Take an Adventure with B.O.B.

The time has come. There are artists that get hype, but not quite many like B.O.B. or Bobby Ray. His album is the most anticipated debut in the hip-hop realm since the likes of Kid CuDi last fall. Can Bobby Ray deliver?

Well, sort of. B.O.B. certainly starts off his Adventures of Bobby Ray on an explosive note. "Don't Let Me Fall" is a superb track in both production and lyrics. The song starts out with piano keys and then transitions into a guitar riff as B.O.B. sings the chorus. After that, Bobby Ray realizes it's time to show off his mic skills, and he delivers. He spits the line:

I used to cut class everyday
Then run away at night
But now I’m ruler of the upperclass
And I don’t even write

Although B.O.B. only has two verses in the track, he comes hard on both and gives the listener an exciting introduction into his album.

B.O.B. moves on to his hit single "Nothin' on You (ft.Bruno Mars)" and it's a good one. Is it a little too poppy and not enough rapping? Yes, but regardless, B.O.B. is intelligent with his verses he does rap on. He also gives a great line on the bridge before the final chorus:

Whether a bus or a plane, or a car, or a train
No other girl's on my brain, and you the one to blame

B.O.B.'s next song, "Past My Shades", is unfortunately, where the adventure takes a wrong turn. The beat, like "Don't Let Me Fall", uses guitar, but the addition of a bass guitar really makes it unique and fun to listen to. However, when it comes to the actual lyrics, B.O.B. stumbles. He gives a short verse and one that is confusing. He raps about having to hide himself and that everyone is seeing a disguise, but then says:

If its a song with a rhyme or a verse with a line
Then you wanna stay in my mind

So what exactly does Bobby Ray want the listener to take away from "Past My Shades"? Is it that we don't know who the Bobby Ray is? Or that someone is on his mind and he's trying to hide the real Bobby Ray from them? Although Lupe Fiasco comes on and somewhat saves the song with a tremendous verse, B.O.B. has his first disappointment on the album.

The other hit single "Airplanes" is able to veer the album from dangerous waters when it plays next. I'm not a fan of bringing on Hayley Williams of Paramore for this track, but B.O.B. justifies it with a catchy chorus. He also does a good job on his MC abilities here, in fact, it might be his best on the entire album. Songs like "Airplanes" give me some hope for B.O.B., because he is able to make a hit single, while not selling himself out.

Even though the adventure is going somewhat smoothly through the first four tracks, it takes a screeching halt when it gets to "Bet I (ft. T.I. and Playboy Tre)". The beat for one is hard to listen to, as it slows down and speeds up sporadically. The lyrics here make no sense and he really strays from the perception of being an intelligent MC. Sure, listening to T.I. is cool, but we've heard this before. Nothing here is new or original, and it doesn't get any better for the next two songs.

"Ghost in the Machine" contains no rapping and is strictly an R&B cut. I get that you can sing Bobby Ray, but this is a RAP album right? Why throw in this particular track on an album that you're trying to show how good you really are? "The Kids" is another tough song to get through, as the chorus sounds like something that could be on a reggae CD. He may deliver an interesting verse about being in school (which I do give him credit for, at least he maintains intelligent lyrics), but the guest appearance of Janelle Monae kills any momentum the song may have had.

Just before the album hits rock bottom, B.O.B. is able to save it with "Magic (ft. Rivers Cuomo)" (who does a great job in his guest appearance) and "Fame". Both have great beats and are very catchy. They also have B.O.B. rapping creatively. For instance in "Magic", B.O.B. literally gives a verse on how he is a magician:

These tricks that I'll attempt will blow your mind
Pick a verse, any verse, I'll hypnotise you with every line
I'll need a volunteer, how about you, with the eyes?
Come on down to the front, and stand right here and don't be shy
I'll have you time-travellin', have your mind babblin'
People tryna inherit the skill so they askin' me
Even David Blaine had to go and take some classes, and
I see Mindfreak like, "What's up man, what's happenin'?"
So come one, come all, and see the show tonight
Prepare to be astounded, no Ghost or Poltergeist
You know I'm no Pinocchio, I've never told a lie
So call me Mr. Magic Man, I float on Cloud 9

B.O.B. keeps up the momentum throughout "Lovelier than You" and "5th Dimension (ft. Ricco Barrino)" and then finishes the album with "Airplanes pt. 2 (ft. Eminem)". "Lovelier than You" may not have B.O.B. rapping the entire time, but it's not strictly singing like "Ghost in the Machine" is. The song is about his love for another and it's imaginative as he uses a golden brick road reference to start. "5th Dimension" is a good track for B.O.B. to hit the mic and rhyme, even if production wise it lacks. "Airplanes pt. 2 (ft. Eminem)" is basically a repeat of "Airplanes (ft. Hayley Williams), but the addition of Eminem's verse is fresh. Eminem talks about if he had never tried to rap, which is brilliant.

All in all, it's not a bad effort from B.O.B. There are definitely some highlights on this adventure and it's well produced for the most part. However, this is B.O.B.'s debut album. A debut album is one where an MC needs to show the world what he's made of, what he stands for, what he wants us to hear and why we should listen to him.

