B.o.B on Name Change, Eminem Collabo

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“The difference between B.o.B and Bobby Ray is … when I was signed under B.o.B, I was really young and didn’t understand the type of business I was getting into,” he explained. “[I didn't understand] how free I could be with the music. I felt like I had to play this person, play this certain character — talk a certain way, dress a certain way, rap a certain way. Now that I look back on it, I don’t really feel that way. I don’t really believe it. I wouldn’t do that now. I wanted to break away from that and not box myself in. Bobby Ray isn’t a character — he’s really me. At the same time, it’s so different, it’s like a snake shedding its skin. Shed the old and onto something new. When I feel that’s had its run, I don’t think I’ll do another name-change, but you’re constantly evolving and that’s where the inspiration from that came from. … Moving forward, I’ll officially be Bobby Ray.”

Bobby Ray/B.o.B recently met with Eminem and Slim Shady in the studio, where the artists collaborated on a couple of tracks.

“We were in the studio … we actually made a couple of productions, orchestrations,” he said. “I’m real excited to see how people feel about it. For me it’s a dream come true.”