B.o.B: "Charles Hamilton is not Crazy"

At the moment, B.o.B is in the proverbial zone. The Georgia-born rapper, guitarist and producer has garnered immense global commercial success as his first two singles “Nothin’ on You” and “Airplanes” have dominated the Billboard pop charts and radio. The unlikely crossover star, whose debut album B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray has received critical acclaim, also scored a high profile television commercial spot with Adidas which features his new single “Magic.” Yet, as he takes in his breakout accomplishments, the state of his friend and past collaborator Charles Hamilton is heavy on B.o.B’s mind.

The troubled Hamilton, who was recently released from New York's Long Beach Medical Center psych unit, has had a few rough years since getting publicly slapped by a girl on video and becoming a music blog pariah. But B.o.B says the eccentric pink headphone-wearing MC is not as off the ledge as he is being portrayed.

“You have to understand… Charles Hamilton is not crazy,” says B.o.B of his longtime ally. “He was in a place of extreme possibilities music-wise. He has not veered in on the reality that he wants to create. As with all artists, if we were astronauts we would be on Pluto [laughs]. We dance on the line of insanity. We really do. If you look at some of the greatest artists in history, they were really out there. It’s like that movie Inception. If you don’t keep something like a totem to keep you remembering who you are, you’ll get lost.”

As for Hamilton’s current state, B.o.B says the underground rhymer is doing just fine. “He’s in good spirits,” he says. “Charles and I are cool. I talk to him a lot. He’s always discovering himself, putting his experiences into his music."

"What I noticed about Charles is he’s very creative," Bobby Ray continued. "We would freestyle and he would rhyme for like an hour straight [laughs]. He will be OK.” —Keith Murphy

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