Rapper: B.o.B – Bobby Ray
Release: 4/2010
Label: Atlantic

1. “Don’t Let Me Fall” – B+
2. “Nothin’ On You” – B+
3. “Past My Shades” – C
4. “Airplanes” – D+
5. “Bet I” – C-
6. “Ghost in the Machine” – B
7. “The Kids” – A-
8. “Magic” – A-
9. “Fame” – A-
10. “Lovelier Than You” – B
11. “5th Dimension” – B-
12. “Airplanes Part 2” – B

Comments: “Don’t Let Me Fall” starts off slow, but improves as the song drags on. The chorus is cool. If you’ve listened to any modern hip-hop or pop station, I’m sure you’ve heard “Nothin’ On You.” It’s a “summer song” to me, despite its debut in November 2009. It’s finely organized with an enjoyable background lullaby, even if the chorus is a bit sub-par. “Past My Shades”…come on! Steer clear from “alternative rock” Bobby Ray. It’s not your thing. “The Kids” is a hip-hop sample of “The Kids Don’t Stand a Chance” by Vampire Weekend. I dig. “Always in detention for the lack of attention/ you can call it deficit” tells me we got a bad kid up in here. “Magic” is repetitive and frankly fun (not the chorus), but it’s more like “Rivers Cuomo time,” showing Bobby Ray taking cue from Black Eyed Peas’ style. The second verse of “Fame” flows so well. It may be the best verse on this album. I mean, of course, lyrically it’s infantile and just plain dumb, but realistic to some degree. “Everyone can’t be O to the B” … right? “Airplanes Part 2” has me convinced that it’s an improvement over “Part 1.” What if Eminem wasn’t famous? Don’t we all wonder? Or maybe that thought has never crossed anyone’s mind until this song came about. When Bobby Ray raps before Eminem, the song loses cred. I mean, how does Bobby Ray know fame? He’s a relative unknown even in the hip-hop world. “He’s gonna have a hard time explaining to Haley and Lainey these foodstamps and this WIC shit ’cause he never risked shit. He hoped and he wished it, but it didn’t fall in lap,” raps Eminem on his verse. Highlight of the song. “Lovelier” has Bobby Ray on acoustic guitar and he proves to be all right in that regard.

Grade: B- (82)