Atlanta, Georgia has a rich history in the hip-hop game. It’s been the breeding ground of some of the South’s most notable contributors to the hip-hop industry- as the birthplace to legendary groups such as Outkast and Goodie Mob or chart-topping solo acts like Ludacris and Young Jeezy. The Atlanta area has always embraced a variety of sounds in their hip-hop landscape, while never allowing the music scene to be defined by single sub-genre of hip-hop. The city’s ability to constantly reinvent its signature sound is the reason Atlanta artists are consistently finding success in the modern music environment.

One artist that is looking to continue ATL’s storied tradition of developing hit makers is B.o.B a/k/a Bobby Ray or just Bob if you want to keep it simple. While B.o.B has been making noise in underground hip-hop circles across the U.S. for a few years, his recent mixtape, Who the F#*k is B.o.B?, suggests that he’s preparing to familiarize himself with a wider audience and is ready to re-introduce the world to the sound of Atlanta hip-hop.

If I had to describe B.o.B in one word after listening to his latest offering it would have to be: versatile. There isn’t much Bob can’t do. On Who the F#*K is B.o.B?, the artist displays his ability to produce his own material (and do it well) on tracks like “Double Bubble” or “East-Side Tales”, the lyrical ability to go bar for bar with proven Atlanta heavyweights like T.I. and Ludacris on “I’m Dat Ni**a” and “On Top of the World” or displaying his greatest strength throughout the album- his ability to create some of the most melodic and mesmerizing hooks the hip-hop industry has ever heard. I’m predicting that by the end of 2009, a B.o.B hook will have replaced auto-tuned vocals as a key ingredient in the (not so) secret formula for crafting a successful hip-hop record.

This mixtape, at times, will have you swearing that Bob is somehow channeling Big Boi and Andre 3000, as there are clear similarities to be drawn between the newcomer and Outkast. But Bob’s style is 100% authentic and sounds more like what Outkast would have sounded like had they leaned left instead of right after Aquemini.

Overall, Who the F#*k is B.o.B? is a project I highly recommend to anyone who has recently found themselves complaining about a lack of originality in hip-hop. The mixtape truly offers something for everyone. It features a well-rounded selection of tracks, great use of sampling and B.o.B’s uncanny ability to make a decent record a hit with his hook-writing ability. This mixtape is extremely pleasing to the ears and has me thoroughly convinced that B.o.B will be one of the hip-hop industry’s biggest names very soon.