Grammy Award-nominated rapper/songwriter, B.o.B and Target celebrated the launch of his deluxe album “Strange Clouds,” which includes five bonus tracks, at TriBeCa Rooftop in New York City. B.o.B and the Target team were joined by music and entertainment influencers and treated to a fantastic performance by B.o.B.
TheSource.com sat down with B.o.B. at the event and this is what he had to say about his Sophomore Album.
Q: What was your vision going into the album?
B.o.B.: The vision going into my major sophomore album was really to show people just how far I can go. For the people who thought that The Adventures of Bobby Ray was something, to me I was like ‘man, just wait until the next album because it’s going to be crazy.’ But I didn’t really say much. I just, you know, I went with the flow of things, and went around the world and toured. And now with this album I dug a lot deeper, you know, as an artist. You know I didn’t really feel like this is the limits. You know what I mean? Like I really dug deeper in my artistry and strived to be better. So that’s why I got a better album…You know I feel like when it comes to being an artist, there’s no shortcut to creativity and being innovative. You actually have to really go beyond… okay… you have to really look at the way that things are structured in the music industry and the way people perceive and understand music and just shadow that, and just do something else, you know what I mean. And I feel like that’s something everybody strives for in fashion, music, culture and artistry.
Q: You’re music transcends all demographics and genres.
B.o.B.: I really appreciate that so much, man. I love my fans…You know, and it’s funny because on the last album, on The Adventures of Bobby Ray when we released Airplanes, we released it on iTunes first because we were just like you know B.o.B. Hayley Williams. You know when it started out we didn’t know that it was going to grow to become like a huge pop record. There was nothing on pop radio that sounded like that. So I felt like with Strange Clouds, I wasn’t going to try to repeat… this is what a pop sounding record would sound like… I just continued to do what I did. Continued to make organic music and let it come naturally. And that’s why this album is better than the first album.
Q: And what was it like collaborating with Nicki Manaj?
B.o.B.: Oh, she’s amazing. Look, Nicki Minaj is a beast. Just point blank, period. There’s nothing you can say that can take that away from her. And she got on my record, and if she didn’t respect my craft and my artistry she wouldn’t have collaborated with me. But she got on my record and she did her thing, and it’s amazing.
Q: What are your summer plans?
B.o.B.: I’m going on a two-year tour. Touring for two years.
Q: Do you have a message to your fans?
B.o.B.: To all of my fans everywhere wherever you’re listening, and I’ve been places around the world where I didn’t even know people knew who I was and they were like oh that’s B.o.B. and so I really appreciate my fans for following me because you don’t have to follow me. You just don’t have to. Like, there’s nobody telling you that you have to pay attention to like my music. You do it naturally and that’s what I appreciate. That’s the beautiful thing about life. So follow me on Twitter @bobatl and I’ll see you soon.
