Bobby Valentino

Fun Facts: Bobby Valentino attended Clark Atlanta University, graduating in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication.

Claim to Fame: In 2004 Valentino was signed as the firs R&B singer on Ludacris’s label Disturbing the Peace. His first single, “Slow Down” became a top 10 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

Bobby Wilson, better known by his stage name Bobby Valentino, or Bobby V is an American R&B singer. He is known as Bobby V or Bobby V-Tino in the United Kingdom due to a lawsuit involving a British musician who has been recording under the same name since 1975.


Valentino was born Bobby Wilson on February 27, 1980, in Jackson, Mississippi. He later moved to Atlanta, Georgia where he attended North Atlanta High School. He later returned to his old high school appearing on the debut episode of MTV's, which aired on May 19, 2007. Bobby entered the music scene in 1996 as a member of the R&B youth quartet Mista, at this time using his real name, Bobby Wilson. Under the production of Organized Noize, the group released their self-titled debut album, which produced the chart topping single, "Blackberry Molasses." Unfortunately, the album didn't follow in the same success and despite a second album being produced by Tim & Bob, it was never released. Due to management issues the group split in 1997. Bobby later enrolled at Clark Atlanta University majoring in Mass Communications. Many believe Valentino pledged Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc, though this is not true. While in school, Bobby continued to record in his free time in hopes of one day returning to the stage. In the spring of 2002 he auditioned for season one of American Idol, but didn't make the cut.

After graduating in 2003, Bobby decided to focus on music again. Armed with three albums of demos, he set out to pursue his music career dream. The demos reached Puff Daddy who then forwarded them onto Ludacris and Disturbing Tha Peace president Chaka Zulu, and "the rest is history" as Bobby says. Although business ties have been severed, Valentino maintains positive relationships with CEO Chaka Zulu, Ludacris and the DTP/Def Jam staff.

In April 2008, Come with Me was released through digital outlets and featured the single "Another Life". In July 2008, three months after being dropped from Def Jam Recordings and leaving Disturbing tha Peace Records, Valentino signed a new deal with EMI, which will house his imprint Blu Kolla Dreams. In regards to the new label Bobby's manager and co-CEO of Blu Kolla Dreams Courtney "Colt Luv" Stewart stated:

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