The Adventures of Bobby Ray is the debut album of the rapper B.O.B. It was released in mid 2010 and I bought it around christmas time after hearing a few of the tracks as I liked his style of rap and the fact he can sing too made it even better.

I bought my copy of the album from Play for £7.99. It is now just £4.99 with free delivery. The album has 13 tracks which is a fair amount for the price I paid. The album artwork is really good, with B.O.B in a superhero style pose on the front and a simply laid out track list on the back.

The tracklist is as follows:

Track 1: Don't Let Me Fall

This song is great! The opening of the song is lovely and soft. I didn't even realise it was B.O.B at first who was singing - the whole song really shows off B.O.B's singing skills, and makes it clear that he's multi talented rather than just a rapper. I love the piano chords during his rap verses - it really softens the song, and the chorus is really catchy and is also very relatable. He's a brilliant rapper and the song is really diverse and I never get bored of it. 9 out of 10

Track 2: Nothin' On You

This is the first collaboration track in B.O.B's album and it features the popular singer Bruno Mars. I think it is most likely one of the more popular, well known songs on the album as it was very popular when it first came onto the radio, and was in the charts for a while, and although B.O.B's part in the song isn't really that long, he doesn't ge outstaged by Bruno's vocal talent and his rap style works well with Bruno's singing talent. I love the instrumentals and the piano in this song, and overall it is a really nice, easy to sing along to song that puts me in a good mood. I give this 10 out of 10.

Track 3: Past My Shades

This is the second collaboration track in the album, and it features the rapper Lupe Fiasco. The introduction is a bit slow for me, but the song soon gets going with B.O.B's quirky vocals. The song instrumentals are really laid back and I really love the feel of the song. The only thing I will say though is I would have liked this song a little better if it was a B.O.B solo, because Lupe's verse isn't that great in my personal opinion, but the chorus makes up for it - it's the sort of song alot of people sing to each other while drunkly dancing, well in my experience it is! Haha. 6 out of 10 just for the quirky chorus and the upbeat instrumentals.

Track 4: Airplanes

This track is the third collaboration and it features Hayley Williams who is out of the band Paramore. The song has a more serious and relatable feel to it than the other songs on the albums and the chorus is really powerful in my opinion, it represents wishing and wishing for something which hasn't/will never come true. B.O.B's verse focuses on his desire to go back to a time before he was famous with all the pressure of been an upcoming rap star, and it does make me feel for him. Hayley's voice is gorgeous and goes well with B.O.B's rapping, and suprisingly, This song was really popular when it first came out and was a bit overplayed but that hasn't put me off of it and I still regulary listen to it. 10 out of 10 for the lyrics, vocals and instrumentals.

Track 5: Bet I

The fourth collaboration of the album features T.I and Playboy Tre. I had never heard of Playboy Tre before so the album introduced me to his music and I love it! The song has a much different sound to it then the other songs on the album, it's the typical kind of hip hop/R&B that has been heavily manufactured if that makes sense - it just sounds very scripted rather than B.O.B's usual freestye type of flow. I don't personally think that the song fits his style of music. This is more of a clubbing track, and I prefer B.O.B's feel-good, meaningful tracks. Tre and T.I's verses are good, and don't get me wrong, so is B.O.B's, but his his talent doesn't come through as much on this. 4 out of 10 for the catchy chorus.

Track 6: Ghost In The Machine

This is another song which highlights B.O.B's singing talent, which is good as most rappers just rap with a deep, cocky tone of voice but B.O.B switches between the two making the album much more mixed and more interesting to listen to. The song has a nice, slow pace and lets us get to hear a few thoughts from B.O.B about his view on things. It does sound a little auto tuned, but not too much. His voice at times has a bit of a reggae sound to it. 6 out of 10.

Track 7: I'll Be In The Sky

I love the instrumentals in this song! The piano is really good but doesn't soften it too much - the beat makes you want to dance about and although it is ultimately about how everyone dies (in my opinion anyway), it's still a feel good song. B.O.B sings and raps again in this song, and his rapping is really strong in this. There is a bit of a soul feel to the song, which gives the album more of a mixed contents. The chorus is really good and easy to sing along to, I can't help but sing along and bounce about when listening to this. It also has a good video to go with it which along with the sound of the song reminds me of the band Outcast's Hey Ya video. The music to this song can be seen on youtube/tv etc. In my opinion it's one of the stronger songs on the album and is my second favourite of the album. 10 out of 10.

Track 8: The Kids

This is the fifth collaboration track and it features Janelle Monae, whos voice is amazing. The song has a clubbing feel to it and it also has a very meaningful message to it (poverty/children living in poverty). B.O.B's singing voice is lovely and strong in this, and goes well with the whole feel of the song. B.O.B raps about his past, about getting in trouble at school/in the streets (stealing etc) and how all he cared about was getting a record deal. I suppose alot of teenagers can relate to this side of the song. Janelle's singing really merges in with the song and makes B.O.B's rapping that bit more meaningful. The bassline in the song is good too and gives it the more upbeat side it has. 10 out of 10.

Track 9: Magic Rivers

Sixth collaboration. This features Rivers Cuomo, who I have never heard of before but after some brief research I have found that he is the lead singer of a band called Weezer. The song is amazing and River Cuomo's verse/chorus is amazing, his voice is so good that this song alone persuaded me to buy a Weezer CD! B.O.B's rapping is very upbeat and good to dance about to. It has a very pop rock feel to it and compared to the other tracks it is probably the most energetic. Unlike many of the other tracks B.O.B does not sing in this track. 10 out of 10 - an upbeat, fun song.

Track 10: Fame

This isn't really my favourite song on the album, but it's okay and i'll happily listen to it. It is very much a mix of jazz and hip hop in my opinion. B.O.B raps about people wanting to be famous and how desperate people are to gain fame. B.O.B sings again in this song and there is a female voice in the chorus that sings 'Fame', which along with the instrumentals gives it the upbeat jazz/mild soul feel. I am unsure of who the female in the background is but her voice is really good. 9 out of 10, it's okay but it gets a little repetitive after 2/3 minutes.

Track 11: Lovelier Than You

This is another great song which shows off the extent of Bobby's talents. It has a bit of a countryside/folk feel to it, which I love. The intro is gorgeous. The instrumental backing is a mid tempo beat and guitar, with him singing about his dreams of spending time with that special someone but how he has ruined it (that's what I took the song to mean anyway). His voice does sound a little autotuned but I can't be certain. The brief rapping is okay, but not great as it's very basic and not as good as his usual rapping style.Overall it is a sweet song with a nice tone and beat. I would of given it 10 out of 10 but because it sounds a bit autotuned it ruins it for me.

Track 13: Airplanes Part 2

This song features both Hayley Williams and Eminem. It is the same song as Airplanes part one but considerably longer than part one and also Eminem has a verse in it. Eminem does not outstage B.O.B with his lyrics or rapping TOO much, although it's very fast & furious so makes B.O.B sound a little tame! Eminem's verse sticks to the same theme in it and overall the song still has the same meaning. 10 out of 10.

Overall, this is a strong and versatile album. There is a song for every occasion and mood, and the album covers almost every genre of music. B.O.B is both a great rapper and singer and I personally would reccomend it.