Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. (born November 15, 1988), known professionally as B.o.B, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer.
Raised in Decatur, Georgia, Simmons signed with record producer Jim Jonsin's Rebel Rock Entertainment in 2006. Two years later, he signed a joint venture recording contract with fellow Georgia rapper T.I.'s Grand Hustle Records, an imprint of Atlantic Records. Following his major-label deal, Simmons quickly achieved commercial success when his 2009 single, "Nothin' on You" (featuring Bruno Mars), topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and received three nominations—Record of the Year, Best Rap Song, and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration—at the 53rd Grammy Awards.
His 2010 follow-up singles, "Airplanes" (featuring Hayley Williams of Paramore) and "Magic" (featuring Rivers Cuomo), peaked at numbers two and ten on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. All three preceded the release of Simmons' debut studio album The Adventures of Bobby Ray (2010), which was promoted by two extended plays (EPs) and several self-released mixtapes. The album peaked atop the Billboard 200, received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and saw critical praise for its blending of alternative hip hop, pop rap, and rock. Simmons was named the ninth "Hottest MC in the Game of 2010" by MTV on their annual list. The following year, he guest appeared on English singer Jessie J's 2011 single "Price Tag", which peaked atop the UK Singles Chart and at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Simmons' dubstep-influenced 2011 single, "Strange Clouds" (featuring Lil Wayne), became his fourth top-ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100. It served as lead single for his second studio album of the same name (2012), which peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and spawned the follow-up singles "So Good" and "Both of Us" (featuring Taylor Swift), both of which peaked within the top 20 in the US and received platinum certifications by the RIAA. His third studio album, Underground Luxury (2013), explored darker subject matter and adopted a grittier tone, spawning the club-oriented singles "HeadBand" (featuring 2 Chainz) and "We Still in This Bitch" (featuring T.I. and Juicy J); the album was met with a critical and commercial decline. That same year, he guest appeared on the platinum-certified singles "Paranoid" by Ty Dolla Sign and "Up Down (Do This All Day)" by T-Pain.
Dissatisfied with his lack of promotion from the label, Simmons released his twelfth mixtape, Psycadelik Thoughtz (2015), as his final project for Atlantic. His compilation album Elements (2016)—released by his own label, No Genre—was compiled from four mixtapes which delved into political subject matter and conspiracy theories. His 2016 single, "Flatline", was a diss song aimed at astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, in which Simmons endorsed modern flat Earth beliefs. His fourth album, Ether (2017), served as his first independent album and narrowly entered the Billboard 200.
1988–2006: Early life and career beginnings
Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. was born on November 15, 1988, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He played the trumpet in his school band from elementary school through high school. Although his parents wanted him to continue his education, B.o.B decided in sixth grade that he wanted to pursue a music career. His father, a pastor, disapproved of his son's choices, until he realized B.o.B was using music as a form of therapy and a creative outlet. B.o.B later reflected on his experience, saying, "They've always supported me. They got my first keyboard to make beats on and they helped me out getting equipment here and there. But it was kind of hard for them to really understand what I was really trying to accomplish." B.o.B attended Columbia High School in Decatur, Georgia, where he played the trumpet in the school band, until he landed a record deal and decided to drop out of school in the ninth grade.
In 2002, after meeting his mentor and co-manager B-Rich at the age of 14, B.o.B sold his first beat to former Slip-n-Slide recording artist Citti, for the song "I'm the Cookie Man". B.o.B felt he had established a substantial career. "I went and blew all of my money on fast stuff like a chain and ballin'. Soon I was broke again, but I learned two important things from it; make sure I save my money and that I was hooked on music." He continued performing at open mics and underground venues to perfect his craft. In 2006, because he was underage, B-Rich helped sneak B.o.B into Club Crucial, a night club owned by Atlanta-based rapper T.I. There, B.o.B performed a song titled "Cloud 9", a self-produced, spoken word-like ode to marijuana. In attendance was producer and industry veteran T.J. Chapman, chief executive officer (CEO) of TJ's DJ's. Chapman agreed to co-manage B.o.B, which only a month later led to B.o.B's signing with Atlantic Records and subsidiary imprint Rebel Rock, run by Florida-based producer Jim Jonsin. His first single for Atlantic, 2007's "Haterz Everywhere", reached the top five of Billboard's Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop singles chart. Along with his solo production career, B.o.B is part of the production/rap group HamSquad, along with Playboy Tre, DJ Swatts, DJ Smooth, Moss B, B-Rich and TJ Chapman.
