as well, which is unusual for someone in this stage to commit to. He brings in artists such as T.I., Eminem, and Lupe Fiasco to jump onto a couple verses, as well as Haley Williams from Paramore to sing in his recent hit Airplanes Pts.1 and 2. I was also interested in his album photos, because he is on Atlantic Records, the same label as Lupe Fiasco. On Lupe's first album Food and Liquor, he had very similar pictures, such as the one of B.o.B. floating where the CD should be placed. I'll be interested to see if he goes on to be as respected as Lupe, on a mainstream and underground level.




The similarity of Lupe's Food and Liquor and B.o.B.'s The Adventures of Bobby Ray