B.o.B.

Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. (born November 15, 1988), known professionally as B.o.B, is an American rapper.

Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. was born on November 15, 1988, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

He played the trumpet in his school band from elementary school through high school.

Although his parents wanted him to continue his education, B.o.B decided in sixth grade that he wanted to pursue a music career.

His father, a pastor, disapproved of his son's choices, until he realized B.o.B was using music as a form of therapy and a creative outlet.

B.o.B later reflected on his experience, saying, "They've always supported me. They got my first keyboard to make beats on and they helped me out getting equipment here and there. But it was kind of hard for them to really understand what I was really trying to accomplish."

B.o.B attended Columbia High School in Decatur, Georgia, where he played the trumpet in the school band, until he landed a record deal and decided to drop out of school in the ninth grade.

In 2002, after meeting his mentor and co-manager B-Rich at the age of 14, B.o.B sold his first beat to former Slip-n-Slide recording artist Citti, for the song "I'm the Cookie Man".

B.o.B felt he had established a substantial career.

Raised in Decatur, Georgia, Simmons signed with producer Jim Jonsin through his Rebel Rock Entertainment label in 2006.

Two years later, he and Jonsin signed a joint venture recording contract with fellow Georgia rapper T.I.'s Grand Hustle Records, an imprint of Atlantic Records.

"I went and blew all of my money on fast stuff like a chain and ballin'. Soon I was broke again, but I learned two important things from it; make sure I save my money and that I was hooked on music. He continued performing at open mics and underground venues to perfect his craft. In 2006, because he was underage, B-Rich helped sneak B.o.B into Club Crucial, a night club owned by Atlanta-based rapper T.I. There, B.o.B performed a song titled "Cloud 9", a self-produced, spoken word-like ode to marijuana. In attendance was producer and industry veteran T.J. Chapman, chief executive officer (CEO) of TJ's DJ's. Chapman agreed to co-manage B.o.B, which only a month later led to B.o.B's signing with Atlantic Records and subsidiary imprint Rebel Rock, run by Florida-based producer Jim Jonsin. His first single for Atlantic, 2007's "Haterz Everywhere", reached the top five of Billboard's Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop singles chart.

Along with his solo production career, B.o.B is part of the production/rap group HamSquad, along with Playboy Tre, DJ Swatts, DJ Smooth, Moss B, B-Rich and TJ Chapman.

B.o.B first began to gain recognition at the start of 2007.

The underground single, "Haterz Everywhere" featuring Wes Fif, gained the rapper attention by peaking at number 5 on the US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles.

The remix to "Haterz Everywhere" featuring Rich Boy, was included used in the video game Fight Night Round 4, and a music video was later released for that version.

From 2007 to 2008, B.o.B released four mixtapes; The Future (2007), Cloud 9 (2007), ''Hi!

Another single, "I'll Be in the Sky", was released in 2008 and it has reached at number 15 on the same charts.

About.com called the song a "smart, funky artrap and a strong prelude to his album" and included it at number 13 on its subjective ranking "Top 100 Rap Songs of 2008".

Incidentally, another song produced by B.o.B called "Generation Lost", listed alongside the song, on the ranking at number 32.

This was followed by another single, "Don't Let Me Fall".

B.o.B made his first big feature appearing on T.I.'s highly acclaimed album Paper Trail (2008), on the song "On Top of the World", alongside fellow Atlanta-based rapper Ludacris.

In 2008, it was announced he would appear on the cover of XXL magazine, along with Asher Roth, Charles Hamilton and Wale as part of their "Hip-Hop's Class of '09" issue.

In October 2008, B.o.B was featured on the cover of Vibe along with some of these same young musicians and was similarly identified as promising young talent.

Following his major-label deal, Simmons quickly achieved commercial success when his 2009 debut single, "Nothin' on You" (featuring Bruno Mars), peaked the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and received Grammy Award nominations for Record of the Year, Best Rap Song, and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 53rd Grammy Awards.

His subsequent singles, "Airplanes" (featuring Hayley Williams of Paramore) and "Magic" (featuring Rivers Cuomo) peaked at numbers two and ten respectively on the Billboard Hot 100.

All three preceded the release of Simmons' debut studio album The Adventures of Bobby Ray (2010), which was promoted by two extended plays (EPs) and several self-released mixtapes.

The album was met with critical and commercial success, reaching number one on the Billboard 200 and receiving double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), with critical praise directed towards its blending of genres including alternative rock, pop rap, and "hipster hop".

Simmons was named the ninth "Hottest MC in the Game of 2010" by MTV on their annual list.

The following year, he guest featured on English singer Jessie J's single "Price Tag", which peaked the UK Singles Chart and reached number 23 on the Hot 100.

Simmons then released his dubstep-influenced single, "Strange Clouds" (featuring Lil Wayne) in late 2011.

Becoming his fourth top-ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100, it preceded and served as the lead single for his second studio album of the same name (2012), which peaked at number five on the Billboard 200.

The album's follow-up singles, "So Good" and "Both of Us" (featuring Taylor Swift) both reached the top-20 in the US and received platinum certification by the RIAA.

His third studio album, Underground Luxury (2013) explored darker subject matter and adopted a grittier tone, containing the club-oriented singles "HeadBand" (featuring 2 Chainz) and "We Still in This Bitch" (featuring T.I. and Juicy J); the album was met with a critical and commercial decline.

That same year, he guest featured on the platinum-certified singles "Paranoid" by Ty Dolla Sign and "Up Down (Do This All Day)" by T-Pain.

Dissatesfied with his lack of promotion from the label, Simmons released his twelfth mixtape, Psycadelik Thoughtz (2015) as his final project for Atlantic.

His compilation album, Elements (2016)—released by his own label, No Genre—was compiled from four mixtapes which delved into political subject matter and conspiracy theories.

His 2016 single, "Flatline" was a diss song aimed at astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson, in which he attests credence of modern flat Earth beliefs.

His fourth album, Ether (2017) served as his first independent album and narrowly entered the Billboard 200 while receiving critical praise.

He has since further expressed anti-establishment views and disavowed the mainstream music industry.