By Courtney Flagg

News Editor

Courtney Flagg ’12 chatted with B.o.B. in an interview Friday night before the fall concert to discover the real Bobby Ray.

Q”: You started off in a group called Klinik. What made you decide to continue with music as a solo artist?

A: It was really just a matter of interest. My cousin wanted to go to college to learn business, and I wanted to jump in [to the music industry] and learn from experience, so we kind of just went separate ways. In 2006, that’s when I got signed.

Q: So you knew you wanted to continue with music. Nothing else?

A: There was no Plan B. Plan B was to start from Plan A again.

Q: You have collaborated with a lot of different artists. When you write your songs do you have certain artists in mind?

A: Not really, unless I’m making something with the artist there, usually it depends on who I may run into each time we have to get a song done. If it’s not a lot of time usually it will just be the artist on a song that’s already finished—they might just be featured on it.

Q: What determines whether or not an artist will work with you on a song?

A: Really the artists are typically very busy, unless they’re just recording. It usually just depends on who you run into. Honestly, it’s just if the stars align in the right way, because even if you do meet someone you might want to collaborate with, they may be in a different vibe or it may be hard to get them in the studio. Really I think it’s just meant to happen because I wish I could work with a lot of different artists. The probability of that actually happening is so slim. It really just depends.

Q: If you could work with any artist, dead or alive, who would that be?

A: Picasso.

Q: Picasso? Would you be working on something musical with him?

A: I don’t know. It would be a combination of both.

Q: A music video?

A: It would be a music gallery.

Q: Your music videos are really creative. How do you think of them?

A: I think I’m still learning about how to reflect my music in my music videos. Each video that you do continuously gets better. Even still, I have many different places I want to go, that I want to show people.

Q: What would those be?

A: You just have to wait until the next album to find out.

Q: When does your next album come out?

A: I don’t know yet, it’s still being recorded. But I am releasing a mixed tape this December.

Q: Are any different artists collaborating on that one?

A: Just me and Bob.

Q: You play a bunch of different instruments. How did you start?

A: Well first I started out playing the spoons, then I moved onto the kazoo. Eventually, in sixth grade I started playing on the desk. Now I play the guitar, the trumpet and the piano and a few other instruments.

Q: What inspires you to write songs?

A: The inspiration comes from life experiences. It comes from meeting people. It comes from shows. It’s really just me taking my interpretation of reality here and putting it into a comprehendible song and making music with it.