Hip-hop artist B.o.B stopped by Syracuse on Sunday as one of the headliners for University Union’s annual Juice Jam concert. The Daily Orange talked to the rapper about his performance and working on a new album.

The Daily Orange: What did you think about playing at Juice Jam this year?

B.o.B: I only really got to see part of Avicii’s set, but it was dope. Syracuse lived up to its hype about being a great party school. It’s the best party school in the world based on tonight.

At the concert you debuted a new song called ‘Strange Clouds.’ What can we expect from the rest of your upcoming album?

Hopefully fans will be able to hear the new album very soon. I’m as impatient for you to hear it as you are. It’s a more mature sound but nothing too experimental. It’s a happy medium between the sound of ‘B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray’ and the mixtapes, so everyone should be able to enjoy it. I’d say I’m 90 percent done with it right now, but the album title is still TBA (to be announced).

How do you determine your setlist when playing at an outdoor night show like this?

It’s hard to satisfy all the fans because some really like songs from the album and others are a lot more into the mixtapes, so I try to keep a good balance. I definitely try to play the songs that will get the crowd going the most.

What kind of music have you been listening to lately?

I’m really into electronic music right now, you know, with all of the beeps and boops and that kind of thing. (Makes robot noises.) I listen to a lot of James Blake’s older stuff and this song ‘Wildfire’ by SBTRKT that I just can’t get enough of. I’m also a dubstep fan, which is funny because if you went up to someone five years ago and say ‘whomp, whomp, whomp,’ they’d have no idea what you’re talking about, but it’s such a big part of music today.

What do you think about the direction the music industry is going right now?

Even though I rapped about it, I don’t really hate or despise the radio. House and techno music is starting to get huge lately, and I think that there’s a move as artists to make the best music that we can. When artists are lazy with songwriting, album sales drop. It’s a cycle, with supply and demand of albums based on our relationships with fans. I think that right now fans have built up enough trust to start buying albums again, and it shows. 

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Published on September 11, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Erik: [email protected] | @therealvandyman