B.o.B BLOWING UP BIGTIME
Rebel Rock Entertainment/Grand Hustle/Atlantic recording artist B.o.B has announced a flurry of activity surrounding the upcoming release of his hugely anticipated debut album. “B.o.B PRESENTS: THE ADVENTURES OF BOBBY RAY” – which includes the #1 hit single, “Nothin’ On You (Feat. Bruno Mars)” – arrives in stores and at all online retailers on April 27th.
“Nothin’ On You” is currently the #1 single in the country, according to Billboard’s “Hot 100,” marking B.o.B as the 4th solo male artist to top the tally with a debut single since October 2009. The track – which is also standing tall at #1 on iTunes’s “Top Singles” chart – is exploding at multi-format radio outlets nationwide. “Nothin’ On You” is #1 on Billboard’s “Rhythmic Airplay” chart – the fastest rising debut track since Drake’s 2009 smash, “Best I Ever Had” – while also drawing top 5 airplay at both Urban and CHR/Top 40 outlets.
“Airplanes (Feat. Hayley Williams of Paramore),” the recently released next single from “B.o.B PRESENTS: THE ADVENTURES OF BOBBY RAY,” is following hot on the heels of “Nothin’ On You,” debuting this week at #12 on Billboard’s “Hot 100” while also standing strong as the #2 best-seller on iTunes’ “Top Singles” chart. What’s more, the track’s superstar-packed sequel, “Airplanes, Part II (Feat. Eminem & Hayley Williams),” is streaming now at B.o.B’s own www.bobatl.com <http://www.bobatl.com/> .
An additional new album track – “Bet I (Feat. T.I. and Playboy Tre)” – has just gone on sale at the iTunes Store, where it has proven an instant hip-hop hit. A sure bet to join “Nothin’ On You” and “Airplanes” on next week’s “Hot 100,” the track has already burst into the Top 10 on iTunes’ “Top Hip Hop/Rap Songs” chart (which is currently topped by “Nothin’ On You” and “Airplanes” respectively).
“B.o.B PRESENTS: THE ADVENTURES OF BOBBY RAY” is now available for pre-order at B.o.B’s official website, www.bobatl.com <http://www.bobatl.com/> . An array of packages are on offer, with exclusive extras including immediate MP3 downloads of both “Nothin’ On You” and “Satellite”, as well as a bonus track on release date; a “Haterz Everywhere” t-shirt; a limited edition B.o.B poster (signed for the first 100 orders); the “Nothin’ On You” video; a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the upcoming “Bet I” video; and a private post-release webchat with B.o.B himself. In addition, www.bobatl.com <http://www.bobatl.com/> is jam-packed with tons of exclusive tracks, videos and user-generated features.
“B.o.B PRESENTS: THE ADVENTURES OF BOBBY RAY” will premiere this weekend via an exclusive MySpace listening party at B.o.B’s official MySpace page, www.myspace.com/bobatl <http://www.myspace.com/bobatl> , slated for Saturday, April 24th and Sunday, April 25th. The rapper has already proven an online phenom, with over 24 million total plays at MySpace alone.
Having spent much of last year sharing stages with such like-minded artists as Asher Roth, Kid Cudi, and Shwayze, B.o.B is currently heralding the release of “B.o.B PRESENTS: THE ADVENTURES OF BOBBY RAY” by supporting 1st & 15th/Atlantic labelmate Lupe Fiasco’s “Steppin Laser Tour.” The dates – many of which are already long sold out – continue through early May. B.o.B also performed at this past weekend’s Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, California – the first of a series of eagerly awaited festival appearances that also includes the upcoming Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival as well as Lollapalooza (see attached itinerary).
Born Bobby Ray Simmons, B.o.B has been a familiar face on TV in recent months with breakout performances at BET’s Rip The Runway and MTV’s annual Spring Break festivities. The ATL-based rapper/musician/producer was named last week’s “MTV P.U.S.H. (Play Until Someone Hears) Artist Of The Week,” with over 100 promotional spots airing across all MTV platforms. What’s more, he performed on the nationally syndicated The Ellen DeGeneres Show earlier this week, with further appearances slated for the May 12th episode of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! as well as the nationally syndicated The Wendy Williams Show – check local listings for complete details.
One of hip-hop’s most inventive and exciting young artists, B.o.B has quickly drawn a bounty of rapturous critical applause. In its 2010 “Faces To Watch” feature, Billboard celebrated the rapper’s “versatility,” declaring that he “recalls both OutKast’s Big Boi and crooner Raheem DeVaughn and may be the first rapper to play the guitar well.” XXL – which named B.o.B among its “10 Freshmen of 2009” – called him “ready for stardom,” while John Ivey, program director at Los Angeles’ influential KIIS-FM, told Entertainment Weekly that the multi-talented MC is his pick for “next big thing,” explaining that “a lot of hip-hop guys are just rappers, but (B.o.B) plays guitar and just kills it.”
Furthermore, Smooth celebrated B.o.B’s “virtuosic talent” and “lyrical directness,” while Ozone called him “one of the most anticipated newcomers in the game.” Nylon hailed B.o.B as a leading figure of “a new generation of hip-hop upstarts” and the Wall Street Journal concurred, praising the MC for “testing the genre’s conventions.” Additional profiles have appeared in such publications as Complex and Paste, which included B.o.B in its “The Best of What’s Next ‘09” round-up.
“B.o.B PRESENTS: THE ADVENTURES OF BOBBY RAY” sees the resourceful rapper producing the majority of the album by himself, while also playing multiple musical instruments, including piano, trumpet and French horn. In addition, B.o.B is joined by a star-studded line-up of surprising special guests, including Hayley Williams of Paramore, T.I., Eminem, Janelle Monáe, Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo, Playboy Tre, and Lupe Fiasco. Endlessly inventive tracks such as “5th Dimension” and “Magic” offer a funky and fascinating journey into a gifted new talent’s far-reaching imagination.
“I just want to show people that there are endless possibilities of what you can do,” B.o.B says. “You don’t just have to be a rapper, you don’t just have to be a trapper; you can be anything you want to be and whatever you do, just love it and it will show.”
For up-to-the-minute news and information, please visit www.bobatl.com <http://www.bobatl.com> , www.myspace.com/bobatl <http://www.myspace.com/bobatl> , or www.twitter.com/bobatl <http://www.twitter.com/bobatl> .
(TOUR ITINERARY ATTACHED)
B.o.B
ON TOUR 2010
All Dates w/Lupe Fiasco’s “Steppin Laser Tour” Except *
APRIL
23 Charlotte, NC UNC
26 Houston, TX House of Blues
27 Dallas, TX House of Blues
29 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre
MAY
1 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues
2 Los Angeles, CA House of Blues
5 San Francisco, CA Regency Ballroom
6 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
7 Seattle, WA Showbox SoDo
JUNE
11 Manchester, TN Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival *
AUGUST
6 Chicago, IL Lollapalooza *
