b. Bobby Wilson, 27 February 1980, Jackson, Mississippi, USA. The young Wilson was raised in Atlanta, Georgia, and his dream of a music career found an early outlet when he joined the vocal group Mista at the age of 16. The group recorded a minor hit single, ‘Blackberry Molasses’, and a debut album in 1996, but their lack of consistent success meant the quartet’s career was effectively over within a couple of years. Wilson enrolled at Clark Atlanta University and worked hard to complete his education. After finishing his degree in 2003 he found work as a demo singer, through which means he came to the attention of Ludacris. Renamed Bobby Valentino, he joined the rapper’s DTP crew and completed his debut single, the sultry R&B ballad ‘Slow Down’. The track was a slow-burning radio success, gradually climbing the charts and finally reaching the US Top 20 in early 2005. The artist’s self-titled debut album followed a few months later.