B.O.B. fails to do that. There are too many guest appearances here to get a firm grasp on who B.O.B. is as an artist. There also is the problem of whether B.O.B. wants to be a rapper or singer. He's talented in both, but he needs to choose what direction he intends to take, because throwing in random cuts like "Ghost in the Machine" won't cut it if he plans on reaching Jay-Z or Nas levels.

I have hope for B.O.B., and I'm sure that this album will do tremendously well on the retail shelves. But I'm still left wondering, who is B.O.B.? An up and coming rap prodigy? Or another artist who cares more about selling records than sending messages. I hope, for hip-hop's sake, it's the former.

The Adventures of Bobby Ray (* indicates "Definitely Worth a Listen")
1. Don't Let Me Fall*
2. Nothin' on You ft. Bruno Mars
3. Past My Shades ft. Lupe Fiasco
4. Airplanes ft. Hayley Williams
5. Bet I ft. T.I. and Playboy Tre
6. Ghost in the Machine
7. The Kids ft. Janelle Monae
8. Magic ft. Rivers Cuomo
9. Fame*
10. Lovelier Than You
11. 5th Dimension ft. Rico Barrino
12. Airplanes pt. 2 ft. Eminem and Hayley Williams*

OVERALL - 3 out of 5 stars

A Guru of Hip-Hop

Last Tuesday may have been a day for people to celebrate the smoking of marijuana, many rappers included, but it was a sad one. Rapping legend Kieth "Guru" Elam died from a long battle with cancer on Tuesday. Guru had suffered a heart attack six weeks before April 20th, and went into a coma. Although there were reports swirling that Guru was making a recovery, he was succumbed by a type of cancer called Anoxia.

This is a loss of monumental proportions for the hip-hop and music community. Guru was part of the platinum group "Gang Starr" with DJ Premier in the late 1980's till the mid 90's. He and Premier were behind the hits "Discipline", "Rite where you stand", "Mass Appeal", and "Moment of Truth" and helped Gang Starr become one of the top hip-hop groups of all time.

Unfortunately, Gang Starr was not the typical mainstream group. They never had a single reach higher than #67 on the Billboard top 100 and they never had an album make #1. Gang Starr was mostly referred to as underground hip-hop, and it's a shame it stayed that way. Guru and Premier had two things that many other groups didn't have, intelligence and incredible production.

Guru was the lead lyricist in Gang Starr and dropped some of the most jaw-dropping lines that still haven't been matched. His flow wasn't fast, but it wasn't slow either. Guru had a medium that many rappers have a hard time achieving. If you need any proof on how good Guru was as an MC, just listen to "Check the Technique" that Gang Starr dropped on Step Into the Arena. Here's the second verse from that track:

I'm rushin you like a defensive end as I recommend
that you comprehend, I could stomp you in
a battle, contest, or war, what will occur
will be the forfeiture, of your immature
insecure for sure, meek, weak visions of grandeur
To rudely awaken you, and then'll be breakin you
Taxin without askin and trackin and snakin you
Makin you succumb to the drums of GangStarr
By far we are, truly gifted ones son
But if you were to speculate or estimate us losin
you'll be dyin, tryin to face the fate of your delusions
Cause miscalculation, is all you're statin
So I'm chumpin, puntin punks just like footballs
Cause I wanna put y'all, back in the messhall
to clean up the slop, and stop all the bullcrap
Your rap's crazy wack, so don't try to pull that
You're lackin the vernacular, I'm slappin ya and cappin ya
and closin your jaw, cause you can't mess with GangStarr
The Guru and Premier always dope with the blessed beats
Dance your ass off Hobbes, check the technique

What's amazing about this verse and this song is that it's a play off of a very popular song that Eric B. & Rakim made, "Don't Sweat the Technique". "Check the Technique" however, has a different beat, using "California Soul" as the main sample. You probably would recognize the beat if you ever had watched a Docker's San Francisco commercial.

During his years in Gang Starr, Guru also started a series called Jazzmatazz. He was one of the first artists to ever combine live jazz music with hip-hop production and rapping when he released Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 in 1993. He expanded his Jazzmatazz series to later include top notch MC's, such as Common and Blackalicious. He also paired with Damian Marley and Slum Village on his last Jazzmatazz album, Jazzmatazz Vol. 4, which was released in 2007.

Guru was one of the few, and last, remaining artists that was committed to bringing jazz into hip-hop. Jazz and hip-hop is a formula that slowly has died since the late 90's, when one of the pioneers of the Jazz/Hip-Hop combination, A Tribe Called Quest, split up. Guru tried to make sure that this genre of hip-hop stayed, even if the Jazzmatazz series wasn't topping the charts in sales.

Elam was a visionary, genius, and ridiculously talented MC. His loss may not be as prevalent as an artist such as Jay-Z, but a loss that is of huge magnitude all the same. Guru was an artist that certainly earned of a G.O.A.T. of hip-hop. However, the beautiful thing about musicians is that even in death, their music lives on. I hope that hip-hop listeners of future generations will get to hear Guru and get to experience his music and messages.

Rest in peace Mr. Elam, you really were a "guru" of hip-hop.