B.o.B started his career with incredible promise. Bringing in a sound like no one had heard before, the talent of a real musician and the writing skills to rap and hang with the best of them. His first album, the Adventures of Bobby Ray, brought in a lot of publicity for its music alone, but pulling an Eminem verse on your first album isn't exactly a bad thing either. Transitioning to his mix tapes, many would argue they are miles ahead of his album material. His albums have left a lot to be desired to this point, at least to fans of the the Adventures of Bobby Ray or the "Generation Lost" B.o.B. His mix tapes usually seem to contain a lot more of those fire verses and beats, as we know Bob is no slouch on the production side of things either. No Genre was arguably the best of all of his mix tapes. It's a bold move to follow it up, but No Genre 2 certainly brought us a new, yet familiar sounding B.o.B.
Now we've always known Bobby Ray to be that guy to sort of go against the grain, speaking out on issues of people, the world, and the people of the world rather comfortably. Songs like "Mission Statement" and "Many Rivers" are nice reminders of the old B.o.B, the one that spoke out against something he didn't like or something that wasn't right. This B.o.B I believe is the one people were looking for for quite some time, and you can definitely tell that even with the issues he's speaking on, he seems to be having fun making music.
The thing I find so interesting with Bob is his range. You can have fun listening to any of his songs, no matter the topic or the theme behind the song. The problem with his last mix tape, Fuck Em We Ball, seemed to be a surplus of party songs, but not many real thought provoking tracks. No Genre 2 certainly has a great mix of both. B.o.B shows us he still can make a banger or a nice party track when he wants to with songs like "Get Right," "Lambo," and "Drunk AF." The guitar being played throughout "Lambo" shows that he appreciates real musical instruments as he always has, as opposed to just the normal bass and synth heavy instrumental.
Bob's production really does shine throughout the tape as well. With great sampling on "Many Rivers," he puts nice 808s and drums behind a real jazzy sounding tune. My personal favorite track on the tape is "Swing My Way" featuring the beautiful R&B vocals of Sevyn Streeter. I haven't heard much of Sevyn before this song, but she certainly drew my attention with her smooth, dare I say Aaliyah like voice. Certainly catchy, just as much as his also self-produced "Follow Me," which also features more smooth guitar as B.o.B talks about more of the struggles, a lot of lying awake and getting no sleep, but learning to take things one day at a time. He certainly does encourage you to "follow" him down a path of what some call crazy, and others call greatness; but you can form your own opinion about it.
B.o.B's features can usually be a hit or miss on tracks it seems, on both his mix tapes and his albums. Sevyn Streeter provides a great hook for "Swing My Way," Mila J's vocals are used on "So What," while Victoria Monet's talents are used on "Lean On Me" and "The Nation." A great woman who can sing a nice hook has always been a weak spot for me, so maybe that's why I like these songs so much. As far as rap and feature verses go, Jake Lambo gives a couple of decent verses on the songs "The Nation" and "Lambo." Of course he had to be featured on "Lambo!" Would he really be Jake Lambo if he wasn't featured on a song called "Lambo?" This is another unanswered rap question I suppose. Anyways, seeing as its B.o.B, you know he had to pull a T.I. verse somewhere on this tape. "Chosen" is another great song and T.I. does exactly what Tip does on this one (wait, which is which?). The bottom line is that "Chosen" is a real nice trunk music type banger that puts B.o.B on a really catchy hook.
So are you not entertained? Is B.o.B finally doing right by his die hard fans? Being a fan of him since the "the Adventures of Bobby Ray" days, I'd like to believe that he is. Bob has always been arguably one of the most versatile rappers out there. With talk of rock albums, a history of singing, but also an ability to kill your favorite rapper on his own song, it seems B.o.B is doing whatever he chooses at this point in his career. You would be hard pressed to compare one B.o.B project to another, and this includes both his mix tapes and his albums. Too many people like to say that he "changed," or that he "sold out," and I used to be one of these people, but this project certainly turned me on to the perfect mix of the old B.o.B with the new. Is his music experimental? Some may call it that. I couldn't argue that it wasn't. Is B.o.B a musician trying to pose as a rapper? Of course not. B.o.B's roots come from rapping, but having the talent to play a nice piano or guitar riff doesn't hurt your range either. Does anybody really know what to call B.o.B anymore? They will call him what they will. But if you're being realistic about it all, all you can really say about him is that his artistry does not have a genre. No Genre, to be exact.
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