Song of the Day: Strange Clouds - B.o.B. (Feat. Lil' Wayne)

After B.o.B.'s incredible mainstream success through the earlier part of 2010 (with 3 top 10 hits, including #1 "Nothin' On You"), B.o.B. has gone over a year without a successful release of his own single. As a debut for the same-titled album to be released in 2012, Strange Clouds is a hip-hop collab with Lil' Wayne, who could easily be called the busiest man of 2011 from his many releases and soundpieces. However, is the all-star collab, B.o.B.'s own credibility enough to make this song an autumn smash? Read on for my review!

Firstly, the producing and designing of the beat in "Strange Clouds" is genius, although not innovative. Led by producer Jim Jonsin ("Lollipop", "Whatever You Like"), this song takes on a sound that seems to come from a different generation of hip-hop, although whether that is in the past or future could be debated. However, this becomes very predictable over a period of time, and seems to add a drone to the chorus that could easily put any person slightly uninterested in the song to sleep.

Now, since Lil' Wayne sounds no different than he always does in his features, let's focus on B.o.B. To say the least, "Strange Clouds" doesn't originally sound like a B.o.B. song. I personally consider him to be the best artist that normally makes light pop choruses to go with his hip-hop verses, or has someone do that for him. However, "Strange Clouds" sounds much more techno-based than pop-based; although this is different and interesting, and the chorus and verses sound like parts of the same song, their styles don't mold together to make a cohesive song.

Without a doubt, however, this release will be big. Expect a top 10 chart placing from "Strange Clouds" (or even higher, depending on how quickly its airplay picks up). It's not a great song, but it seems to fit what America's looking for in hit music today (i.e, Lil' Wayne's on the track. "How to Love", "Motivation", "I'm Into You", "Look At Me Now" and "She Will" - all high-charting songs from LW this year.)

Rating: 3/5