Lupe Fiasco and Bobby Ray play Morehouse/Spelman
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
$20 for Atlanta-area college students w/I.D. $25 for non-students. 8 p.m. Wed., Oct. 21. Morehouse College Forbes Arena, 830 Westview Dr. 404-681-2800.
Crib Notes
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Shot Out: Bobby Ray aka B.O.B. at Smith’s Olde Bar
Sunday, October 18th, 2009
SMOKE ONE: Decatur's own Bobby Ray gets lit Friday at Smith's Olde Bar.
(Photos courtesy Dustin Chambers. More after the break.)
Bobby Ray/B.o.B to headline URB stage at Atlanta’s A3C fest
Friday, July 10th, 2009B.o.B has been busy. He’s had his hands full addressing his name change from B.o.B to Bobby Ray, an aggressive tour schedule and with the release of his latest mixtape, B.o.B vs. Bobby Ray. With news breaking Wednesday that he’ll headline the URB stage at the A3C Hip Hop Festival in Atlanta, Bobby Ray followed up with a new music video: “Put me On.”
Video: Zach Wolfe shoots Bobby Ray at Striver’s Row
Monday, June 29th, 2009Spotted at Lavish Life Social Club.
Looks like the rapper formerly known as B.o.B. is serious about taking his music to the next level.
Last Wednesday, Bobby Ray performed an acoustic set in celebration of his newly released mixtape B.o.B. vs. Bobby Ray. Zach Wolfe shot footage at Striver’s Row, the new men’s fashion boutique co-owned by Jason Geter of Grand Hustle (T.I.’s record label).
Whether you dig where Bobby Ray’s headed or not, it’s cool to see an MC signed to a major label (Rebel Rock/Grand Hustle/Atlantic) put his artistic evolution out on front street for all to critique. If anything, it proves the state of the industry is in total flux right now. Usually this is the kind of experimentation that goes on behind closed doors, and the end result is either shipped (yay) or shelved (nay) by the record label. Guess they’re taking a wait-and-see approach, too.
Either that, or they’re already sold on the end result and want to make sure the public is, so they’re spoon-feeding us. Experiment away I say, as long as there are no instructional dance songs in the works.
Complex co-signs B.o.B vs. Bobby Ray mixtape
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
Released yesterday, the mixtape B.o.B vs. Bobby Ray follows a format similar to T.I.’s T.I. vs. T.I.P. Pure coincidence? Not hardly. Atlanta’s own Bobby Ray (also known as B.o.B) happens to be signed to T.I.’s Grand Hustle label.
Rather than T.I.’s face-off between his inner thug and industry personas, Bob struggles with his rapper (B.o.B) vs. inner rocker of sorts (Bobby Ray).
Here’s what Complex had to say about B.o.B’s contribution to the mixtape:
The project is evenly divided between B.o.B and Bobby Ray songs with coinciding interludes to explain each side of the rapper’s personality. Things start off strongly with “One”, the mixtape’s first full song. We’re immediately thrust into the middle of B.o.B’s firmly positive agenda and remain there for the tape’s duration. Often times, rappers with the same focus make the mistake of coming across as preachy, but B.o.B puts his personal flaws on display as well. The young emcee arguably bests his mentor, T.I., on the standout “I’m That Nigga.”
And on Bobby Ray:
The Bobby Ray portion of the mixtape is a bit harder to warm up to because of its experimental nature, but still impressive. It seems like Bobby Ray has a stronger personal connection to these songs too, self-producing all but one. We definitely dig the left-field approach, but as much as he hates the comparisons, Bobby does occasionally come across like a The Love Below-era Andre 3000. It’s cool though. It’s easy to hear the kid honing his own unique sound and we like what we’ve heard so far.
B.o.B vs. Bobby Ray mixtape listening party. Free. 8-10 p.m. Wed., June 24. Strivers Row, 744 N. Highland Ave. 678-973-0045. See flier.
