B.o.B
by SimpleT on Jul.21, 2010, under B.o.B
Bobby Ray Simmons, Jr., better known as simply Bobby Ray or by his stage name B.o.B, is an American R&B singer-songwriter, rapper, multi-instrumentalist and record producer.
Simmons was born on 15th November 1988 in Winston Salem, North Carolina. He took an interest in music from a very young age and in his teens, after his family had moved to Decatur, Georgia, he began to get involved in the local rap and hip hop scene. He joined the rap group HamSquad along with Playboy Tre, TJ Chapman and B. Rich but also produced a demo tape of his solo work. It was the latter which began to get Simmons industry attention in the late 2000s, and he was featured on the covers of both XXL and Vibe magazines in 2008 – being lauded as one of the next big hip hop stars.
The singer was signed to Grand Hustle and Atlantic Records in 2008 and, after releasing the non-album singles Haterz Everywhere, I’ll Be in The Sky and No Man’s Land, he started work on his debut studio album. B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray was eventually released on 27th April 2010 and shot straight to number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 84,000 copies in its first week. It also reached the top 40 in Canada, the UK and Australia. The critically acclaimed album has produced two singles to date – the US and UK number one smash hit Nothin’ on You (ft. Bruno Mars) and the UK number one/US number two hit Airplanes (ft. Hayley Williams) – and the album’s third single Magic (ft. Rivers Cuomo) is set for release in mid-August.
B.o.B was recently nominated for three 2010 BET Awards – Best Male Hip-Hop Artist, Best Collaboration (Nothin’ On You ft. Bruno Mars) and Video of the Year (Nothin’ on You again).
