B.o.B. aka Bobby Ray – “May 25th” (Mixtape Review)
See? Pretty artwork, Charles Hamilton. Take notes. (joking. kinda. Not really.)
Who’s still sleeping on B.O.B.?
Shame on you if you raised your hand because 1) you’re missing out on something great, and 2) you’re an idiot because no one can see you. Great job buddy.
B.o.B/Bobby Ray has been making noise almost everywhere ever since his emergence as an artist on T.I.’s Grand Hustle record label. Since then, he’s make select moves, but all of them have been surprisingly potent. From his “Autotune” spoof on Youtube, to his “Hi, My Name is BOB” mixtape, to being featured on certain songs, to dropping an interesting single for the radio/TV rotation (“I’ll Be In The Sky”), he’s managed to keep his name on the tongue of most people without dropping a major album.
Well, all of that changes on May 25th when the debut album finally drops. What better way than to get people ready for it by dropping a mixtape with DJ Drama for promotion?
Sounds like a plan to me.
The Good:
There is something captivating about Bobby Ray’s demeanor on tracks. Whether he’s singing, rapping, or sing/rapping, no one can deny that B.o.B was made to do this music thing. Even the freestyles for the mixtape have a different flair than other downloads in its genre. The features here from Asher Roth (“F**k The Money”) to J. Cole (“Gladiators”) to Playboy Tre (“Bet I”) to Charles Hamilton (“Fool For Love”) all enhance the mixtape without taking away from the main focus of the tape: B.o.B. The songs are all just good music, and even though some of the songs venture out from hip-hop into other genres at times, it effectively shows off B.o.B.’s musical range.
If this was baseball, B.o.B. would be a switch-hitter (no homo) with the power of Barry Bonds. He really knows how to construct full songs without taking away the integrity of his microphone skills. A lot of battle rappers haven’t figured out that balance yet, and B.o.B has it mastered. Also, the traditional humor that he’s known for is also present in the interludes (especially the intro) and even the lyrics at time. That’s a good look.
The Bad:
Compared to other mixtapes out, this one is a little smaller than normal. I’m a big quality over quantity person, but for some people it’s going to be a problem. It says 16 tracks, but six of those songs top out at under three minutes. In this sense, it’s a true “mixtape”, as opposed to a “mixtape-album”, which is the new thing to do now (which B.o.B. talks about on one of the later interludes on the mixtape, coincidentally).
But I guess it has to be a true mixtape because of the DJ Drama / Gangsta Grillz namebrand. I like Drama a lot, but sometimes if he didn’t yell on tracks… I wouldn’t be opposed to it…
Bottom Line:
There’s not really more to say about this. I’m familiar with B.o.B. and his quality of music, but if you aren’t then this is a great place to start. This mixtape is genuinely solid all throughout, and May 25th’s the name and date of the album. I think the album is something that we can officially start to look forward to.
Eljay’s Favorites
- “Surprise Me”
- “Gladiators” f/ J. Cole
- “Champion”
- “Bet I” f/ Playboy Tre