Video snippet: B.o.B. vs. Bobby Ray: The Mixtape
Monday, June 8th, 2009Spotted at Nah Right.
Is that a sample from one of Kanye West’s emo-laden live performances of “Pinocchio Story” from last year? Speaking of which, check out CL A&E editor Debbie Michaud’s post about Kanye’s new book (Thank You and You’re Welcome) and his “Proud non-reader” Reuters article.
Pitchfork shows love for Playboy Tre’s Liquor Store Mascot
Friday, June 5th, 2009
Per Jayson Greene’s Pitchfork review of “Sideways” from Decatur-bred Playboy Tre’s Liquor Store Mascot mixtape:
“Sometimes I wake up and be like, ‘Man, fuck you even wake up for?’” Playboy Tre grumbles at the beginning of “Sideways”. To call this sentiment “vintage Playboy Tre” would be disorienting to the 90% of the world that has never heard of him, so introductions are in order: Tre is a 30-something Atlanta vet with a history of almost-made-its in his past (ran with Bohagon when he was a Lil Jon signee; writes occasional hooks for T.I. and others) and a penchant for the kind of grown-ass-man introspection that almost nobody outside of Scarface bothers with anymore.
Read in full and listen to “Sideways” at Pitchfork.
Download the whole thang (Liquor Store Mascot) at 2dopeboyz.
Why Bobby Ray won’t visit T.I. in prison
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009Be sure to check out my story on Bobby Ray this week, in which he discusses his transition from gat-rapping persona B.o.B to existential genre-hopping rocker/crooner/MC.
He was very forthcoming in the interview, and I ran out of space for all the great anecdotes and info he shared. Here are the best cutting-room floor bits.
Why he won’t visit his Grand Hustle label head T.I. in prison
“He doesn’t want anyone to see him in prison. I thought about it, I was definitely going to come by a lot. But he doesn’t even want his kids to see him there. He doesn’t want that image implanted in their heads, of him being in jail. I can kind of understand that.”
Janelle Monae
“She is probably my sister from another planet or something. She reminds me a lot of me. Everything that she says and does, her music and her show, kind of rubs off on me. She has a lot of good energy, and I take what I like from it and put my spin on it.”
His future goals
“I’m trying to outdo myself. I’m going to take all the best elements from all the music I know. I don’t even want to say some of the stuff I’m thinking about, because it’s stuff that’s never been done before, like recording a song on an airplane. Or maybe even recording a song outside.”
On the Outkast-sized expectations people have for him
“It’s what you make of it. Sometimes it used to intimidate me, but now, it’s like, you gotta go with it, you have to use the energy to your advantage. If people are excited to see me, I’m like, ‘Fuck yeah, I’m excited too. Let’s do it.’”
Bobby Ray by any other name
Monday, May 11th, 2009
BEHIND THE MASK: Bobby Ray comes clean.
B dot O dot B was the name
I ain’t like Bobby Ray ’cause I was ashamed
But you can call me Bobby Ray from this day forth and
I could give a damn about the fame and fortune
— Bobby Ray, “Generation Lost”
Rapper Bobby Ray Simmons is one of Atlanta’s most promising young talents. His feverishly anticipated debut album is due later this year, and his soaring, OutKast-evoking smash “I’ll Be in the Sky” is approaching 5 million MySpace spins.
But what to call him? The Decatur 20-year-old now prefers to go by Bobby Ray, despite being signed to Atlantic Records at age 17 as B.o.B. and going on to grace the covers of magazines including Urb and XXL under that moniker.
His name change reflects a change in philosophy, both musical and personal. It was years in the making but crystallized last year after he was catapulted into the public consciousness with his mixtapes My Name Is B.o.B. and The Future, the latter of which spawned the local radio hit “Haterz Everywhere.”
Continue reading “Bobby Ray by any other name”
(Photo by Terrence Tyson)
