B.o.B has been selected as the number 9 MC in the game for MTV’s list. With 3 top 10 singles and number 1 album, I don’t see why he shouldn’t be here.
B.o.B had a handful of minor looks over the years, yet never one that catapulted him to stardom. There was his 2007 trance-rap single “Haterz Everywhere” and, a year later, the song “I’ll Be in the Sky.” There were countless mixtapes and a co-sign from T.I., who signed B.o.B to his label, Grand Hustle, in 2008. The next year, he was selected as one of XXL‘s Freshmen 10, alongside fellow up-and-comers Kid Cudi and Wale. These small victories earned him a small-but-loyal fanbase.
But it wasn’t until this past February, when he dropped the LRG-sponsored mixtape May 25th, that things started to really take off. The tape featured the Bruno Mars-assisted single “Nothin’ on You,” which was instantly embraced by radio. The song hit #1 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 and sold more than 2 million copies.
He duplicated that success with “Airplanes,” featuring Paramore’s Hayley Williams, which spent a staggering 26 weeks on the Hot 100, peaking at #2. It even spawned a remix with a reinvigorated Eminem, which helped launch Marshall Mathers back into the public eye.
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