"B.O.B" | ||||
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Single by OutKast | ||||
from the album Stankonia | ||||
Released | September 19, 2000 | |||
Recorded | 1999 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 5:04 | |||
Writer(s) | OutKast | |||
Producer(s) | Earthtone III | |||
OutKast singles chronology | ||||
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"B.O.B" ("Bombs Over Baghdad") is a song by American rap duo OutKast from their fourth studio album Stankonia (2000). It was released as the album's lead single on September 19, 2000 through LaFace Records and Arista. Produced by Earthtone III, the song features a high-speed tempo beat consisting of drum'n'bass rhythms, guitars, organs, and gospel 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 Media, Rolling Stone, Blender and Complex.
Produced by OutKast and Mr. DJ under the name Earthtone III, "B.O.B" features "jittery drum'n'bass rhythms" and has been classified as a "stylistic tour de force" combining "Hendrix-ian" guitars, organs, and gospel vocals. On the track, André 3000 and Big Boi 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?"
The title refers to the bombing of Iraq ordered by Bill Clinton in 1998, and compares the action to sexual performance. Pitchfork noted that the phrase "sounded oddly anachronistic in 2000, sadly ubiquitous two and a half years later."