B.o.B.

B.o.B. will release his sophomore album, Strange Clouds, on May 1st.  The new LP is the follow up to The Adventures of Bobby Ray, which was released in the spring of 2010, and reached #1 on the charts, fueled by radio hits “Nothing On You” feat Bruno Mars and “Airplanes” featuring Eminem and Haley Williams. As B.o.B. gets ready to release Strange Clouds, he still remembers what it was like this time in 2010, just before the release of his first official LP.

“There was a lot of anxiety due to impatience and excitement really,” he told me at Chicago Adidas Store last night, where he shared some of the new album with fans and media.  “When it came to the Adventures of Bobby Ray, it really felt surreal, like a movie. It was like a movie and I’m staring in it.  But this album is so much better than the first album because it’s like I got a chance to experience it,” he added.  “I feel like with that experience, and the worldwide traveling, I feel like that equipped me with the tools necessary to make the album Strange Clouds.

B.o.B. also told me that new album features collaborations with Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown, Trey Songz, and Morgan Freeman.  He also said that the album happened very naturally, and will please fans of his albums as well as his mixtapes.  “Having an album that sounds good and sounds amazing is one thing, but this is a really organic album for me,” he said.   “To everyone who missed my mixtape sound on the first album, it’s this and more.”

B.o.B. also just released a new video from Strange Clouds, which echo the themes of being overwhelmed at times by his success.  Watch “Hard To Breathe” below.