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B.o.B has had one hell of a career. His extensive catalog of timeless hits include “Nothin On You,” “Airplanes,” “Magic,” “Still In This Bitch,” and so much more.

From being signed at age 17 to touring the world, real name Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. has had the pleasure of working with some of music’s greatest artists such as Bruno Mars, Eminem, and Paramore. What separated him apart from the rest was his ability to bring lyricism to huge pop and R&B records. To date, he’s been nominated for the Grammy 6 different times.

Fast forward to today, B.o.B is back and better than ever. Completely independent, he continues to deliver undeniable bangers for his dedicated fanbase, leading up to the release of his highly-anticipated album titled Space Time on August 16th. This serves as the final installment of his Elements series.

On the 67th episode of Shirley’s Temple, I sat with B.o.B to discuss his hiatus, being independent, the making of “Headband” with Mistah FAB & Ty Dolla $ign, his new album Space Time, why he finally went to therapy, almost going homeless, love for metal shows and riding Harleys, ramen obsession & more!

Do you like hot weather? 

We just left Cancun and that shit was 120 degrees. Literally.

What was the occasion? 

I had to perform at a wedding, and these folks bought the entire resort. I couldn’t even stay there because they bought the whole resort. They booked the whole resort.

What were they most excited for you to perform? Because you got a lot of bangers.

Probably a tie between ”Nothin’ On You” and “Headband.”

“Headband” was a turn up one.

Yeah man. That shit had a weird life of its own. Typically records that have melody in it, usually those have the longest life. But then you got sometimes rap records, they just beat time. They become timeless. Because I guess there’s a little melody in here. You know that’s Ty Dolla $ign singing that part, right? 

No! 

I actually met Ty Dolla $ign that day. The day we made “Headband.”

What year was that?

That was 2012. It was crazy too, me and Mistah Fab was in the studio. It was somewhere off somewhere in West Hollywood recording. And I just got the beat pack from Mustard. Mustard might have dropped — he came and dropped the beats off.

Were producers dropping off beats in person?

Yeah. For producers, there was a time… Once upon a time [laughs], producers would get in the studio with the artists. We’re going through the beat pack and soon as I hear the beat, it’s “already got one!” I literally had one rolled up in my left hand. I played it for Fab: “Fab, I’m stuck on this. I need a hook on this part. I don’t know what we could do.” So Fab starts penning the hook, then Ty Dolla $ign walks in. Right as we cutting the hook, we’re like “Yo Ty, it needs some more shit.” He goes in and goes “ohhhh.” 

I think he wrote the other half of the hook too. There’s certain shit that happens in the industry where certain shit lines up and it feels so natural, and that shit may never happen again. Certain people in the same room at the same time, certain producer and a guitar player, you make a fucking hit. That’s how it happens bro, you really gotta be prepared.

Do you have a most meaningful record? 

Meaningful to me or to the fans?

To you. Which is crazy because I know “We Still In This Bitch” was made in your basement right?

Yes, “We Still In This Bitch” was on the same beat CD as Rihanna “Pour It Up,” “Bandz A Make Her Dance” with Juicy J. All of this was on the same beat CD. And I listened to these beats. You know you hear rappers be like “yeah man, I passed on all these beats.” That shit really be happening. So any aspiring producers, the best artists will pass on fire beats. You just gotta hear it. I’m sure a lot of other artists passed on the “Still In This Bitch” Beat. I just heard something. When you hear it, you gotta be prepared for it.

The most meaningful will probably be… if we’re talking numbers, obviously the big pop records mean a lot. [laughs] But songs like “Don’t Let Me Fall,” “Ghost In The Machine,” those are songs that hit my core fans in a way where even to this day, people would be like, “Yo, I was listening to you when I was 6.” I’m looking like, you’re 20. Am I that old? Have you been listening to me since you was a toddler? 

That’s fire because the parents probably played it for them. You know? 

Yeah bro, even n*ggas my age. When I went on tour with A$AP Rocky, Wiz Khalifa, Trinidad James, we went on the Under The Influence tour. I remember talking to A$AP Rocky, he was like, “Yo bro, your song “I’ll Be In The Sky” helped me in a tough place.” I’m like damn n*gga, you my age. Shit man, I’ve been doing this for so long. It really be passing by. You really got to embrace these moments man.

The people want to know, where has B.O.B been at? 

Oh man.

Is that a loaded question? 

Yes. It’s a big magazine barrel loaded question. [laughs] I know why people ask me that question, because I’ve been independent for so long. 

We love independent. 

I know, love independence. But the thing is this, I don’t feel like artists realize with independent or a major label: the same thing that happens that a label does, if you’re independent, you’re gonna have to fucking do that too. You gotta do the same. You gotta have a team. Not only that, everybody has been working hard. Everybody has to be doing shit. [snaps] Everybody’s gotta be on top of their game. Even when I was signed to a major label, the work is the work. 

