Album Review: "The Adventures of Bobby Ray" by B.o.B.

The Adventures of Bobby Ray is the debut album from Atlanta rapper B.o.B. Having already built quite a name for himself on the mixtape circuit, even earning comparisons (unjust ones, in my opinion) to the much-revered but infamously enigmatic Andre 3000, B.o.B. linked up with T.I.'s Grand Hustle imprint to produce one of the most anticipated albums in hip-hop of 2010. B.o.B. has never been a clear-cut hip-hop artist, and has shown a penchant for singing and playing guitar on his tracks, and there was much buzz as to how his album would sound. For what it's worth, my opinion is that he is more reminiscent of Smoke from Field Mob than Andre, both in terms of rapping style, vocal quality, and lyrical ability. The album has Southern funk reminiscent of the good old days when Outkast and Goodie Mob ruled the ATL, but B.o.B. tries, a little too hard at times, to fit into other genres of music, and the result is an uneven at times, but ambitious, creative, and solid debut album.

1. Don't Let Me Fall

The album starts right out on a high note, no pun intended. This is one of my favorite songs on the album. B.o.B. alternately raps the verses and sings the chorus about his rise to the top and pleads "don't let me fall." It's a brilliant introduction to the album and applies equally to nearly any artist in the position of being rapidly thrust into fame.
Instrumental rating: 4.0/5.0 The piano-driven instrumental adds a somewhat dreamy quality to the track. The synths are just a bit overdone, but nothing too grating. Produced by B.o.B.
Lyrical rating: 4.5/5.0 The lyrics are very well written and the chorus in particular shines with B.o.B.'s pleasant crooning.

2. Nothin' On You (feat. Bruno Mars)

The lead single from the album follows the strong introduction, and is a poppy, sugary-sweet love song that also served as a launchpad for Bruno Mars. The song itself is unspectacular but is a brilliant choice for a single as it is unbelievably catchy and definitely appeals to the female dynamic. Mars's vocals sell the song, and to me it feels more like Mars featuring B.o.B. than the other way around.
Instrumental rating: 3.0/5.0 The syrupy-sweet instrumental has something of a throwback feel to the pop music of the '70s, typical of the production crew that laced it. It's not a particularly excellent instrumental, but the catchy pop feel that it has suits the song well. Produced by the Smeezingtons.
Lyrical rating: 2.5/5.0 I hate to overuse the word catchy, but this song sticks in the head so much that it's hard not to. With it being the lead single of the album, it's obvious that catchiness was the goal anyway, but the lyrics are a little cliché. Mars's contributions stand out more than B.o.B.'s.

3. Past My Shades (feat. Lupe Fiasco)
Another infectious, somewhat poppy song where B.o.B. is upstaged by his guest. Bobby's crooning on the intro, chorus, and bridge ("You can't see past my shades") are his best contributions to the song, and Lupe Fiasco drops a nice 16 on the second verse. Even on most MCs' best days, it's hard to not be upstaged by Lupe, and B.o.B.'s brief verse fades to a memory before Lupe even finishes rapping.
Instrumental rating: 3.0/5.0 The instrumental here, driven by piano and an upbeat guitar riff, is a well-crafted pop instrumental but again fails to be anything spectacular. Produced by B.o.B.
Lyrical rating: 2.5/5.0 B.o.B.'s short verse and simple chorus are rather bland for my taste. Lupe's verse is very good, but the song itself just fails to find any real depth, and for what it's worth, the parts in the intro and bridge where B.o.B. sings are better lyrically than his rap verse.

4. Airplanes (feat. Hayley Williams)

This is where B.o.B. struck gold on this album. When "Airplanes" was released as a single, the odd pairing of the Southern MC with Paramore lead singer Hayley Williams was enough to raise eyebrows on its own, but it turns out the song itself is incredibly infectious and also happens to be very good, regardless of what any number of "I'm sick of this song" haters would say. B.o.B. reflects over his success in making it this far and wishes for the days when music was made for the love of music, and not for money and sales, while Williams delivers the now-infamous hook that infected millions of Facebook statuses. But come on, who couldn't use a wish right now?
Instrumental rating: 3.5/5.0 The piano-driven melody and heavy drums made for an instrumental that was just enough pop to cross over and just enough hip-hop to still have an urban appeal. Produced by Alex da Kid, co-produced by DJ Frank E.
Lyrical rating: 4.0/5.0 B.o.B.'s rhymes don't tend toward much complexity in general, and here is no exception, but there are times when the whole of something is greater than the sum of its parts, and the way this song fits together, that's the case here. The introspective lyrics about the state of music and the wistful hook suited a lot of people, and for good reason.

