B.o.B., also known as Bobby Ray, or Bobby Ray Simmons Jr., was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and raised in Decatur, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta.
Bobby Ray's father is a Reverend at what appears to be a non-denominational Christian church, so we can be sure the rapper went to church growing up.[1] Now, he doesn't talk about religion much in public.
In his song "Left Field," he distances himself from any religious affiliation:
And I ain't really catholic but/ Daily I confess/ I ain't a Christian rapper or a civil activist[2]
And considering that in his songs he also swears to[3] and damns God,[4] he probably isn't terribly devout anymore, if he ever was.
Young Black Democrat
Bobby Ray aligns with the Democrats–black Democrats anyway. He performed at the Democratic National Committee's Gen44 Summit concert in 2010. He got to meet the president, and found out Obama's got him on his iPod, which he seemed pretty stoked about. He said about the event,
On a scale of one to ten I would probably have to [rate it] at 44.[5]
He also recorded a short video endorsement for Democrat Johnny Dupree during his failed campaign for governor of Mississippi in 2011.[6]
He joined the organization Hip Hop Caucus, which encourages young people to be part of the democratic process, in encouraging people to vote in 2010.[7] So even though he doesn't talk about specific issues, he's clearly involved in the political process.
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