Early lifeB.o.B was born Bobby Ray Simmons, Jr. on November 15, 1988 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Less than a month later, his family moved to Decatur, Georgia. In elementary school through high school, where he played the trumpet in his school band.[4][5] Although his parents wanted him to continue his education, Simmons decided in sixth grade that he wanted to pursue a music career.[6] His father, a pastor, disapproved of his son's choices until he realized that Simmons was using music as a form of therapy and a creative outlet. Simmons later reflected on his experience, saying, "They’ve always supported me. They got my first keyboard to make beats on and they helped me out getting equipment here and there. But it was kind of hard for them to really understand what I was really trying to accomplish."[6] B.o.B went to Columbia High School in Decatur, GA.

Music careerEarly careerB.o.B first began to gain major recognition at the start of 2007. An underground single, "Haterz Everywhere," featuring Wes Fif, gained the rapper recognition and peaked at #5 on the U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles.[7] A remix featuring Young Dre was featured in the video game Fight Night Round 4. Another single, "I'll Be In the Sky," was released in late 2008 reached #115 on the follow chart. About.com called the song a "smart, funky artrap and a strong prelude to his album" and included it at #13 on its subjective ranking "Top 100 Rap Songs of 2008." This was followed by another single called "Don't Let Me Fall" which was more of an R&B song than the usual rap.[8] He was also featured on T.I.'s album Paper Trail on the song "On Top of the World." Incidentally, another song produced by Bobby Ray called "Generation Lost" listed alongside the song on the ranking at #32.

B.o.B performing in Atlanta in 2008.The same year, he appeared on the cover of XXL magazine along with Asher Roth, Charles Hamilton, and Wale as "Hip-Hop's Class of '09".[9][10][11] In October