Music 5 O’Clock Shuffle: Lupe Fiasco, B.o.B, Amerie, Timbaland & More

Left To Right: Lupe Fiasco, B.o.B, Amerie, Wale, Timbaland

Each day Complex scours the music blogs for 5 fresh songs that you should listen to in our 5 O’Clock Shuffle post. Instead of going crazy trying to keep up with your RSS feeds everyday, just head over to Complex.com to stay up-to-date on important leaks and releases.

The blogs weren’t brimming with obvious, big deal leaks today, but we still managed to put together another solid Shuffle playlist. We have official album cuts from Amerie and Timbaland, Internet-only cuts from B.o.B and Wale, and one awesome freestyle from Lupe. Ready to press play? Keep reading to get started…

Music Album of the Week: B.o.B “B.o.B vs Bobby Ray”

ARTIST: B.o.B.

ALBUM: B.o.B vs Bobby Ray (mixtape)

FUN FACT: The Grand Hustle representative prefers rock music to hip-hop.

WHY COMPLEX IS CO-SIGNING IT: The members of rap’s freshman class have been defined by their dramatic moments just as much, if not more, than their music. Charles Hamilton lost it. Asher Roth got caught up in racial fuckery. Kid Cudi retired, then unretired. Then there is B.o.B, who has remained relatively quiet, aside from a few offhand comments about music industry politics. He seems to like it that way too, expressing frustration with the way “the media has made a competition out of rap” on B.o.B vs Bobby Ray’s opening freestyle. Sure, the competitive nature of hip-hop may be occasionally overwhelming, but after listening to the Atlanta rapper’s latest mixtape, we think he’ll be just fine.
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Music ‘Leaders Of The New Cool’ Week: B.O.B.

Yesterday, we revealed “Leaders Of The New Cool,” the magazine’s October 2008 fashion feature that puts the spotlight on 5 hip-hop artists who we think represent the future. Check out the full feature or watch a special video version now.

Each day this week, we’re releasing a new video interview with one of the artists featured in the article. After kicking things off with The Cool Kids yesterday, we’re turning our attention to the kid they call B.O.B. If you don’t know this offbeat Atlanta native, now is the time to get familiar. Watch the behind the scenes video below to hear him discuss his place in hip-hop’s new class…