B.o.B. Album Review

If you are not familiar with the world of hip hop, or you just don’t pay much attention to new hip hop music that is released because of the lack of quality lately, then you are probably not familiar with the new and upcoming artist, B.o.B., a.k.a. Bobby Ray. B.o.B. recently released his debut album on April 27, 2010, titled ‘B.o.B. Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray.’ I bought the album (yes, bought it) the day it came out, because I was so excited to hear what B.o.B. could actually do. Yes I had heard a few tracks from his mixtape, but I didn’t actually listen to enough of him to figure out if I enjoyed his music. So I decided just to patiently wait for his album release and occasionally listen to some of his mixtape tracks.

So I finally heard the whole body of work that just came out, with a few tracks that were leaked, and I over all liked the album, as expected. Before I got the album I could tell that B.o.B. was a very talented young man, and that shows on all of the tracks. Besides rapping, Bobby Ray sings, plays guitar, plays the piano, and produces a lot of his own beats.

I really liked the fact that B.o.B really shows his versatility and eclectic musical taste. For example, he can do a soulful song like “The Kids” (featuring Janelle Monae) and still do a really dirty southern rap song like “Bet I” (featuring T.I. & Playboy Tre.) He is actually also signed to T.I.

My only problems with the album is this, B.o.B. is a very talented musician, but with a hip hop perspective, he is a little bit lyrically weak. His rhyme scheme is very simple with elementary rhyming words, and lack of compound syllables, metaphors, and wordplay. The album also seemed kind of short to me. It only had 12 track on it. Before it was released, it was said that the album would have 13 tracks and three bonus tracks. But it had one less than that and no bonus tracks when I bought the hard copy of the album.

But I actually think it is a great album overall. My favorite tracks are:

*”Don’t Let Me Fall,” because of the hook that he sings and his double-time type flow. (He’s rapping fast).
*”Past My Shades ft. Lupe Fiasco,” because Lupe’s verse is awesome.
*”Airplanes ft. Haley Williams of Paramore & Eminem,” because I really enjoy Haley’s voice on the hook, and Eminem killed his verse.
*”Bet I ft. T.I. & Playboy Tre,” because of the beat, everyone had a good verse, and the southern feel to it.

I give this album 4 microphones out of 5.