Out of all the rap artists who emerged from Atlanta during the  late 2000s, B.o.B -- who was only 17 when he signed his first  major-label record deal -- was one of the most unique. His borderline eccentricity and artistic mind, belied by his music's conventional Dirty  South sound, raised his stock above that of his Southern contemporaries  and welcomed comparisons to OutKast (specifically, that group's offbeat half, André 3000).  

His commercial breakthrough came in 2010, a year in which three of his early singles either topped or peaked within the Top Ten of the Billboard Hot 100. All of those hits went platinum, as did several others that followed during a three-album run with Atlantic, after which the rapper/producer went independent.