B.O.B. (song)
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"B.O.B" ("Bombs Over Baghdad") is a song by the American rap duo
Outkast Outkast (sometimes written as OutKast) was an American hip-hop duo formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1992, consisting of Big Boi (Antwan Patton) and André 3000 (André Benjamin, formerly known as Dré). Widely regarded as one of the greatest an ...
from their fourth studio album ''
Stankonia ''Stankonia'' is the fourth studio album by the American hip hop duo Outkast, released on October 31, 2000, by LaFace Records and Arista Records. The album was recorded in the duo's recently purchased Atlanta recording facility Stankonia Studios, ...
'' (2000). It was released as the album's lead single on September 18, 2000, by
LaFace Records LaFace Records was an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, that operated as a unit of Sony Music Entertainment from 2008 to 2011 and was historically a part of Bertelsmann Music Group from 1989 to 2004. It was most active and achiev ...
and
Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...
. Produced by Earthtone III, the song has a high-speed tempo beat consisting of
drum and bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...
rhythms, guitars, organs and
gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
vocals. Although not a huge commercial success, the song has been cited as one of the greatest songs of all time by publications such as ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
'', ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'', ''
Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer (from Latin ''mixus, the PPP of miscere eng. to Mix)'' or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary ...
'' and ''
Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
''. The song became popular during the
Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
.


Composition

Produced by Outkast and Mr. DJ under the name Earthtone III, "B.O.B" has "jittery drum'n'bass rhythms" and has been classified as a "stylistic tour de force" combining "
Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...
-ian" guitars, organs, and
gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
vocals. On the track,
André 3000 André Lauren Benjamin (born May 27, 1975), known professionally as André 3000, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, he was one half of the hip-hop duo Outkast along with rapper Big Boi, which the two formed in 1992. Benj ...
and
Big Boi Antwan André Patton (born February 1, 1975), known professionally as Big Boi, is an American rapper and record producer. Born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in Atlanta, he was one half of the Southern hip-hop duo Outkast along with rapper ...
employ a "frantic" flow in order to keep pace with the song's high-speed tempo, which runs at 155 beats per minute. Big Boi said that they wanted to differ from current music. "Everybody's been doing music like they all have the same formula — ''e = mc2''. They get a beat, an MC, somebody to sing the hook, and go platinum. Where's music going to go when everybody's trapped in this same repetitious flow?"


Release

In addition to the regular release, there is also a clean version available in the video game ''
Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX ''Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX'' is a 2001 BMX video game developed by Shaba Games and the first game to be published by Activision under the Activision O2 label. It is similar to the ''Tony Hawk's'' series and competed directly with Acclaim Entertainm ...
'', which removed expletives such as "hell" and references to
recreational drug use Recreational drug use is the use of one or more psychoactive drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness, either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime. When a psychoactive drug enters the user's body, it induces an Sub ...
to allow the game to receive an "E for Everyone" rating.


