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Rank3,469 (new)
Albums18
Songs229
AboutEvery now and then a kid rapper breaks through and enjoys some short-term
novelty success before getting swept away by the next big thing, and during
the early 2000s, Lil Bow Wow was one of those kid rappers, though he did his
best not to get swept away, changing his name to Bow Wow, and changing his
originally poppy style to a more mature one. Born in Reynoldsburg (Columbus), OH, the formerly lil' Bow Wow began rapping at a very young
age and had developed his style quite impressively by the time he hooked
up with Jermaine Dupri of So So Def, a successful Atlanta-based record
label. Dupri had experienced much success throughout the '90s with kid
rappers such as Kris Kross and Da Brat, and he saw similar potential in
Bow Wow, enough to bring him aboard the So So Def hit parade. Along
with his right-hand man Brian Michael Cox, Dupri wrote and produced the
bulk of the preteen's debut album, Beware of Dog (2000). The album spawned
a runaway breakthrough single (and summer anthem), "Bounce With Me,"
along with a couple heavily rotated follow-up singles, "Bow Wow (That's My Name)"
(featuring Snoop Dogg) and "Ghetto Girls." All this success put Bow Wow's
career into overdrive: he went back into the studio with Dupri and recorded
a consciously poppy follow-up, Doggy Bag (2002), that was intended to consolidate
the youngster's success, and he also went to Hollywood to star in Like Mike (2002),
a kid-movie vehicle about basketball that turned out pretty well. Along the way, Bow Wow
enjoyed another really big hit, "Take Ya Home" (produced by the Neptunes, right around the
time that duo was unstoppable, churning out one hot hit after another), and
changed his name from Lil Bow Wow to just Bow Wow. Among other
changes that took place around this time, Bow Wow left So So Def and
signed with Columbia, leaving his musical parents, Michael Cox and Dupri,
behind as well. His first recording for Columbia, Unleashed (2003),
showcased a more mature sound, one that straddled the mainstream and
the streets simultaneously, but didn't do so well commercially, which didn't
bode well at all for the pint-size rapper, especially considering the
all-too-common fate that often befalls here-today, gone-tomorrow kid
rappers
(cleveland) should be (Columbus),
novelty success before getting swept away by the next big thing, and during
the early 2000s, Lil Bow Wow was one of those kid rappers, though he did his
best not to get swept away, changing his name to Bow Wow, and changing his
originally poppy style to a more mature one. Born in Reynoldsburg (Columbus), OH, the formerly lil' Bow Wow began rapping at a very young
age and had developed his style quite impressively by the time he hooked
up with Jermaine Dupri of So So Def, a successful Atlanta-based record
label. Dupri had experienced much success throughout the '90s with kid
rappers such as Kris Kross and Da Brat, and he saw similar potential in
Bow Wow, enough to bring him aboard the So So Def hit parade. Along
with his right-hand man Brian Michael Cox, Dupri wrote and produced the
bulk of the preteen's debut album, Beware of Dog (2000). The album spawned
a runaway breakthrough single (and summer anthem), "Bounce With Me,"
along with a couple heavily rotated follow-up singles, "Bow Wow (That's My Name)"
(featuring Snoop Dogg) and "Ghetto Girls." All this success put Bow Wow's
career into overdrive: he went back into the studio with Dupri and recorded
a consciously poppy follow-up, Doggy Bag (2002), that was intended to consolidate
the youngster's success, and he also went to Hollywood to star in Like Mike (2002),
a kid-movie vehicle about basketball that turned out pretty well. Along the way, Bow Wow
enjoyed another really big hit, "Take Ya Home" (produced by the Neptunes, right around the
time that duo was unstoppable, churning out one hot hit after another), and
changed his name from Lil Bow Wow to just Bow Wow. Among other
changes that took place around this time, Bow Wow left So So Def and
signed with Columbia, leaving his musical parents, Michael Cox and Dupri,
behind as well. His first recording for Columbia, Unleashed (2003),
showcased a more mature sound, one that straddled the mainstream and
the streets simultaneously, but didn't do so well commercially, which didn't
bode well at all for the pint-size rapper, especially considering the
all-too-common fate that often befalls here-today, gone-tomorrow kid
rappers
(cleveland) should be (Columbus),
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