Review Summary: B.o.B shows lots of potential as a producer on the Bobby Ray side and as a rapper on the B.o.B side.
No matter what you think of B.o.B, the one thing we all can agree that he is a master of mixtapes. The man just knows how to put together one, whether it’s his distinctive flow, or his unique use of samples. I heard it was his best one and I had to check it out for myself.
The mixtape starts off with Bobby Ray’s alter ego (B.o.B) who gives his opinion about Bobby Ray, then crosses over to freestyle about the radio; it’s a pretty funny and being true at the same time. After getting you loose, it heads straight into the first song, heavy sampled “One”. I personally thought Mac Boney delivered a very good verse. B.o.B’s whole half of the album is pretty much relies on its samples and B.o.B’s verses. Most of the time he hits the mark “I’m super psychedelic/I’m smoking weed with the fairies/And if drugs are bad then throw away every CD you carry/’Cause drugs have inspired every music visionary/And this ain’t even an album so the thought alone should be scary”. I thought using Kanye’s live song (Pinocchio Story) was very clever. However some choices B.o.B made just left me scratching my head, such as having Big Kuntry on “One”. On the song he goes a different direction with his lyrics than B.o.B, and his flow is just annoying. B.o.B’s part end with the pop inspired “Voltage”, is different from the rest it was pretty catchy to me, its different way to end and it might work for some and not for the rest.
The second part starts with Bobby Ray talking about how he got started and what type of music he likes to make. Bobby produces all the tracks by himself (besides “Wonderland” which he co-produces”). This whole side gives you a mellow/cool down feeling. I was amazed how he could talk about anything from a woman’s fall down (Camera), to his life (Put Me On). I also thought it was cool that he sampled The Tribe. However, this side is mainly to show off Bobby’s producing skills, which aren’t bad but I would have enjoyed more and longer verses. And this mixtape ends with the worst song with “Fly Like Me”.
This mixtape shows not only that B.o.B can be a quality rapper but a producer also. If you are interested in B.o.B defiantly take a look at this.