5. Bet I (feat. Playboy Tre and T.I.)
Continuing the trend of being upstaged by his guests, T.I. manages to rap circles around both of his proteges on this track, as the three MCs boast about their skills, with B.o.B. saying on the hook to "put me anywhere in the world, I bet I bust." Newcomer Playboy Tre delivers a decent verse at the end, but the setup of the song led me to wish they had switched his verse with T.I.'s, since his would have been a perfect closer, both because of its quality and the way his rhyme dismount would perfectly end the song.
Instrumental rating: 3.0/5.0 The most traditional hip-hop instrumental to appear on the album yet, with little else but some hard percussion to distract from the rhyming. Produced by Kuttah.
Lyrical rating: 3.5/5.0 All three verses are good, but T.I. steals the show with his superior lyrics and flow.

6. Ghost In the Machine
"Ghost In the Machine" was the most surprising track on the album, to me. I was surprised at B.o.B.'s ability to carry a whole song singing instead of rapping at least a little, but the result was this, arguably the best song on the album. The lyrics were deep and introspective, and also quite relatable to most.
Instrumental rating: 3.0/5.0 The electronic sounds of the instrumental were almost an afterthought to me since I was so taken away by the lyrics, but it's an enjoyable beat. Produced by B.o.B.
Lyrical rating: 5.0/5.0 I can't say enough about this song. B.o.B.'s vocals are more than competent enough to carry the song, and the pain and sadness in his voice suits the lyrics about loneliness and wanting to run away extremely well.

7. The Kids (feat. Janelle Monaé)
B.o.B. again opens this song singing, and when he switches to rapping, I again find myself realizing I enjoy the singing part more. Don't get me wrong, I don't intend to insult B.o.B.'s rapping ability, I just really enjoy him as a singer, while his rapping tends toward the average. B.o.B. describes the difficulty a child has growing up in the world today, because "we're filled with so much hatred, the kids don't stand a chance." Janelle Monaé lends her beautiful voice to the third verse.
Instrumental rating: 3.0/5.0 A bass guitar groove that switches to electric guitar on the chorus pushes this beat forward. Produced by DJ Frank E.
Lyrical rating: 3.0/5.0 The lyrics are acceptable as a sentiment, but nothing that really inspires an emotional response. Songs in this vein have been done many times before, and have been done a lot better, but the song works fairly well.

8. Magic (feat. Rivers Cuomo)

As a fan of Weezer, I really wanted to like this song. I heard "Airplanes" and how well Paramore's Hayley Williams worked on the song, and I really hoped Rivers Cuomo would do the same thing. Well, the "Magic" was not repeated on this track. There wasn't much I liked about this song, with its plodding beat and Cuomo's uninspired chorus. B.o.B.'s rhymes were actually much better on this song than they had been throughout much of the rest of the album, but by the time I realized that, I didn't really care anymore.
Instrumental rating: 1.5/5.0 I hate this beat. It's repetitive and way too synthesized for my taste, which is unsurprising considering the producer is a veteran of dance-pop. Produced by Dr. Luke.
Lyrical rating: 2.5/5.0 B.o.B.'s rhyme structure was improved on this song from some of the earlier raps, but it seemed to almost be to disguise a lack of anything interesting to say. And Cuomo's chorus was yawn-inspiring, both in his lackluster delivery and the fact that he also failed to be interesting lyrically.

9. Fame
This was one of the best-produced songs on the album, for starters. B.o.B.'s flow and lyrics are on point and reminiscent of Ludacris, as he talks about the risks that come along with fame. His singing on the chorus was again very good, but this time the rhymes held up against it.
Instrumental rating: 4.5/5.0 This instrumental was soulful and funky and easily one of the best on the album, with a catchy horn riff and bass guitar. One of the only beats that stands out from the lyrics on the album.
Lyrical rating: 3.5/5.0 The rhymes about the pitfalls of fame are among the better rhymes on the album, and as I mentioned I found myself thinking that he reminded me of Ludacris in the way he flowed.

10. Lovelier Than You
Once again, B.o.B. switches to singing, and once again, the results are quality. He does spit a verse towards the middle of the song, but for the most part, the emphasis is once again on his vocals, and he delivers. It's also a much more pleasant love song than "Nothin' On You," as it's not as diabetes-inducingly sweet.
Instrumental rating: 4.0/5.0 Acoustic guitar and minimal percussion make this track feel a little folksy, and it works very well. The grassroots feel makes it seem even more sincere. Produced by B.o.B.
Lyrical rating: 3.5/5.0 The lyrics are heartfelt and sweet without being too sickening. Ladies will love this track, and the guys are more likely to enjoy it than "Nothin' On You."

