By CIARA WALKER

Where did B.o.B. come from?

There was this artist named Willie Joe from the Bay Area—we used to do Open Mic a lot, and I was going by the name BE because my name was so unnicknamable—and one day he was like, “What’s up B-o-b?” 'cause my name was Bobby, and I was like, "Dude just game me my name," and since then we’ve been adding meanings to it like "Business over Bullshit," "Bring one blunt," "Barack-O-Bama."

What does music mean to you?

It’s all vibrational. Music is me talking, music is me rapping, music is me beating on a desk. Music, to me, is the manifestation of emotion.

How would you describe your music?

The ideas that I have are so outside of the box that I’m not even gon’ say a lot of them yet just 'cause I want to keep it under wraps, but it’s definitely something you’ve never heard. I’ll definitely continue to keep that "I don’t know how to describe it" attitude that people have when they hear my music.

What’s it like working with well-known artists such as fellow Atlantans T.I. and Ludacris?

One thing you learn is how humble a lot of people are. Now I admit, some people do have egos—none of the people you just mentioned—but you’ll be surprised how humble and down to earth and understanding and relatable these people are, and of course you've got to be that way to maintain that level. Now, you can get there and have an ego, but in order to maintain it, you have to understand what you are and you can’t have a huge, super ego and remain sufficient.

When did you first realize you were famous?

[Laughs] I still don’t feel like I am, but I guess I try not to focus on a lot of the hype. I try to keep it as down to earth as possible, but at the same time it’s impossible to ignore the fact that people do know you. It’s been so gradual that I don’t really notice—like when I was in school I started gaining notoriety because I was the guy with the deal and before that I was the guy who could rap, so it’s just gradually progressed where more and more people know. So I guess I feel the same, but I’m still aware of the fame.

What are your thoughts on being compared to artists such as Andre 3000 and the group OutKast?

It’s something that I receive a lot, but I’m cool about it. I don’t dislike it—I don’t really judge it. It’s just an opinion, and so when I hear it I take it as a form of someone going out of their way to recognize something like what I’m doing. Just the fact that someone would take the time to listen to it and build an idea or an opinion about it shows they listen to it enough to know, and so I take it as a compliment.

How would you describe your fan base, and what does it mean to you?

My fan base consists of people who want to be themselves and who aren’t scared to be unique. I know what type of person I am, so anybody who migrates towards my music and the message in my music has definitely got to be somewhat like me or see something in me that reminds them of themselves, you know, something they can relate to. Your talent doesn’t hide your character, so it’s really more so who I am as a person. I feel like there’s a new movement going on with just the new generation that as we evolve—the new generation that’s filling in these positions that these old heads once had—we’re incorporating new ideas and new beliefs, and I feel like I’m one of the pioneers in that movement.

What and/or who motivated you at such a young age?

I had a lot of influences: Eminem, DMX, Nas. It’s crazy because I’m still motivated day by day. It’s like a constant motivation every time I see, like, Will Smith or Denzel Washington. Like I said earlier, your talent doesn’t hide your character, so I look at the character of people, and I think about why they do things and I understand and I learn. Since I was a kid, I’ve been following the chain of things. For example, Eminem, I could relate to him at a time in my life when I was just angry and depressed, and then I learned to evolve out of that and understand that was just an aspect of me, but it didn’t necessarily define who I was. And then when I was going through a stage where I was evolving and really growing consciously, I listened to artists such as Gnarls Barkley and that kind of helped me.

What advice would you give to teens who have the same dream?

It sounds so overused and elementary, but if you follow the line, "Don’t be afraid to be yourself and be comfortable in your own skin," you’ll be fine and what you want in life will migrate towards you. And don’t try to conform. I’ll see people and I see straight through what they wear on the surface, but I understand because I used to be that. I used to be the person who cared about what people thought. It’s just a level that everybody reaches in life whether you’re an artist or not. And if you’re an aspiring artist, that is the key that will make you successful.

When you got your break at fourteen, you said you spent your money irresponsibly. How do you plan to spend it now?

I plan to spend as [little] as possible 'cause through all of this I’ve learned to be a very simple man. And because I know who I am, I know that my outside environment doesn’t make me who I am. There's nothing wrong with wanting a big house and a car, but my happiness doesn’t come from that, so I’m not really striving to get that. The money is just something to have.

What have you learned throughout this journey?

What I’ve learned about myself is that unless you are who you are, you will never ever be happy regardless of if you’re an artist—the most famous artist, the least known, the most hated on. I give out love and energy and so I get that back, but it’s like I’m prepared for not being approved [of] or whatever. I’ve learned to be consistent and to accept that which I agree with and disagree with, and to remain balanced. The act of me doing what I do has taught me more than anything else. The fame and notoriety are the results, but the act of me doing what I do has been the biggest blessing of it all.

What was the transition like going from being in high school to getting signed?

I was so ready to get out of high school. I felt like I got a get-out-of-jail-free card by getting a record deal. Even though I was very anxious and ready to move on, at the same time, I did try to stay in school and finish, but the school wasn’t having it. I started taking online classes and after a while I became . . . I’m not against school, but when you know what you want to do in life, just go for it whole-heartedly, and that’s what I did. I just kind of vibrated away from school.

You withdrew from school in the twelfth grade; would you recommend finishing school or would you say that’s okay under certain circumstances?

I would say it’s circumstantial. Entrepreneurship doesn’t always involve [a] dropout or anything. Even if you know what you want to do and it doesn’t require you to go to college, you still need to be in a network where you can function and get things going. That’s something that I had to learn even after leaving high school. I was like, "Cool, I don’t have to be in school and do what I don’t want to do," but I've still got to work with people, and it’s a lot of values and things you learn when you work with people and get things done.

Do you plan to attend college, and if so what would you study?

If I attend college, I would probably study philosophy or psychology—like something very metaphysical because I’m really into that.

What prompted you to learn so many instruments, and are you teaching yourself?

I’m mainly self-taught whether it’s from a DVD, a person, or just from intuition. I started because my dad used reverse psychology on me when I was in first grade. He showed me a trumpet and was like, “If you wanna play this, you gotta make As.” It was shiny, so I was like, "Ooh, I wanna play that shiny thing." So, I played the trumpet in the first grade, and from then on it’s just always been embedded in me. In high school I picked back up with the French horn, and then last year I started playing the guitar and the cello. I’m just trying to build off of that and not pick up too many things at one time and overwhelm myself. I try to let my inspiration drive me to what I want to do.

What are your goals as a new artist, and do you plan to branch out?

My goals are to stay balanced and go wherever my intuition leads me, and right now it is leading me to acting. I’m definitely being pulled to that real strong. I got my eye out for it, so you definitely will see me in a movie pretty soon.