Atlanta-based artist B.o.B, whose acclaimed single “Nothin’ on You [feat: Bruno Mars]” has reached near platinum status, believes his unique sound and musical style is unlike the rest.
The Miami Hurricane recently had the opportunity to interview the artist and find out what exactly separates him from a myriad of performers plagued by the “one-hit wonder” label.
The Miami Hurricane: Did you expect this level of success at such an early stage in your career? Why did you choose “Nothin’ on You” to be your single?
B.o.B: Well, it’s been really an incredible year for me. I still can’t believe it really. (Laughs) We wanted to release the single early, hoping it would built momentum for the summer where we thought it would take off but yeah, it definitely was not expected to blow up as quickly as it did.
TMH: What can we expect from your next single?
B.o.B: It will be completely different for sure, I like to mix it up.
TMH: Coming from the hip-hop mecca of Atlanta, where artists from that genre seem to be plentiful, how do you see your sound as different?
B.o.B: Well, I don’t like to be tied to a certain genre of music because then you can get stuck in a box where you can’t branch out of. I definitely classify my sound as reggae, R&B, hip-hop-everything really. It’s definitely something fresh and real.
TMH: Starting out, you are acutely aware of the difficulties most new and even established artists are having selling their records to young people, especially college students. How do you feel you can convince the average college student to go out and buy your album?
B.o.B: Well, I’m still of the belief that if people really like the music, they’ll still buy the album. It may sound old-fashion but that’s just how I see it.
TMH: I didn’t see a tour date stop for Miami on your Web site. Are you planning on coming down to South Florida in the near future?
B.o.B: Definitely. I haven’t been down there in years. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to perform there soon.
Daniel Medina may be contacted at dmedina@themiamihurricane.com.
“The Adventures of Bobby Ray”
Release date: April 27, 2010
Label: Atlantic
Check out B.o.B at www.myspace.com/bobatl to find a complete list of tour dates his latest collaborations.