Rapper B.o.B Is In A Renaissance Of Multi-Genre Domination

B.o.B is the king of an era, a hitmaker extraordinaire. Life brings even the strong to their knees, and a mix of toxic personalities and expectations pushed him from the music industry for a long time, between 5 and 8 years depending on where you draw the line. It can’t have been anything but healthy. He’s back with an attitude, a sense of humor, a completed hip-hop album in rollout, a completed rock album in the wings, and plans for a metal album. The ruler of an era of club nights and a baron of even today’s biggest dance hits by per capita groove, his growth is a wonderful thing to see. His top 10 songs on Spotify amassed nearly 1.8 billion streams. If we don’t change, the seasons will change us. B.0.B, though, is changing his seasons.

He sat in his studio across from posters for Dragon Ball Z, IT, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. There were tapestries that looked like the painting “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” framing an inlet in one of the walls. The room was colored lapis and butterscotch. Guitars and other instruments scattered about, and an electric sat against a white board of a to-do list propped up by a rolling char. There was plenty of lights in customizable configuration and entrances and exits to feel comfortable. He and an old friend sat smoking shisha and cannabis from one of the several hookahs available. They had just discussed the friend’s life in detail. His partner had left him, but he was feeling better. His folks were good. And life was, as always – his words – an exercise in walking through the dawn. They turned their attention to B.o.B.

“How do you develop your relationship with your band on the road? Do you keep it friendly or come from a professional space?” said the friend.

B.o.B is going on tour with a live band on August 27^th.

“It has the likelihood to be very friendly and personal. Being in a CEO position, we have to strive for professionalism. It’s kind of hard to do when you’re up f****** drinking liquor, hanging with, hanging out,” said B.o.B. “It is real easy to go off the rail. You got to keep integrity high, man, and make sure everybody’s safe and don’t nobody get left at the bus stop.”

“I tried to visit you at your show at The University of Texas a few years back. It was a surprise. Those Sigma Chi guys weren’t letting in any other guys,” said the friend.

“Wait, they stopped letting specifically dudes in?” asked B.o.B.

“Stopped means they started,” said his friend.

“Yo, what? You should have texted me,” said B.o.B.

“Texting you would have ruined the whole magic of the thing,” said his friend.

“Yo, that sh** was crazy, bro. It was so crazy there was certain songs I couldn’t do because the fans were going to bum-rush and people are going to get trampled. And it’s so crazy because you would think after all the sh** that happened at the Travis stock concert, the audience would be a lot more cautious,” said B.0.B. “But they were just like, we don’t give a f***.”

“Biggest controversy, biggest tragedy in modern music” said his friend, “had to affect you as a musician.”

B.o.B took a long drag from the hookah and flipped his cap from front to back.

“It’s a testament to the nature of the game now. It’s a double-edged sword because when you’re a leader, when you’re in a position to take the blame, you’re always going to take the blame,” said B.o.B.

“That’s one of the sad realities of being an artist. You really don’t have control over that many people. And it takes a lot of people to put these festivals on. You know what I’m saying?” asked B.o.B.

“Yeah,” said his friend.

“It takes a whole staff and a whole city. The city’s got to coordinate with the police department, and there’s certain things you don’t have control over, man. I mean, it makes me frustrated to see how with certain things in the world, it’s just not fair,” said B.o.B. “And then it also makes me grateful for everything that I do that that goes successfully, like doing a show.”

“I never think that someone might die at an event. You do know what I’m saying? And it’s now extra precaution, extra safety. You good? Someone passed out. You need some water. Get the ambulance. What we need? I think that’s a good way to approach it, man. Being an artist, you don’t necessarily have to look at yourself like a leader, but you probably should,” said B.o.B. “There’s a lot of things that could go wrong that’s going to fall on you. And you’re going to be responsible for it.”

“You ever had any close calls like that?” asked his friend between his turns at the hookah. B.o.B flipped his hat back forth in excitement for the coming story feeling the memories of adrenaline.

