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No Young Pup
10/26/2003 9:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
Billy Johnson Jr
Bow Wow may only be 16 years old, but even at a young age, he has a career track record that many of his elder peers would envy. When he was 6, he landed an opportunity to appear on an interlude on Snoop Dogg's seminal debut Doggystyle after meeting the Dr. Dre protégé backstage at a concert. Some six years later, the rapper--then called Lil' Bow Wow--became a hip-hop superstar himself after releasing his first album, Beware Of Dog, that was loaded with enough hit singles to launch him a successful headlining tour. It wasn't a surprise that two years later, he shunned the sophomore jinx with Doggy Bag, and earned the principle role in the film Like Mike.
At 14, he couldn't avoid being mentioned in the same breath as other rappers who entered the game as preteens, like Kris Kross (also produced by Bow Wow's mentor, Jermaine Dupri), Chi Ali, and Da Youngstas. But for his latest album, Unleashed, Bow Wow has done something that separates him from the pack: He has continued to thrive, against the odds.
With Dupri taking on an executive role at Arista Records that prevents him from continuing to work with Bow Wow (who is still signed to Columbia), Bow Wow had to come up with another plan of attack. So for Unleashed, put his creative energies to the test by writing more of his lyrics and making more decisions. And now, while other young teen rappers fail to maintain their careers into young adulthood, Bow Wow's momentum continues to build. He's shaved off his long braids for a close-cropped fade, eschewed rhymes about candy in favor of more mature topics, and even linked with Cash Money Millionaire Baby, who appears on "Let's Get Down," Unleashed's lead track. Within two months, Unleashed has achieved gold status--and that was before Bow Weezy hit the young ladies with his secret weapon, the LL Cool J-style ballad, "My Baby."
When Bow Wow recently stopped by the LAUNCH's office for an interview and performance, urban editor Billy Johnson Jr. got Bow Wow to reveal his keys to success. Teen rappers aspiring for longevity should definitely take note...
LAUNCH: What was different in terms of approaching this new record?
BOW WOW: Just the fact that I'm getting older now, so it's kind of, like, this is really a growing process for me. The whole title Unleashed has a meaning--you know, everybody knows what the word "unleashed" means, being unleashed, let off of some type of chain. And the chain that I'm talking about is just being the little kid that everybody is so used to, and people are still tripping off of me, the older Bow Wow. So it's kind of like, I'm unleashed from that era. And once I'm older, I can never go back to that little image that everyone wants me to be. That's what the whole meaning of Unleashed is. And so far everybody's been taking it well. They understand that I'm getting older, and the fans are growing up with me, so everything is cool. It's just been a process, but everybody's just been patient with it, and everybody's just been moving along.
LAUNCH: How old are you now?
BOW WOW: I'm 16 years old.
LAUNCH: How did you strategize what you wanted your first single to sound like?
BOW WOW: I wanted to make it more mature, but still appropriate. You always have to make it appropriate for the little fans as well, so it's still on that same level; I'm not cussing on the album or nothing like that. It's a big process of growing up, and it's like, I can't be 18 and still talking about candy. I can't do that. My fans are growing up too, therefore they're not gonna like that, and they're gonna find somebody else who they can relate to. So it's kind of like, when they grow up I have to grow up, and we grow up together. I have to touch bases on the things that they want me to touch bases on, and therefore they can relate to me. That's why my fans are so close to me and they know everything about me, because I share all my info with them. Every time it's gonna go up, 'cause I still have to have that same type of bond with my fans, and it has to just carry on that way.
LAUNCH: How much of Unleashed did Jermaine Dupri produce? Did he do anything this time?
BOW WOW: As far as Jermaine doing anything on Unleashed, he really didn't do anything because of the whole Arista/Columbia thing. So it's kind of like, this album really gave me the opportunity to really step up. I wrote maybe 85 to 90 percent of my rhymes on this one. I really had the opportunity to find out what's it like to really sit down and talk to these producers, let them know what I want. So it was like a blessing to me, and I was just really excited.
LAUNCH: What was your feeling when you realized you were going to do this record without him?
