EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW:: Philly Underground Artist, Bobby Raw, Strives To Make A Way For Himself In The Hip Hop Big League

Image Credit: Bobby Raw's Instagram (triplebee1911)

"Music is like rehab," said up and coming Philly rapper Bobby Raw as he explained how the hip hop game helped to point his life in the right direction. The 24 year-old has some big shoes to fill as he derives from a family of A-list artists with America's favorite bad boy singer Chris Brown and hip hop icon Nas both being his cousins. Even though Bobby looks to follow in the footsteps of his successful family members, he is out to do it his own way by staying true to his individual sound, which he describes as creative, turnt, and new.

"No matter how I'm feeling whether good, bad, happy or sad I turn to music because it's my outlet," said Bobby. "I write poetry in my spare time so with both music and poetry it's just a way of letting out the pain."

Growing up Bob felt like he was born in the wrong era, while his friends were out listening to a mix of Dipset and State Property, Bobby would bless his headphones with old school rhymes from artists like Big Daddy Kane to Kid 'n' Play. He even notes the song that describes his life the best right now to be Sam Cooke's old school hit single " It's Been A Long Time Coming."  He chose this song because it speaks about struggle and how exactly to fight and get through troubled times, which he has experienced over the course of his life so far.

"I was always into something. I had homies that trapped and were really into the streets and than it was just me. I was always that kid that people were like ' Nah Bob you gonna be something. This is not for you.' My old heads attempted to keep me away from it even though I was constantly around it. They just made me realize like that life is just not for me."

Bobby graduated from Norristown Area High School and went on to continue his education at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania but not without a struggle. Around about the time when most high school seniors receive their college acceptance letters in the mail, Bobby had yet to hear back from any schools he had applied too.

"I was a bad kid, a class clown too but I got good grades," said the rapper. " I was always suspended for fighting and protecting my crew or what not."

But the country boy with Philly swag would not let his troubled past get the best of his future.

"So I went to the counseling office, got all the college admission numbers and contacted them myself, which landed me a spot in Bloomsburg University of PA." While Bobby was in college, he turned his life around for the better by becoming an active member of many of the university's clubs and organizations but he accredits his most beneficial change to becoming a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. when he was just a freshman. "Kappa matured me. That brotherhood made me in to the man I am today."

After graduating college in 2013, Bobby went on to pursue a career in entertainment both professionally and musically. Bobby teamed up with fellow Philadelphia native DJ AMH (of CollegeLife) to help him live out his lyrical dream. This collaboration resulted in the release of Bobby Raw's latest mixtape New Bob Flow which features the hit club singles "Hypnotized" and "My Swagga."

"I just like to turn up and see people dancing and moving. Hence is why I create the type of music I do. I know for a fact up here in the Philly area and especially in the strip clubs, everybody is going crazy over 'Hypnotized'. You play it in a certain clubs and the people just feel it. They come up to me and be like 'Oh snap! Like who is this? Is this you? Play that back!'"

Bobby went on to explain his other single "My Swagga" which is currently on the rise as well.

"I took a different approach in this track.  It's a hard beat but the point is to explain where most people's swag comes from. So I talk about taking selfies, Instagram and stuff like that. It's like you may just know somebody because Instagram but that's all you know. And when you see them in person you'll be like bye I don't know you. On social media people pose like their somebody they're not. You feel me. Like you've been saying you're Vine famous but in reality you're just regular."

Outside of the studio, Bob proves to be quite the romancer in reality. Ladies step right up because you'll get quite the wining and dining experience when hanging out with this gentleman. Bob loves to travel the world and his favorite destination is Spain. In addition to his handsome swag, the underground rapper knows how to heat up the kitchen in more ways than one.

"I'm like Top Chef. My favorite meal that I make outside of pasta like my chicken and shrimp bacon alfredo I would say is homemade macaroni and cheese, roasted chicken and greens. "

In the future, Bobby looks to expand his sound to different cities in order to grow a deep hip hop following."This is not a job to me. It's something that I love to do and I'm passionate about it so imma go for it 110%." If the opportunity presents its self, Bobby would be honored to go on tour and open up for Drake, J.Cole and even Lil Boosie.

"I just love Boosie like that's my man. As for Drake, I would love to feed off his vibes and his approach towards his craft. I would definitely say J.Cole because he's in a category of his own. He's real calm, cool and collective and his sound is just so unique. I've been to a couple of his shows and it's like real touchy so I wanna capture that type of feel. "

As of now, Bobby is striving to live out his motto by producing achievement in every endeavor he puts his mind to. He's excited for the world to listen to his upcoming projects and wants to let the naysayers know he's going to make a believer out of them. Just wait on it.

For more on Bobby Raw follow him on Twitter and Instagram (@TripleBee1911) or check out his New Bob Flow mixtape by streaming or downloading it from DatPiff.com.

— Brittany Chanel Jackson

Twitter: @xPlatinumChanel