B.o.B. and Atlantic Records held an exclusive album listening for his new album “Strange Clouds.” The private event took place at Tree Sounds Studios, bringing out some of Atlanta’s top DJs, media, and record company executives.
B.o.B., who also hosted the event, sat down and previewed songs off of the new album, offering a description of each song he has chosen for the project so far.
As a spectator listening to this preview, B.o.B. is – quite simply put – futuristic. The music we heard that night was amazing. B.o.B. has reached the next level in his career, and his new music clearly shows it.
Watch our video of B.o.B. speaking about performing at The White House TWICE, and what you can expect from the “Strange Cloud” album:
Words won’t give the new album justice, but at least it will have you salivating for 2012. Here is a list of the songs that were previewed by B.o.B.:
Song #1 “Strange Clouds” featuring Lil Wayne – We already knew this song was B.o.B.’s first single, and it’s a hot. If you haven’t heard it, take a listen here:
Song #2 “Play The Guitar” featuring Andre 3000. Yes it’s the return of Andre 3000 with a vengeance! B.o.B. not only holds his own on this super crazy track with 3 Stacks, he competed with him on this guitar driven/sampled, head bobbin’ track. Andre actually plays the guitar at the end of the track.
Song #3 “5 On The Kush” featuring Big KRIT In the vain of The Luniz “I Got 5 On It,” this 2012 weed song with Big KRIT is going to be a huge song in iPods as well as weed cyphers. KRIT is hot and B.o.B. continues to deliver lyrics on another level.
Song #4 “So Hard to Breathe” When I first heard this, I felt like troubled kids, the huge jobless community, and just people having hard times can relate to this song. It’s very much a feel-good song – inspirational and rhythmic all in about three minutes. Cool track.
Song #5 “Arena” featuring T.I. Teaming up with the General of Grand Hustle is always a good thing. The momentum-building track explains growth and performing in front of crowds of 50,000+ people, hence the title “Arena.” Another hit as T.I. and B.o.B. both pound this track in their own fast-paced delivery. Having them together on the same track makes this song a hit.
Song #6 “MJ” features Nelly. B.o.B. said that “this song is what I do when I’m chilling on the weekends.” When he said that the song was “MJ,” I went straight for Michael Jackson in my mind and B.o.B. listening to old Michael music. WRONG! It’s inspired by Michael Jordan, and B.o.B. is balling on this track. It’s a great track, which is a sure head nodder when you hear it in 2012. If you like basketball, you’ll love this track.
Song #7 “So Good” featuring Ryan Tedder of One Republic shows more of B.o.B.’s versatility, as he teams up with another artist/producer from the popular group. B.o.B. mentioned that working with another others helps him to deliver better music, since they both would think very similarly and they know the best way to vocally perform on the track. It’s pretty deep seeing two real musicians work, because this song is another one of the “futuristic” songs.
Bonus track:
Song #8 “Circles.” A woman at the session asked if he had any songs for the ladies, and B.o.B. replied with this bonus song of the night – possibly one of the best songs. This was tailored for the ladies and had every shaking in their seat in some way. I expect this song would make the album.