BOW WOW: Well, we always had that bond, but it was kind of a growing process. Like, everything now is a growing process. And there are some things you just gotta grow with, and this is something that I just had to do, and I dealt with it, took it like a young man should, and I just went on and I just had to hand them my business.
LAUNCH: How did it feel making more of the decisions on this record?
BOW WOW: I had a lot of fun on Unleashed, because I had the opportunity to write. I had the opportunity to meet with all the producers, let them know what kind of sounds we were looking for, and actually just bonding with them rather than them sending me the tracks. I wanted everything to just be closed in, just so everyone could vibe together to come up with something spectacular. So everything just really had to involve a lot of teamwork; a lot of communication was definitely important on this third album. And I just felt great because I was giving people little orders or whatever, you know what I mean, so that kind of made me feel good. And besides, my mentor, who I look up to, is Puffy, as far as from a business standpoint. And when it was time for me to step up and everybody on my team is telling me, "Step up, Bow Wow, it's time for you to know this business," I really just took all that advice and soaked it in. I really handled this third album like a man. I can honestly say that. I never knew one day I would actually be telling people, all these big producers, "This is what I need, this is what I want. This sounds hot. This is not hot." So it was definitely a fun experience.
LAUNCH: What do you think is the most valuable thing you learned doing this record?
BOW WOW: The most valuable thing I learned on this record...um, I learned a lot. But as far as people talking to me and giving me advice, I've been doing this for so long, and when people usually give me advice in this business, it's always the same, same, same, same thing. One person tells me this, and it's gonna be the same thing that that person told me. So with this album, it was just all about me exploring my ideas--things that I came up with in my head, and then I'd share that with the producers. So it was kind of like, I watched everybody else's mistakes in the past and knew that I didn't wanna go that route, so there had to be some other track that I could hop on that'll just take me to the right way. And just watching everybody else, that experience is kind of like, I didn't wanna see myself in that same thing that they're in. So it was kind of like, let me go this way rather than me going the bad way.
LAUNCH: What did you do to make the transition of your growing up easier on your fans?
BOW WOW: Well, getting everybody used to the new Bow Wow, and how Bow Wow has grown over the years, really wasn't hard for me, because we know that we didn't wanna push it too over the edge as far as me getting mature. 'Cause we gotta think about, I'm only 16, and I have young fans. So I didn't wanna ruin that for them 'cause the parents are strict. Don't get me wrong, I'm talking on topics that teenagers can touch on--and the ladies, of course. But when I went to the ladies, I didn't wanna go overboard into it, you know what I'm saying? Like, I didn't wanna talk about sex. I know that there are 16-year-olds out there having sex, but I couldn't talk about that because I have little fans, so I didn't go that far deep. Like, I'm not rushing my growth, or just rushing everything. I didn't wanna go that far, and, you know, I just wanted to take the right step towards that. I didn't want anything like, "Oh my God, is that what Bow Wow just said?" I didn't want it to be that edgy; I wanted it to be just right. I didn't wanna come off too grown, but I wanted to still come off as a 16-year-old who touched on the topics that are going on in the world today that the teenagers can relate to. You know, it's just a line, and you just can't pass that line.
LAUNCH: Are there some songs that you recorded that you decided you fans are not ready for?
BOW WOW: Oh yeah, most definitely! There was a couple on there that was like, "This is too edgy. Press is gonna kill us. If I say this, just this little itty-bitty thing, they're gonna make a big deal out of it." So it was kind of like, "Just scratch it." We didn't wanna go through the drama. And that was just only one song.
LAUNCH: Was this a song you really wanted on the album, except for the content?
BOW WOW: I thought it was cool at first but then I didn't, you know? It was something so small to us, and just that people easily would just take it the wrong way than what it should've been, and it wasn't even worth it. Like, why go through it, why put on the album when people are just gonna say, "Why did you say that? I didn't wanna hear all that!" So it was kind of like, "You know what? Let's not even go through the trouble. This song is hot, you know what I mean, it's crazy-hot. Let's just put it in the vault until the people are really ready for that. So let's just put that in the vault for now, not put it on Unleashed." 'Cause we really didn't want anybody to be bugging off of something so little. So we just killed it.
