'I had a bookbag with no books in it — just Kit Kats,' MC says on Saturday's episodeBy Mawuse Ziegbe
B.o.BPhoto: MTV News
B.o.B is one of the most high-profile faces in the Grand Hustle fold, second only to fellow ATL rhyme-slinger T.I. It appears that even before he inked a label deal, the MC always maintained a hustler's spirit. On the latest episode of "When I Was 17," which premieres Saturday at 11 a.m., the MTV VMA nominee describes how he pushed sweets to his fellow high-schoolers for extra cash.
"I had a hustler mentality. One day, I was looking at the vending machine in my high school cafeteria, and I remember thinking, 'I can do better than that vending machine,' " the lyricist recalls. "So, I went to Sam's Club and got the industrial-size box. I got what the vending machine didn't have, or what they always ran out of, and I would go to school [and] sell candy."
The budding rapper did good business, too. Staying stocked with treats for sugar-lovin' students, Bobby Ray got a hands-on — and lucrative — lesson in applied economics.
"You can get 36 candy bars for about $12, and those 36 candy bars would get you anywhere from $18 to $24. So, you just double your profit," B.o.B remembers of his candy-peddling payoff. "I had a bookbag with no books in it — just Kit Kats."
B.o.B and his buddy Stephen remember that the then-rising MC maintained a broad inventory of snacks that kept his customers coming back.
"He sold Starbursts," Stephen says.
"Rice Krispie treats," B.o.B adds.
Stephen: "Pixy Stix." B.o.B: "Hot Cheetos."
"M&M's, whether they were peanut or without peanut," Stephen recalls.
Eventually, B.o.B's customers were trained to think of the teen entrepreneur whenever they needed a sugar fix.
"People get used to buying it," B.o.B explains. "They're like, 'Hold on. It's 12:45 and I don't have my Kit Kat. What's going on?' "
"When I Was 17" — this week featuring B.o.B, Usher and Ne-Yo — premieres Saturday at 11 a.m. on MTV.
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