Now Reading
Video: T.I. x B.o.B. Cover Complex

Video: T.I. x B.o.B. Cover Complex

Click to Enlarge

T.I. and B.o.B. covers the August/September 2010 issue of Complex Magazine. Lately, Complex has been recruiting some seriously dope artists for the covers of their latest issues and I must say I’m impressed with the consistency. In this issue, T.I. talks about his creative writing process, accomplishing more than rap by age 40, and his changing musical tastes. B.o.B. discusses the differences between the challenges of appealing the US and UK, the new sound that’s now respected and being an underdog.

You don’t seem like a “raps in your BlackBerry” type.
T.I.: I’ll give you an example. [T.I. shows his BlackBerry. The Memos section has various entries with titles like “Lines,” “New,” and “Songs,” which has collections of bars written.] I’ll [write] about six bars and when I get in the booth, I’ll stop there and then complete it. Most of these came to me when I was on a plane or in the car.

Eminem is still making great music at 37. He’s pushing the boundaries when most people have fallen off.
T.I.: True, but if I do that at that late an age, I’m taking away from all the other opportunities that I have. I want to have an Oscar by then. I want to have made my mark in film as a producer and actor by the time I’m Jay’s or Eminem’s age.

Do you feel that you don’t have the status you want in the U.S.? B.o.B.: I remember going to Norway and Germany years ago; the crowd would go crazy, and they didn’t even know who I was. In the States, you gotta kind of prove yourself, win the crowd over. That’s what I meant in terms of it being more about the music in [Europe]. ‘Cause here, you come onstage and [the crowd’s] like, “OK, who’s this guy signed to? Who does he roll with? Where’d he come from?” You know what I mean? Over there, it’s more like, “OK, what does the music sound like?”

Check out the rest of interviews via Complex. Check out the rest of the pics + video after the cut!

View Comments (0)
Scroll To Top