“One time I was in London, and somebody said something to me. It was me and my band. It was before I had security. It was only me and my band walking down through the streets of London. And one of the fans walked up on me and said some sh** like, yo, yo watch out by noon they’ll be shooting in London. And in my head, I’m thinking, they’ll be shooting it London? They be stabbing in London!” said B.o.B. “So, he grabbed my shoulder. He grabbed my arm ‘cause he wanted me to take a picture, but I didn’t know this. So, sh** went crazy. We were like, aw sh**. Guess there goes the McDonald’s trip.”

“We all go back to the hotel. There’s like a small scuffle. We get in the hotel. These n***** are beating on the hotel door. This is one of them London hotels where it’s a double wooden door, with a doorknob,” said B.o.B.

“King George probably put it up,” said his friend.

“There’s no security. The two hostesses working had to hold the door while these fans are outside the hotel beating on the door. They’re screaming. And the hostesses call the police, and when the police get they’re like, we just wanted a picture,” said B.o.B. “We just wanted an autograph.”

“I don’t think they deserve one,” said his friend.

“They don’t. They don’t deserve one after that. It’s just that s***, like just how wild, yo. Imagine you’re in a hotel and the hotel staff is trying to barricade the door,” said B.o.B.

“That’s some Atlanta Walking Dead s***,” said his friend.

“You got to be able to communicate. Working with a drummer, they could be on stage off beat. You mad at the drummer. Yo, why you off beat?” said B.o.B. “But the drummer’s like, yo, my inner headphones don’t work. I never knew. You know what I mean? You really got to explain what’s going on and listen.”

“Is that why you took your break?” asked the friend.

“Yeah, for sure, man. Sometimes you think you don’t like something and it’s really just a certain relationship that you have with it that you don’t like. I thought that I didn’t like the music industry. And I thought I thought I wanted to retire. Sometimes it is certain toxic people in your circle that is ruining sh**. All I had to do was remove the irritation, and then everything else works out. D***, I do love music. I do. I love making music,” said B.o.B. “I have a great job, man. Start to realize all these things. You got to go through fire. It’s a story. It’s going to be one hell of a biopsy.”

“You mean biopic?” asked his friend.

“I mean biopsy,” said B.o.B. And the two laughed, inhaled, and were silent for a while.

“People just need to f****** chill out, man. It’s so much worry and concern. I get it, man, because most of us are in a world where anything could ruin your pay schedule: getting a boot on your car, getting a ticket, or f****** God forbid you got to go to the hospital and get some medicine and some sh**. It’s f*****,” said B.o.B.

“Life is tough, bro,” said the friend.

“I know I’m an artist, and I’ve probably done sh** that some people will never, ever do. This sh** is hard. This sh** is hard still. Yo, being an independent artist post-COVID is f****** hard work,” said B.o.B.

“What do you mean?” asked his friend.

“All the prices are going up, except my prices,” said B.o.B

“Inflation is so hard, bro. It’s hurting people too,” said his friend. “Companies are making record profits across the board. It’s not like they’re taking any less.

“They’re like we up. F*** them,” said B.o.B. “Certain things are high in demand like finding a bus driver. Finding a tour bus is hard. Finding a bus driver’s hard. Some things are f***** up like the stock of corn, some random sh**.”

“We can’t do the concert without corn. It’s the popcorn tour!” said his friend.

“It’s the popcorn tour. How we going to do them?” asked B.o.B. And they shared another laugh. And B.o.B turned his hat from back to front. And his friend took another long inhale.

“Your fiancé was telling me you got plans for rock and metal albums?” asked his friend excitedly.

“There will absolutely be B.o.B on a metal album, abso-f******-lutely, before I get up out of here,” said B.o.B.

“We got Brody from Satyr. We collaborated with FABO. We collaborated with Manchester Orchestra,” said B.o.B. “Waka Flocka is on there. Josh Socgin from Norma Jean is on there. It’s all done. I’m just looking for a home, a rock label that really understands the project and really believes in it and wants to get behind it. Because I want to do it right, man.”

Then, their hookah ran out, and the two had places to go.

Better Than Drugs, his next album, releases on Friday, August 19^th. And B.o.B begins his first U.S. tour in 8 years on August 27^th.