11. 5th Dimension (feat. Ricco Barrino)
For some reason, I found myself having a hard time describing this track. It's an enjoyable track, B.o.B.'s again rapping to the ladies, but in a less romantic way, as he's boasting a little more this time. There are a lot of space analogies here and singer Ricco Barrino brings it home on the chorus as he sings, "look shorty, I can't stay here on the Earth no more, to another galaxy we must go."
Instrumental rating: 4.0/5.0 This might be B.o.B.'s best self-produced beat, and it definitely has a futuristic, spacey feel to it. Produced by B.o.B., co-produced by Lil' C and T.I.
Lyrical rating: 3.5/5.0 The many space analogies are basically B.o.B.'s way of telling his special lady he's out of this world, get it? Yeah, we get it. It goes just a bit too far in that sense but really the lyrics are pretty good, and Ricco Barrino's chorus is excellent. Side note: The last lyrics in the song are "Bobby Digital," and I'm unsure if B.o.B. realized that's already a moniker of the RZA, or if that's why he used it.

12. Airplanes [Part II] (feat. Eminem and Hayley Williams)
I'm not sure what they were thinking when they pieced this song together, because on paper the combination of B.o.B., Eminem, and Hayley Williams seems like it would fail miserably. But we're not dealing with the pop-singer-bashing Eminem of old, and this actually turns out to be a home run. My comments about B.o.B. being overshadowed by his guests was truer than ever here, as on first listen I found myself more anticipating Em's verse than paying attention to B.o.B.'s. As it turns out, the B.o.B. verse is pretty good, but Em thrashes him lyrically, which is to be expected from almost anyone on a track with Em. I consider this the definitive version of the song, even though it's packaged and treated more like a remix.
Instrumental rating: 3.5/5.0 The instrumental is subtly different than on the original, but not enough that I can say anything new about it that I didn't say before. Produced by Alex da Kid, co-produced by Eminem and Luis Resto.
Lyrical rating: 4.0/5.0 B.o.B.'s verses were probably a little better on the original than his verse here, but Eminem's verse is excellent.

13. Can I Fly? (pre-order bonus track)
Once again, B.o.B. takes to singing. I think if you added it all up, he sings a lot more than he raps on this album, but hey, that's fine with me. This track is again excellent and one of his more heartfelt tracks. It's somewhat of a cliché notion to witness struggle and hardship and wish to fly away, but it's something everyone can relate to, and once again B.o.B.'s sincerity sells the song.
Instrumental rating: 4.0/5.0 Another piano-driven beat with some soulful guitars to bolster it, the instrumental is once again great. I don't actually know who produced it, so if you do, let me know.
Lyrical rating: 4.0/5.0 Per the trend to this point, B.o.B. gets his most introspective and sincere when he sings, and this song is no exception.

14. Letters From Vietnam (deluxe edition bonus track)
This track is a bit of a curveball, as the subject matter is very atypical of hip-hop music or urban music in general. Granted, it's not much of an urban song, as the instrumental is definitely a rock track and B.o.B. is once again singing, this time about a love lost as a soldier was pulled away from his girl to fight in a war and she coldly moves on from him. The hurt in the track is evident from both sides, as in the middle of the song her letter is read aloud, and she describes the pain she felt from him being pulled away from her and needing to move on and forget. A sad track, if not a bit out of place, but a good one overall.
Instrumental rating: 3.0/5.0 The rock guitars on this track aren't bad somehow the instrumental isn't sad enough for my taste. Produced by B.o.B.
Lyrical rating: 3.5/5.0 This one earns originality points for the subject matter.

15. I See Ya (deluxe edition bonus track)
This track is finally one of B.o.B. straight spitting, no guests, no singing (aside from providing his own background vocals). And for what it's worth, he kills it. This is probably the best display on the album of B.o.B. as a pure MC, and it's not even on every copy of the album. B.o.B. is so energetic with the flow and delivery that it more than makes up for any lyrical shortcomings he may have.
Instrumental rating: 3.0/5.0 A solid, synth-heavy instrumental that lends itself well to B.o.B's crap-talking. Produced by Da Honorable C.N.O.T.E.
Lyrical rating: 3.5/5.0 B.o.B. spits with passion and energy on this one, and it's a testament to what he can really do lyrically. He's by no means an elite level MC, but he's dope when he wants to be.

Composite ratings
Instrumental rating: 3.3/5.0
Lyrical rating: 3.5/5.0
Composite rating: 3.4/5.0 An ambitious, creative, and pleasant album. B.o.B.'s detractors should give it another listen; even if you're not impressed by his lyricism, you might be able to find something in the sung tracks, which tend towards being the better and more creative work. Worth a listen for any fan of music, not just hip-hop.