B.o.B. “Nothin On You” (Lupe Fiasco’s Version)
So, this quickly turned into a rant.
When I first read some of the negative reviews of B.o.B’s Adventures of Bobby Ray, I strongly disagreed with a lot of the points (and as a fan of his earlier mixtapes, was borderline defensive). Some criticized the album for being unfocused, and B.o.B for being a casualty of the major record label machine. I didn’t see the validity of these claims until yesterday when I saw B.o.B. live for the first time at the Beach Ballyhoo in Santa Monica.
What a mess.
Watching B.o.B live was like watching a puppet whose strings were being pulled in 8 distinctly different directions all at once. First was the hip hop portion, where Bobby Ray played the part of the Atlanta rapper. Then he was strapped with an acoustic guitar to churn out 4 chord radio ballads. Then came the pop/rock segment with its Weezer and Paramore guest vocals, then the hard rock segment, and so on and so forth.
B.o.B was able to keep up through all of the style changes and genre shifts, but it was exhausting to watch. It made me wonder which of the 8 directions was actually B.o.B’s, and if even B.o.B himself knew the answer to that. While I absolutely adore a handful of tracks from his catalog, it dawned on me halfway through the set that it was a very small handful. To top this off, I read today on Nah Right that one of those tracks, “Nothin On You”, was originally intended for Lupe Fiasco.
OK, so what? This kind of thing happens all of the time in hip hop and pop music. A producer or a songwriter has a track that gets passed around until someone’s version makes it to their album. Recently, we saw it with Mark Ronson’s “Letters” by Wale/Rhymefest/Young Chris, and that original Britney Spears demo of Lady Gaga’s “Telephone”.
For the most part, it’s understandable. Everyone involved wants to get the song to the artist that will make it the most successful. Even though this original Lupe Fiasco version (below) sounds more like a tester than a legitimate final take (Lupe can do better than this), it’s obvious from the song’s “Superstar” top 40 appeal that it would have fit in well on one of his records.
However, It seems Atlantic (his and B.o.B’s label) not only gave the track to B.o.B instead, but are also delaying Lupe’s album while they promote Bobby Ray. They knew that it was clearly a ‘breakout track’ that would cross over B.o.B just in time for his debut full length. Besides, Lupe has Matthew Santos for his melodic pop choruses.
What’s my point, then? After yesterday’s display, I’m not really shocked to learn that B.o.B’s best track wasn’t originally meant for him. I just hope someone (preferably B.o.B) figures out what is.
Posted: June 21st, 2010 under New Music, Rants.
Tags: B.o.B., Lupe Fiasco, Nothin' On You, The Adventures of Bobby Ray