B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray

B.o.B began griping about the trials of fame long before he had any. "They say that I'm changing/ Cuz I'm gettin famous," went the chorus to 2008's "Fuck You", a bluesy lope of acoustic guitar and twangy harmonica that recalled vintage Dungeon Family. The logic was counterintuitive, even a little ridiculous, but the song itself was warm, fluid, and surprising. It was B.o.B in a nutshell: arrogant , self-aware, undeniably promising. The long road from that to The Adventures of Bobby Ray seems dominated by record execs who manicured, man-handled, and placated the rapper. They catered to all his worst instincts, and he gladly surrendered himself to theirs. The result should serve as a cautionary tale to all involved, except for one small detail: The Adventures of Bobby Ray was the No. 1 album in the country last week.

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The title of B.o.B.'s debut album, The Adventures of Bobby Ray, is at least an exaggeration, if not an outright misnomer. Perhaps a callback to Slick Rick, the title seems out of place on a record where nothing exciting or adventurous is recounted and only a narrow patch of thematic ground is covered. B.o.B. largely sticks to three subjects: that fame is alienating, that anonymity was alienating, and how all other girls are inferior to his girl. There's a refreshing lack of braggadocio, misogyny, and aggression, but the problem is that there's also hardly any fun to be had here. At least Bobby Ray followed his convictions to their logical conclusion; enlisting Hayley Williams of Paramore for two songs, B.o.B. has staked out emo rap — no longer the domain of Rhymesayers — as his own, and stands to reap the commercial rewards.

Full Review | More Reviews from Publication | Top Rated of 2010