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Bow Wow grows up: he took the world by storm as "Lil' Bow Wow," but he's not so little anymore

Ebony, Sept, 2005 by Monica Jones

SOLD-OUT tours, movie premieres, appearances on television shows, countless interviews and thousands of screaming fans--some who faint at just the mention of his name. That's all in a day's work for 18-year-old Shad Moss. But Moss is not your average 18-year-old. In fact, most know him as Bow Wow--all grown up and back on the scene.

Bow Wow, previously known as "Lil' Bow Wow," has definitely evolved from the fresh-faced, brown-eyed 13-year-old music fans met in 2000 when he was trying to get everyone to bounce with him. The Ohio native was only 6 years old when he appeared, as rapper Snoop Dogg's surprise guest, on the Arsenio Hall Show in 1993. Snoop gave the pint-sized lyricist the name "Lil' Bow Wow." The little rapping sensation joined Snoop's Chronic tour and word spread about the small kid with a huge bite. In 2002, Bow dropped the "Lil'" from his moniker in a quest to signal the fact he is not little any longer.

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While some teen stars have difficulties growing up in the spotlight, Bow didn't let his celebrity status hinder his growth as a young man and as an artist. "I feel like I just grew up like anybody else," he says about growing up in the public eye. He says that other people watching him in the spotlight were the ones who focused on his growth from a child to a young man. "I really don't look at it like, 'Aw, man, I'm in the public eye and everybody's watching me. Aw, man, I got this pimple on my face now they're going to know I'm going through puberty.' I never really get that deep into it."

The self-proclaimed grown-up has been busy. He just released his fourth recording, Wanted, in July. "I feel like I've outdone myself with this album," he says. The recording reflects his growth, and he worked with musical sensations like Snoop Dogg, Ciara, Omarion and J-Kwon, just to name a few. He says that he felt that it was time for him to release another record because fans were really pushing him to do so. The young rapper also felt that there wasn't enough originality being showcased in the music industry. "A lot of stuff [music] was boring, and everybody was starting to do the same things," he says.

Bow is especially pleased with Wanted because he had a chance to reconnect with his mentor, Jermaine Dupri. The hit-making producer who was named president of Virgin Records earlier this year worked with Bow on his first two albums, Beware of Dog (2000) and Doggy Bag (2001). But Dupri couldn't work with Bow after he was named senior vice president of Arista Records in early 2003, and Bow was still signed to Columbia.

"When he [Dupri] couldn't work with me on my third album, it hurt me," says Bow. The split caused a little tension between Dupri and Bow, but they have moved forward, and Dupri was the executive producer for Wanted. "We put it all behind us, and I felt that it was smart for me to go back to the man who gave me all my hit records and made me who I am today," he says about working with Dupri.

For this record, Bow Wow made another important connection. He is currently dating hip-hop artist Ciara. While he is hush-hush about exactly how they met and how long they've been dating, he says that he's known the queen of "1, 2 Step" for about four years. "The question really ain't how long we've been together," he says. "It's just the fact that I've known her for a long time, and I've just been supportive of everything she's done, and she has been supportive of everything I've done." The maturing star says it's important to start off as friends in a relationship. "That's my homey, and that's basically how we started."

The other leading lady in his life is his manager Teresa Caldwell, who is also his mom. Caldwell has been by her son's side since his career began, and although he has grown up, she is still taking care of the business. While Bow's manager-mom is making sure everything is together with his career, he says "mom" is loosening the parental reins just a little bit. "She's starting to let me get my freedom now," he says with a chuckle.

Bow also wants to get more involved with the business side of his career. He wants people to know that he's not just an entertainer, but a businessman as well. "Now that I'm getting older, I am really starting to put my nose into everything," he says. "I'm really nosy, and I like it that way."

He has a lot to be nosy about, considering the fact that he is in the process of getting his own place and hopes to be living on his own by the end of the year. In addition, he's wrapping up his successful "Scream IV" tour with Omarion, Marques Houston, Bobby Valentino, B5 and Pretty Ricky. He is also making more moves on the big screen.

In September, he will star in the teenage "dramedy" Roll Bounce, and he is also working on a TV show called Bow, which is scheduled to air by 2006.

Bow Wow grows up: he took the world by storm as "Lil' Bow Wow," but he's not so little anymore

Ebony, Sept, 2005 by Monica Jones

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