Bobby Valentino Biography

Mississippi-born, Atlanta-raised R&B artist Bobby Valentino has gained fame in the music industry over the last decade, and his involvement with artists like Timbaland and Ludacris have earned the singer nothing but respect. Managing a full-time recording career while attending school through his teens, Valentino even earned a college degree before focusing all his time on his music, proving he may have the voice of an angel but the boy's got brains, too.Valentino was born with the name Bobby Wilson, but has gone by Valentino because he was due to be born on Valentine's Day. Growing up in Atlanta among a growing Southern Rap genre of music, Valentino's passion for singing evolved in his youth. Under the tight reigns of his parents, Valentino only convinced them of his potential in the music industry when he teamed up with the Organized Noize Productions team when he was 16. Forming the Boyz II Men-type group Mista with a group of friends, Valentino contributed to the single "Blackberry Molasses" in 1996, though the song proved to be the band's only successful hit. Mista ultimately split up, giving Valentino the opportunity to earn a degree in Mass Communications from Clark Atlanta Unviersity. Graduating in 2003, Valentino was once again ready to pursue a musical career. This time, however, he went it alone, landing on top of a recording contract when Poon Daddy got access to the singer's demos, passing them along to rap megastars Ludacris and Shaka Zulu.Welcomed on board as the first R&B singer to Ludacris' crew DTP (Disturbing Tha Peace), Valentino eventually released his first successful hit, 1995's "Slow Down," which earned the artist fame on both BET and on radio airwaves. The song went to number one on the R&B/hip-hop charts in 2005, as did the album Disturbing Tha Peace Presents Bobby Valentino. Following up with another number one album Special Occasion in '07, Valentino is still on the rise as one of America's hottest R&B acts of the ‘00s.