Reception

"B.O.B" peaked at number 69 on the US ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 po ...
chart and number 61 on the UK Singles Chart. However, many urban Top 40 radio stations banned the single because of its title and the subject matter that it was assumed to have. The single was named by several music publications as one of the best songs of the 2000s. ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' ranked it 21st on its "100 Best Songs of the 2000s" list, 50th on its "The 50 Greatest Hip Hop Songs of All Time" list and 39th on its "
500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...
". ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
'' ranked it first on its "The Top 200 Tracks of the 2000s" list. Bested only by
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
's "
Billie Jean "Billie Jean" is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on January 3, 1983, as the second single from his sixth studio album, ''Thriller (album), Thriller'' (1982). It was written and composed by Jackson, produ ...
", it was ranked second on ''
Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer (from Latin ''mixus, the PPP of miscere eng. to Mix)'' or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary ...
''s "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born" list. ''
Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' ranked it third on its "The 100 Best Songs of the 2000s" list. '' The Ringer'' and ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' both ranked the song number one on their lists of the greatest Outkast songs. The song received near universal acclaim from music critics. Nathan Brackett of ''Rolling Stone'' wrote, "The furious 'B.O.B.' is a blast of up-tempo, turn-of-the-century dislocation with electro breaks and a gospel choir. 'Power music, electric revival,' chants the choir at the end, sounding like some funkified Southern congregation where
Chuck D Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D is also a me ...
is the preacher and
Afrika Bambaataa Lance Taylor (born April 17, 1957), also known as Afrika Bambaataa (), is a retired American DJ, rapper, and record producer. He is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro tracks in the 1980s that influenced the development of ...
is the musical director." Louis Arp of ''Sputnikmusic'' called the song a "drum 'n bass assault at a frantic pace with perhaps one of the best guitar solos in hip hop history" and identified the duo's "rapid-fire delivery" as "perhaps the most astonishing thing about this track". Tony Green of ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
'' called it Outkast's "strongest retort to the 'bounce and more bounce' crowd, just about the damnedest bass track ever" and an "electro workout reimagined as a praise-and-worship service". Aishah Hight of ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' said that its "fast tempo, complemented by the chant 'Bombs over Baghdad', makes this song edgy, animated, and entertaining". Saron Baker of ''
Yahoo! Music Yahoo Music was a brand under which Yahoo provided music services including Internet radio, a digital music store, music streaming service, media player software, and original programming. Yahoo Music was sold to Rhapsody in early 2008. Pro ...
'' said that it "explodes in revved-up adrenaline". In 2009, Stuart Berman of ''Pitchfork'' named "B.O.B" the best song of the 2000s, writing, "B.O.B. is not just the song of the decade— it is the decade." ''Pitchfork''s review called the song a "fast-forwarded highlight-reel prophecy of what the next 10 years held in store".


Music video

The music video for "B.O.B" was directed by
Dave Meyers David Meyers may refer to: *Dave Meyers (director) (born 1972), American music video director *Dave Meyers (basketball) David William Meyers (April 21, 1953 – October 9, 2015) was an American basketball player who played for the Milwaukee Buck ...
. Shmoop said it "combines all of your typical elements of a hip-hop music video, namely the girls, the cars, and the bling, except this video is on
psychedelics Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...
. This is a good point of comparison to see just how much Outkast has changed both musically, artistically, and stylistically over the course of their career."


Impact

The song became increasingly popular during the Iraq War in 2003. Many radio stations increased its airplay and U.S. troops were using it as a
battle cry A battle cry or war cry is a yell or chant taken up in battle, usually by members of the same combatant group. Battle cries are not necessarily articulate (e.g. "Eulaliaaaa!", "Alala"..), although they often aim to invoke patriotic or religio ...
. Both members of Outkast have clarified that they opposed the invasion, with Big Boi wishing that the U.S. government had consulted the United Nations before taking action further explaining that the half-hearted bombings are a metaphor for lack of dedication in the music industry. During the 2003 NASDAQ-100 Open, the tennis player
Jennifer Capriati Jennifer Maria Capriati (born March 29, 1976) is an American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 17 weeks. Capriati won 14 WTA Tour-level singles t ...
requested it to be played.
Iggy Azalea Amethyst Amelia Kelly (born 7 June 1990), known professionally as Iggy Azalea ( ), is an Australian rapper. Born in Sydney, Azalea moved to the United States at the age of 16 in order to pursue a career in music. She earned public recognition ...
's 2013 single "
Work Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** Manual labour, physical work done by humans ** House work, housework, or homemaking ** Working animal, an ani ...
" was inspired by the
chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...
in "B.O.B". The single's music video also paid homage to the visual elements of the "B.O.B" music video.
Janelle Monáe Janelle Monáe Robinson ( ; born December 1, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper and actress. She has received ten Grammy Award nominations, and is the recipient of a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Children's and Family Emmy Award. ...
's " Many Moons" is also influenced by the drum pattern of "B.O.B". The song was used in the video games ''
Saints Row IV ''Saints Row IV'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Volition and published by Deep Silver. It is the sequel to 2011's '' Saints Row: The Third'', the fourth installment of the '' Saints Row'' series, and the final main installment i ...
'' and ''
Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX ''Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX'' is a 2001 BMX video game developed by Shaba Games and the first game to be published by Activision under the Activision O2 label. It is similar to the ''Tony Hawk's'' series and competed directly with Acclaim Entertainm ...
'', and in the movies ''
How High ''How High'' is a 2001 American stoner comedy film directed by Jesse Dylan in his feature film directorial debut and written by Dustin Lee Abraham. In the film, Method Man and Redman portray two cannabis users who are visited by the ghost ...
'', ''
Head of State A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "
he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...
'' and ''
Scoob! ''Scoob!'' is a 2020 American animated mystery comedy film produced by Warner Animation Group, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is a reboot of the theatrical'' Scooby-Doo'' film series and the third theatrical film based on the ...
''. In October 2020, it was announced that
Zack de la Rocha Zacharias Manuel de la Rocha (born January 12, 1970) is an American musician, rapper, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He is best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the rock band Rage Against the Machine. Through both Rage Against ...
's
remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...
of the song would appear on a 20th-anniversary rerelease of ''Stankonia'' later that year. This remix, which was made in fall 2000, was originally released to rock radio. It has also appeared on file-sharing sites as a remix credited to
Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to Rage) was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991. It consisted of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim ...
, de la Rocha's band.