2007–2008: Rise to fame and mixtapes
B.o.B first began to gain recognition at the start of 2007. The underground single, "Haterz Everywhere" featuring Wes Fif, gained the rapper attention by peaking at number 5 on the U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles. The remix to "Haterz Everywhere" featuring Rich Boy, was included used in the video game Fight Night Round 4, and a music video was later released for that version. Another single, "I'll Be in the Sky", was released in 2008 and it has reached at number 15 on the same charts. About.com called the song a "smart, funky artrap and a strong prelude to his album" and included it at number 13 on its subjective ranking "Top 100 Rap Songs of 2008". Incidentally, another song produced by B.o.B called "Generation Lost", listed alongside the song, on the ranking at number 32. This was followed by another single, "Don't Let Me Fall". B.o.B made his first big feature appearing on T.I.'s highly acclaimed album Paper Trail (2008), on the song "On Top of the World", alongside fellow Atlanta-based rapper Ludacris.
In 2008, it was announced he would appear on the cover of XXL magazine, along with Asher Roth, Charles Hamilton and Wale as part of their "Hip-Hop's Class of '09" issue. In October 2008, B.o.B was featured on the cover of Vibe along with some of these same young musicians and was similarly identified as promising young talent. From 2007 to 2008, B.o.B released four mixtapes; The Future (2007), Cloud 9 (2007), Hi! My Name is B.o.B (2008) Who the F#*k is B.o.B? (2008) and two extended plays; Eastside (2007), 12th Dimension (2008).
2008–2010: Mainstream success and debut album
In 2008, it was announced B.o.B was included in XXL's 2009 annual Freshman Class, and was featured on the cover alongside fellow up-and-coming rappers Asher Roth, Wale, Kid Cudi, Charles Hamilton, Cory Gunz, Blu, Mickey Factz, Ace Hood and Curren$y. In February 2009, B.o.B crafted an original song, titled "Auto-Tune", for the videogame Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned. On May 16, 2009, B.o.B released a cover of Manu Chao's "Mr. Bobby" and said he wanted to be known mononymously as Bobby Ray while also claiming he was taking his music in a "new direction": "Now I go by the name Bobby Ray. Make sure you put Bobby Ray. I'm really going into a new direction – more free and not trying to live up to any particular genre. I don't feel like I've been doing that. I don't feel like I've been trying to fit in, but I feel even more free-spirited. I have more willingness musically. That's all I'm about. I'm about guitars, chords and keyboards".
On June 22, 2009, B.o.B released his fifth mixtape, appropriately titled B.o.B vs. Bobby Ray. The mixtape, reminiscent of T.I.'s T.I. vs. T.I.P. (2007), was mainly produced by Fury and B.o.B. The mixtape also included a song produced by Red Spyda, titled "Fly Like Me" and another titled "Put Me On", which is a re-imagining of A Tribe Called Quest's 1990 hit, "Bonita Applebum". Reebok used "Put Me On" in celebration of the Reebok Classic Remix collection. The track is available for download exclusively to customers who purchase styles from the Reebok Classic Remix collection, at Foot Locker stores nationwide. During the summer of 2009, B.o.B joined fellow up-and-coming rappers Kid Cudi and Asher Roth for 'The Great Hangover' concert tour. B.o.B was to open Blue October's Pick Up the Phone tour in October–November 2009, but the tour was cancelled after Justin Furstenfeld was hospitalized following a severe mental anxiety attack.