Because I’ve been independent for so long, I’ve been having to piece together my own team. 

Also somewhere along the way of being independent, I really don’t give a fuck. I really don’t give a fuck how this plays out, because you have to be okay with rebuilding. Everybody’s not gonna see every video you put out, everybody’s not gon’ see every album you drop. As annoying as it is, me and my managers be like yo, n*ggas always ask me. This is actual life, I’m not playing. “N*ggas ask where B.o.B been at?”

That’s how you started off “Steve Harvey.”

Yeah. It’s literally my life, so let me just tell n*ggas. I’ve been really building it back up. Now, I feel I’m in a space where I want to do this shit again. I ain’t got nothing else to do. [laughs]

We gotta touch on your upcoming album because you dropped “Steve Harvey,” you dropped “Zoot.” What can we expect from this chapter of Bobby Ray?

You know what’s interesting, it’s an interesting chapter because the “Zoot” and “Steve Harvey” are on the last Elements project. I put out WATER, FIRE, EARTH and AIR. This element is called Space Time. I started in 2015, it started with WATER. WATER was an acronym: We Are The Enemy Really. Then somebody said “Yo, you need to do FIRE next.” I’m like aw shit. Little did I know the next 10 years of my life, I was gonna be working on these projects.

I took a hiatus for a couple years and came back, I wanted to do different elements. But I didn’t want to do periodic table shit. I felt it should be different elements, so I did Artificial Intelligence as an element.

In 2022, you called the AI shit. 

I did Artificial Intelligence as an element. Then I did Anti-Matter as an element. Then I did Neon Lights. It’s a little obscure because neon is a noble gas. I’m pretty fucking nerdy sometimes. 

I wanted to ask about your line in “Steve Harvey.” You say “industry plants, hydrangeas.” Who were you talking about?

Who? I’m not really talking about anybody in particular, because it applies to so many. You know when you be like,“Yo man, n*ggas be tripping.” I don’t mean all niggas be tripping, but n*ggas be tripping. I’m not talking about all n*ggas. Because let’s be real, if you are an industry plant or you’re not an industry plant, you still gotta do the same work. 

I feel like the connotation that comes with it is that they got it a little easier and quicker, versus somebody who had to grind their ass off.

You know, when I popped off some people felt like I was lucky and that I got it easy.

Your talents got you signed.

I mean yeah. My fans who’ve been listening to me since Cloud 9 all the way… they saw it. They saw me on stage on a Hip-Hop tour, pulling out the guitar and playing on stage. They saw me at Club Crucial with a fucking band and my guitar, playing drums. To a lot of people, at the time that it really popped off, someone could have been like, “Yo man, this n*gga got it easy. He just got a song.” Yo, I lost so many houses and had to move out, was almost homeless and didn’t have nowhere to stay. All types of shit. 

While you were signed or after you signed? 

After I was signed, I’m talking about even after having a hit on the radio. The fucking recession happened, boy that shit wiped everything out. I done been through the hardship and that’s why you really gotta want this shit as an artist man. Shit could go great, then you could also take many Ls. You can take as many W’s, as many Ls as you want. But you gotta be able to navigate the ebb and flow of life. It really don’t matter what you do, if you’re a restaurant owner or whatever. That shit is always like that. The longer you do something, you get better at it. You gotta buckle up for the ride. 

You can’t be like “you know, black people…” You can’t get so bent out of shape over how fucked up something is or how much you feel like something is unfair. Or it’s an industry plant, or n*ggas is cheating or they faking streams. However you want to feel about it, you can’t let that dictate the dream that you have for yourself. No matter what, no matter how fucked the world is. If you got the dream, nobody can stop you. Literally, nobody can stop your dream. As long as you see that shit, it’s gonna manifest. Even when you get to the fucking top. 

Shirley’s Temple has a focus on mental health. First of all, how are you doing? Genuinely how are you doing?

Thank you for asking me that. I’m doing excellent. And the reason why I’m doing excellent is because I’m embracing the good and the bad. Embracing the positive and the negative, it’s more chill that way. It’s easy to behave when shit’s going your way. Everybody knows how to act when shit’s going great. 

You said, “All of a sudden, I have these huge Grammy nominated records, and I’m traveling the world. It’s almost like the world didn’t get to discover who I was. I was just these records. That was something that was hard for me to deal with for the longest time.” How did fame affect your mental health?

It’s a trade off because I didn’t get to experience going to college. Even before that, I grew up without cable. I understand these first world problems and we got American privilege, ‘cause traveling the world and even in places that are really fucking nice, it’s a certain comfort when you come back home. You feel like okay whew, they not gonna lock me up for weed. 