Track listing

US CD single # "B.O.B" (radio mix) – 4:18 # "B.O.B" (instrumental) – 5:05 # "B.O.B" (callout research hook) – 0:10 # "B.O.B" (music video) - 3:23 UK DVD single # "B.O.B" (video) – 4:26 # "Ms. Jackson" (video) – 4:18 # "What Is Stankonia?" – 10:00 Europe CD single # "B.O.B" (UK radio edit) – 4:14 # "B.O.B" (album version) – 5:05 # "B.O.B" (CD-ROM video) – 4:26 US vinyl single
Side A # "B.O.B" (radio mix) – 4:18 # "B.O.B" (instrumental) – 5:05 Side B # "B.O.B" (club mix) – 5:04 # "B.O.B" (a cappella) – 2:58 UK vinyl single :A "B.O.B" (album version) – 5:05 :B "B.O.B" (instrumental) – 5:05 Europe enhanced CD single # "B.O.B" (UK radio edit) – 3:42 # "B.O.B" (album version) – 5:05 # "B.O.B" (enhanced video) – 4:26


Credits


Outkast

*
André 3000 André Lauren Benjamin (born May 27, 1975), known professionally as André 3000, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, he was one half of the hip-hop duo Outkast along with rapper Big Boi, which the two formed in 1992. Benj ...
– vocals, backing vocals *
Big Boi Antwan André Patton (born February 1, 1975), known professionally as Big Boi, is an American rapper and record producer. Born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in Atlanta, he was one half of the Southern hip-hop duo Outkast along with rapper ...
– vocals


Other Personnel

*Morris Brown College Gospel Choir – backing vocals *Earthtone III – keyboards, producer, arranger *Kennet Wright – keyboards *Matt Still – keyboards *Nein H. Pogue – arranger *David Whild – guitar solo *Donny Mathis – guitar *Cutmaster Swiff – cuts


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Release history


See also

*
List of anti-war songs Some anti-war movement, anti-war songs lament aspects of wars, while others patronize war. Most promote peace in some form, while others sing out against specific armed conflicts. Still others depict the physical and psychological destruction that ...


References

{{Authority control 2000 songs 2000 singles Music videos directed by Dave Meyers (director) Outkast songs Songs written by André 3000 Songs written by Big Boi Song recordings produced by Earthtone III Rap rock songs Songs about Iraq Drum and bass songs LaFace Records singles Arista Records singles