“Airplanes in the night sky”: B.o.B. talks chemtrails, flat Earth

In 2010, B.o.B exploded onto the scene as a fresh-faced kid from Atlanta with a wide smile and a killer pop hit. The Bruno Mars-featuring “Nothin’ On You” was the night-ender at parties that year, and it catapulted B.o.B to pop-rap stardom.

(Article by Ru Johnson)

He’d score again with Paramore’s Hayley Williams “Airplanes,” and the MC’s infamy seemed solidified as an artist to watch, not to mention one that was less problematic than most of his rap counterparts.

But as the internet became a larger part of the game, a curious thing happened to the AT-LIEN. His posts on Twitter became more anti-establishment and occasionally, downright bizarre. Finally, he launched the tweet heard round the world: an assertion that the Earth is actually flat. He got into a spat worth noting in rap history books with famed astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson, a beef that resulted in the diss track “Flatline.”

Now, he’s continuing his pursuit of happiness with the Strange Clouds moniker and crushing stages all over the country, including Denver Friday night at The Gothic Theatre.

We caught up with the conspiracy theorist to talk Coriolis forces, Hurricane Katrina and why Denver is one of his favorite places.

Reverb: You’re in Denver a lot, even when you’re not working. What is it you love so much about the city?

B.o.B.: It’s one of my favorite places to be honest. Denver, I love the city for obvious reasons. Like, it’s one of the weed capitals, a place where you can smoke and ain’t gotta be paranoid about living your lifestyle. I’m low-key a hippy so I like to be outdoors and that type of shit.

What’s happening in the world according to B.o.B?

When I wake up in the morning, I just try to leave yesterday as yesterday. New things can happen and things that weren’t even a topic of conversation just a few months ago. Every new day for me is about being aware of what’s going on around you.

A lot of the news about you has changed from songs with pop stars to your tweets and other media being more anti-establishment and conspiracy based.

I guess you could say a lot of people call me different things, like a conspiracy theorist. A lot of people think because you’re famous or a celebrity that you can’t speak out on things that are real topics to real people. People make it seem like you can’t do that as a celebrity but I don’t wanna be somebody that’s not critical to the point where I can’t be human.

What does it mean when you say to people not to be one of the sheep?

Not everyone wants to be a role model. I’m not a role model, I tell people all the time I’m not your leader. I am here to be me, I’m big on being myself. I still have certain unhealthy activities that’s not the best but I’m still very vocal about being human.

Knowledge is like water. You have to drink it every day. You can’t just read a book and watch a movie and all of a sudden be “woke” or aware now. I have to reiterate to people and remind them that they should research what I say, don’t just blindly follow what I say. I love this quote: “You cannot con a completely honest person.”

Meaning because they see the truth through it?

I think that a person who is completely honest with themselves, you see the truth in everything, especially yourself. Others and the world around you will act accordingly. How they behave with you boils down to that. We’re energetic beings and we’re sensitive to negative and positive energy but we’re trained to look at things on the surface. Like we’re supposed to always be cordial or not say what you think. There’s an honest way to be in harmony with the environment around you.

Are you sick of talking about your personal politics as opposed to the music? It didn’t used to be that the most news about you was your science based opinions

I mean, I realize I’m able to articulate things that a lot of people feel and I do try to put it in my music. My whole life I’ve been that person that says things and people are like, ‘oh shit, don’t say that, you’re crossing the line.’ I try not to say shit on Twitter that’s gonna put me in hot water but it’s always a battle or crossing a line of how much of myself I’m going to be.

So how would it change the world or what would it mean if the Earth is indeed flat?

If the Earth is flat, it’s the theories like for example the Coriolis affect. How they work on the geocentric model and Heliocentrism that was introduced 500 years ago. If the Earth is stationary, how do you explain what the forces are moving the water? In Hurricane Katrina, the levees were breaking and the explosions people were hearing, a lot of things make you wonder what’s really going on. Around the time of Prince’s passing, a lot of people became aware of what chemtrails are and a lot more people are talking about that than they’re willing to admit.

Our culture needs progression into a more efficient direction. I feel like you can’t sit around and just have a conversation with your friends and not say it out loud. I’m not living in secrecy or hiding about what I know. You have to be the type of person that you want to be, no matter what. If you’re afraid or operating under a fear of currency collapsing, for example, you gotta figure out how to be the person who lives like there’s no money.

On the music tip, I’ve seen you run the length of entire venues before while rapping, and it seems like you’re in your element. Do you prefer to perfect the moment of a song in the studio or create the moment of a song on stage?

That’s a really good question, and yes, there are certain songs that sound better live. Sometimes when you have a band it gives an extra different mood to a recorded song. I like songs that I can chill or make slow or long for like five minutes better in the studio but I wanna get the crowd hype, perform for them, get them to sing along and be a part of the energy. That’s why I love what I do.

Read more at: heyreverb.com