Bow Wow: teen rap star reinvents self with mature look and sound

Jet, August 25, 2003 by Margena A. Christian

Age is more than a number for a kid in show business. It could snuff out a maturing child celebrity's career.

Not for Bow Wow. The rapper is 16 years old and ready to start acting his age.

"I've been tied up to this chain where everybody wants me to be this little kid," he tells JET during a phone interview while working in New York. "What people fail to realize is that I can't be this little kid forever. That's the leash that everyone wants to keep on me. That's what they want, but sooner or later I have to be unleashed."

Unleashed, in record stores this week, is also the name of his third CD. Dropping the Lil' from his stage name, sporting a short haircut and rapping in a voice several octaves lower, Bow Wow has weaned himself from mentor Jermaine "JD" Dupri, the hip-hop music mogul who molded him into one of music's biggest kid rap stars.

This time out the doghouse, rap notables like Baby of Cash Money, the Neptunes and Lil' Jon throw Bow Wow a bone.

Let's Get Down, featuring Baby, is the first song from the new project. The tune, where he receives instructions from Baby on how to try to talk to a girl, is steady at the top of the charts. Fans like the change.

"I mean they had no choice. They had to accept [my new image and sound]," says the 11th-grader. "It's a rap for that other stuff. That was yesterday. That's the beautiful thing about my fans--they understand everything about me. If anyone understands the new me, it's them."

Songs that made the then 4-foot-7 performer famous when he first growled on the music scene in 2000 won't be abandoned by Bow Wow, who says that he now stands at "5-foot-four." He's currently on his Unleashed tour.

"It's kind of funny singing those songs now," says Bow Wow of his slew of hits, Bounce With Me, Bow Wow (That's My Name), Puppy Love, Ghetto Girls, Thank You and Take Ya Home. "But when people listen to my new CD, it's something different. The fans haven't seen me bust like this before. When they first put the CD in, it's going to be a shocker to them. I'm just ready. There is no cursing; it's just a little teenage raw, but not enough that the little kids get some of that stuff. This is the best album I've ever done."

Bow Wow may be more famous than the average teenager, but that hasn't made him exempt from life's growing pains.

Last year the dynamics of two close relationships shifted direction. Bow Wow's stepfather, Rodney Caldwell, and his mother, Teresa, divorced. Bow Wow says he and Rodney are still cool, "Oh yeah."

He doesn't say the same about his severed partnership with JD, the man he shadowed since his first solo debut. "I don't really talk to him like that. It's kind of like a new day."

That new day for Bow Wow also meant learning firsthand that the industry more often than not hinges on business first and music second.

Earlier this year, JD was named senior vice president of Arista Records and entered into an exclusive label and production agreement with Arista. JD's So So Def label, formerly distributed by Columbia Records and Sony Music, is now distributed worldwide by Arista (JET, March 3). Bow Wow, who belonged to JD's So So Def, remains signed to the parent company, Columbia. He was not a happy camper that JD bounced without him.

"It tied in with him going to Arista," explains' Bow Wow of their split. "I don't like talking about the whole situation. He just branched off and went over to Arista."

He's still bothered. The rise in his voice and sharp answers give it away. "I wasn't hurt by his decision," brushing off the question. "It doesn't bother me as long as I can still make music. That stuff doesn't bother me."

His mother, Teresa, continues to serve as her only child's manager, accountant and stylist. As she often puts it, "No one will look out for him better than I do." They are each other's best friend and he's still a "momma's boy." He also says that his "true friends are people I grew up with in school."

Bow Wow advises that all performers have a backup plan--that's why he tried his paws at acting last year. In addition to appearing in MTV's Carmen: A Hip Hopera, he starred in his own movie Like Mike. He recently completed the upcoming comedy Johnson Family Vacation. The movie will star Cedric "The Entertainer," Vanessa L. Williams, Steve Harvey and Solange Knowles. He also mentioned an upcoming project, Mr. President, to star Will Smith.

There's also a new clothing line, Shago, that has Bow Wow excited.

"I'm trying to take it to the big leagues. I'm trying to be the next Puff (Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs), but bigger and better." The name comes from letters from his real name, Shad Gregory Moss. With either an SG logo or 87, the year he was born, the boys sportswear is designed for sizes ranging from 2 to 20.

Bow Wow says dealing with the strains of being a teenager is no comparison when it comes to an adjoining recording career. Being mobbed by girls, closing down shopping malls because of his mere presence and performing are the "cool" parts of the business. But the other things that go along with it, he adds, can take its toll.