So it was a trade off because I did get signed at 17. A lot of the things that the other children or kids experience, I didn’t really experience. I remember talking to my peers like, did y’all like high school? Did y’all have fun in high school? Everyone’s like “Yeah, high school was lit.” In my head, yo I hated school. The deeper and deeper I got into the numbers, wait a minute. Fifth grade, what’s next? Sixth grade? 

I saw somewhere, your first day of school you were like “Damn, I gotta go back?” 

[laughs] Nah forreal. I just knew that eventually, I wasn’t going to be able to do it anymore. I can’t do it. But then you get older and you realize life is a school. You can’t really drop out, even dropping out is still participating. Ironically, man I ain’t finna go to college and work for the man, do no fucking 9 to 5. I was bringing my own snacks to school, selling making money. Buying my own equipment and shit like that. 

But also, I was doing shit nobody was doing, so it is a trade off. But l the main thing that as an artist, you gotta be delusional a little bit. Because you really gotta put that shit on. And sometimes, you gotta know how to take it off. Because if you laying in bed, and you can’t take your mind off: aw man, did I send that email? Aw man, I gotta finish that beat. Awman, you ain’t gonna never finish that album. But then I got this… You gotta know how to stop that too. You gotta know how to cut it on and cut it off. 

Work/life balance. 

Yeah, work/life balance. And that’s why when people have asked me so many times, like “B.o.B where you’ve been at? Where the fuck you been at? Why’d you just stop? Why’d you just fall off? Why’d you stop making music?”

You didn’t fall off, but continue. 

Well okay, so I’m learning that it’s debatable if that word means something negative now. People are embracing it more. They’re saying well, it’s not a fall off. It’s just you got off the treadmill. Why[d you get off the treadmill B.o.B? Because I’ve been doing it for so long, since I was 17. And I just needed to not do it. 

And you have every right in the world to feel that.

Yeah, and it’s crazy in certain scenarios, because you’re really gonna walk away from money like that? Trust me, you don’t want to do that. But also, you should be able to do that when you want to. Even though you don’t want to do it. Because if you’re not able to do that, you could actually fuck up more money. So you really gotta have some integrity, have some balance. A

When I get hate, I’m like yeah, thanks for that. I need a little bit of edge. I don’t want all compliments. I need a little bit of that hate. Yeah, cool. Thanks, appreciate it. Fuck you too. [laughs]

When you were touring the world, when it was the peak, did that get to you? Did Hollywood ever get to you? 

I feel like it’s just about the game that you’re playing with yourself. You gotta play their game by your rules. Sometimes being in the game, it’s called the rap game. You gotta know how to fucking play the game. When you really accept that, you are balanced and you’re in your right mind, you can play any game. That’s how you see some people man they could just dance, act, sing, drive NASCARs, fly helicopters, speak 2 languages. You know how some people are like… why do you know how to do all that shit? What’re you preparing for? [laughs] Are you preparing to recede population if this shit ends? What’s going on?

A 20 minute motorcycle ride increases the heart rate up to 11% and boosts adrenaline up to 27%, which is comparable to light exercise. Riding a motorcycle decreases the levels of the stress hormone cortisol up to 28%. I know you ride Harleys, when did you start?

I learned right after my birthday, I want to say 3 years ago. My wife can’t stop hearing about it, but I learned to ride motorcycles in the rain. You’re not really supposed to ride in the rain, but I took the actual driving class in the rain. It was cold, fucking passed. Didn’t fall, didn’t drop it. I felt I was supposed to learn that in that moment. Because it rained at the start of the class, I had paid for a private class. I’m like, I’m taking this class. He’s like, “Alright well, if it rains it rains. We ain’t gonna drop it.” Nope, we ain’t gon’ drop it today. I fucking passed. 

Did you ever go to therapy when you were struggling?

That’s not something that I ever had ever embarked upon until recently. I feel the reason why it takes people so long to eventually go to a therapist is because you feel it’s something wrong with you. Like going to the doctor or going to the emergency room, ER, or urgent care. But it’s just like going to get a massage or a haircut. It’s really a maintenance thing. I’m not talking about people that need to be prescribed meds, because I probably need some ADHD medicine or something. I haven’t gotten that far. 

In terms of learning about yourself and dealing with shit that you probably have been ignoring for maybe 30 years, and it’s not working for you no more because you’re older. Certain things could possibly look childish or maybe you’re holding something back. It’s someone to talk to and you can really understand yourself more, and not have to have things that are preventing you from accomplishing whatever type of goal it is. Whether it be waking up and making the bed or working out, because it could be simple shit. It’s not always something deep.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Shirley’s Temple