They say behind every strong man there is a strong woman; in Hip-Hop behind every talented rapper there is an equally talented team. B.O.B, a mere 18 years old is stepping onto the field with the mindset of a thirty year old. The talents of his own personal team may have been instilled into this Decatur, Georgia competitor to exude nothing but reality and confidence.

Inspired by the notorious idols that Atlanta birthed and raised and adored who are adored the world over, it is to be expected that this unique entity is exuding a talent just as diverse and disparate as the Southern forefathers he admires. Whether it is his solo joints such as "Cloud 9" or the way he owned the song with their unque flare on a collaboration with Pitbull with "Money In The Bank," there is no escaping this teenager’s ability to capture and maintain attention.

Talking with poise to AllHipHop.com, B.O.B gave it up about the past, the present and the future, how his ‘bad’ side encouraged his track "Heavy Breather" and just how important integrity is in his world.

AllHipHop.com: You started out in a group called the Klinic. What happened with that situation as you are now a solo artist?

B.O.B: He had to go to college and take care of some stuff. When we parted ways it wasn’t like we parted ways, we are still in the group now but I just did my solo thing as the opportunity was there you know and you have to do what you have to do.

AllHipHop.com: Was rapping what you always wanted to do?

B.O.B: Yeah since way back. You know what’s funny when I was in kindergarten and you are asked what you want to be, I drew a rapper, I never really understood what it was obviously until I got older and then I started taking it seriously. I just kept going and I kept doing it and I said that before I graduated I was going to get a record deal.

AllHipHop.com: Were you good at writing then in school?

B.O.B: English was my best course; that is my forte.

AllHipHop.com: There is a real Outkast feel to your music, you were born and raised in Atlanta right?

B.O.B: Well I was born in North Carolina and raised in Decatur, a suburb of Atlanta. I mean I know it is Atlanta but, I have to represent Decatur as that is where I am from.

AllHipHop.com: So in terms of influences, what did you grow up on?

B.O.B: As far as rap goes, Nas, Outkast, Eminem, TI and that is covering all the rap. Then Knarls Barkely; that was a turning point in my career as far influence goes, that was what made me not afraid to step on the edge and just go out there. But I listen to everything from classical to Rock and Roll as I am just a music fan.

AllHipHop.com: Being that you are quite young, when the younger generations are ridiculed for not paying respect to Big Daddy Kane and the Kool G Raps does that bother you in anyway?

B.O.B: I was born in 1988, so I can’t say anything.

AllHipHop.com: You are somewhat similar to Outkast, because you appear to be very diverse and not your atypical rapper. Do the comparisons between you and Andre 3000 help or hinder you?

B.O.B: Well I mean to be honest, I don’t really think about it too much but I still pay homage to Outkast as if you can see there is a heavy influence and I actually want to do a song with Andre to nip it in the bud and squash all the talk because once I do that there is nothing anyone can say.

AllHipHop.com: Is that going to happen then?

B.O.B: Well we are trying to set it up. The album is still not done but I am trying to do something with Cee-lo and Andre, but it is hard because of people’s schedules.

AllHipHop.com: You have a great team surrounding you, Jim Jonsin, TJ Chapman and of course your manager B Rich.

B.O.B: That was the motivation in my early stages.

AllHipHop.com: Have they always been with you along the way?

B.O.B: TJ, he met me in a club, at an open mic and I was performing "Cloud 9," he saw me perform it and that was when we linked up and TJ put his elbow in. If I didn’t have this team, it is like a hole in the seam, as good as your music can be, you can’t really do anything with it unless you have a team behind you and that is why I am so thankful having them behind me and working on this project with me.

AllHipHop.com: Does the state of Hip-Hop today bother you as someone coming into the game?

B.O.B: All the beef and everyone trying to be diverse and stay away from everyone else and when that happens, that is why it has got so weak, all the corporateness and all the commercialism has taken the place of all the strength and unity that Hip-Hop used to be. It has all gone topsy turvy. If you look at groups and I am not really talking about anyone in particular, if you look at the groups and someone went solo and left the camp, you have to network, you have to have a strong team behind.

AllHipHop.com: In Atlanta there are so many different personalities in Hip-Hop/Rap, how have you been received by people within your own state when so much talent is already prevalent?

B.O.B: It is surprising how well people are receiving it. You can be as confident as you want to be in your music but there are points where you get nervous and take a few deep breaths as there are times when you think you have something that is a real good song, or a smash. But people have been receiving it real well and it surprised me how much love people show to the music because I am willing to do something different to what is out there I guess.

AllHipHop.com: How hard has it been getting to this point for you?

B.O.B: Awww man, four years and it seems like when I stopped thinking about everything that everything started happening, as far as how people perceived me and in general, you deal with so much in the industry that you get to a certain point that you just don’t give a f**k no more and do whatever. That was what I did, I just did whatever and it is just like motivation at the same time, you want to quit, but that is still motivation at the same time.

AllHipHop.com: Do you feel that you have had to make sacrifices to your own integrity to get to where you are today?

B.O.B: Well the thing about this industry is that at some points you do have to sacrifice some of your moral beliefs as some people would say. But it is real important that you draw the line between integrity and money and not fake yourself out for something; because money at the end of the day is just money. The value of the dollar goes up and down and it is always going to be here, if you see something that you believe in and be true to yourself and not give in, that will speak more than how much money you may have. But for me, I guess, around the time everything started happening I was 17 and so I was young and ready to leave the house; but my family had a hard time with me going and traveling all of a sudden. But as far as sacrifices go, I would say time a sit is not like I am stressed like most people as I would rather be doing this than anything else.

AllHipHop.com: Your "Cloud 9" joint that you talked about earlier is getting a lot of love.

B.O.B: Yeah that track is on my website and it is on a lot of peoples myspace pages and I am just did a video. I did a performance at TJ’s conference and they had like three video cameras and it turned a lto more professional than I thought it would; so we put it up on myspace so people can download it. It has been on the radio, but it isn’t in rotation yet, they are just playing it out of the love.

AllHipHop.com: Will that be the lead off single for you?

B.O.B: Yeah, it is just growing as a song with people circulating it themselves. When we go out we still pass out CDs and everything but it has been received real well.

AllHipHop.com: Being a younger artist you are obviously hitting multiple demographics and you have stated before that you would want to ‘breed positivity’ in your rhymes. Does this mean your rhymes are void of cursing as the last guy I interviewed on The Breeding Ground, Choir Boy, he opted to forget the cursing?

B.O.B: Well you know I don’t edit my stuff, but in my head I have the idea in my head that a lot of people may see in my music, meaning I do take note of what I say and actually it makes it harder for me to write as that thought is in my head, you know that there is a chance that there are a lot of people hearing that song. It’s not so much about being careful but just saying the right thing; just make sure I get it all out.

AllHipHop.com: You have a bright future ahead of you, so what do you think sets you apart from the rest of the artists on the come up?

B.O.B: Me, well when I say this, its not that anyone else is doing it, but right now, how I feel; is that I don’t try to fill a role or fall into a stereotype. You know a lot of people make music in their heads and wonder who is going to like it. With me it is the love for the music and I just make it for myself. Like even though I have some fans and people may like my music I am still doing this for myself. When I started making music for myself, that was when people started liking it, when I was making it with other people in mind, that was when they didn’t like it. The only way you can be unique is to make music for yourself, you know you cant copy anybody else and that is where Hip-Hop went wrong. It got so commercial that everyone is trying to do the same thing. It hit me one day when I was doing an open mic and everyone was performing, some of them were good, some were worse, but everyone was rapping about the same thing. It was like I realized if I had to do something different.

AllHipHop.com: There is a generation of rappers coming up that are really going to make their mark. Is it going to be easy for y’all when Hip-Hop is allegedly dead?

B.O.B: Well regardless of what state it is in it is always going to be music and there is always going to be something new. I wouldn’t even say it is dead as that is like saying classical music is dead or rock and Roll is dead. Classical music is not a popular music, you don’t hear people riding down the street playing Beethoven, but it isn’t dead. I would just say that Hip-Hop has transformed into something else and now you have a lot of Hip-Hop and R&B artists collaborating and the two genres are forming together. This is the whole music scene, it is just transforming. Hip-Hop is always going to be there, all the legends and their CDs will be in stores, you will always be able to get those. SO how can that be dead?

AllHipHop.com: Do you think that the corporate structure when it comes to labels may hold you back?

B.O.B: You can hold yourself back and even though for especially a new artist, the record label can cripple you but there is still no excuse for anything. You are still in control of your destiny. No matter what I hold myself responsible for everything. Let’s say for example the record label did hold me back; I am still responsible because I am the one that made that decision to go with that label. Nobody can hold me back but myself, I know that sounds clichéd but that is the truth

AllHipHop.com: Do you feel like you have learned from other mistakes, being so young and so heavy in the industry now?

B.O.B: Yes and I am so thankful for that, being so young as you soak stuff up real fast and understand it.

AllHipHop.com: Your track "Heavy Breather" isn’t necessarily the positive Hip-Hop we have talked about [laughing.]

B.O.B: [Laughs] Well everyone has to have their bad side.

AllHipHop.com: Being out of The A, I get the indication that may be one for the strip clubs. Have the strip clubs been important in breaking your music?

B.O.B: The thing about the strip club is that it is real homely there. It is easy for you to go in there and perform and the crowd will show you love, but they came to see the strippers. They will play the songs there before they play them in a regular club.

AllHipHop.com: They are infamous for breaking tracks down there. Is this something you take advantage of?

B.O.B: I do try to do that as much as possible. But with “Cloud 9” not so much as with the tempo it is slower so it has proved hard to get it on the mixtapes and the radio as well. I am just thankful for everything.

AllHipHop.com: Do you see yourself veering off in any other directions as I know you produce?

B.O.B: My cousin taught me to produce, he taught me how to use Fruity Loops, my partner Swag and we just picked up more and more stuff down the line watching people and using professional equipment. I just learned from everyone else.


B.O.B.'s MySpace page is www.myspace.com/bobatl