LAUNCH: How did you feel getting this response after stepping out on your own?
BOW WOW: Oh man, I feel great! Growing up in this process and taking my time and everything, venturing out, doing what I love to do--I feel real great. I think it's a blessing. I can't wait, I'm ready to go on tour. I'm just really excited and I'm just ready for everything to hurry up and come.
LAUNCH: Why didn't you do the Scream tour?
BOW WOW: Um, the only reason why I didn't do the Scream tour was because, you know, um, political reasons--promoters and different things like that. The whole business side of it. I'm just gonna go on the Unleashed tour myself, so it was kind of like, just let me go ahead and do this. And besides, there's no beef with B2K, no beef with the B2K fans at all--we was even talking about joining forces and doing like a "best of both worlds" album together, so they can look for us at that, that'll be next year, with us two. But other than that, everything is all love from my standpoint, so it was cool.
LAUNCH: How does it feel to be the person who totally kicked off this whole teen-rap thing that's happening now?
BOW WOW: Oh, man. As far as the teenage thing, back from Kris Kross to now, it's a blessing. But the difference is the fact that I came up as a rapper. You know what I mean--I never was like an R&B cat. But when I came out, it was just me and Sammy. I don't know if you remember little Sammy, but it was just me and him at the time. Sammy had worked with me on a couple joints. And then it was just me, I was the only person at that time. But it's cool now. It's enough of me for everybody, you know, and it shouldn't just be tied down to one person--it'll get boring for the kids. Fans are fans, and they're gonna love that particular person. But also, I'm sure it can get boring after a while. It's teenage life. Teenagers are trying to take over, so let them all come in, do what they do. There's enough room. 'Cause honestly, right now, the only entertainers as far as teenagers are me, B2K, and Mario. It's only three. So you gotta think about it: I have fans, Mario has fans, B2K has fans, and it's like, just three people out there. Those are the only teenage entertainers as far as far as the rap/urban/R&B side. There's nobody else, so there's still room out here for anybody. I'm just the type of person that says, "Hey man, if this is what you wanna do, the door's open!" A lot of people say that I started it, but I really don't feel like I started it. I feel that I was blessed enough to come out as strong as I was, but I wouldn't say that I really started it.
LAUNCH: How did your voice changing affect your recording?
BOW WOW: It's just a part of the process--for a young man, and for a young woman as well. It's all a process that you have to go through. It's puberty, you know what I mean? It's life. I'm a real person like anybody else, so you're gonna go through those things, especially when you start up as a child. People are so used to seeing you with that tiny, itty-bitty little voice. Then by the time you're 16 or 17, you get a little peach fuzz here, a little peach fuzz there, peach fuzz all here. People just gotta deal with the situation. Like, I'm a young man now. I'm not 12 or 13 years old, so it's a process of growing up. People are dealing with it pretty good. But I see that the ladies have changed 'cause I've gotten older, so... [laughs]
LAUNCH: What made you change your name and drop the "Lil'"?
BOW WOW: I really wanted to drop it because I didn't wanna be called "Lil'" anymore. I really didn't get the whole "Lil'" thing anyway. I never wanted "Lil'." Besides the fans, they would call me just Bow Wow anyway. So they already feel comfortable with saying Bow Wow, so why can't I just go ahead and just say Bow Wow? So I just dropped it. Simple as that.
LAUNCH: Back when you were starting as Lil' Bow Wow, did you have any idea that you would end up becoming so successful?
BOW WOW: Back then when I was running with Snoop, it was kind of like I already knew what I wanted to do. I was 6 years old, and I knew that I wanted to become a rapper. I already knew that I had my mind set on it, and I was a big fan of Snoop so when Snoop took me under his wing, I already knew what I wanted to do from there. If it wasn't gonna be with Snoop, I knew that someday--I prayed to God all my life--I wanted to become somebody. If it's not a rapper, then I wanna become somebody. Doesn't matter, and I just had my mind set on it. All the kids out there, whatever you have your mind set onto, just make sure you pursue your dreams. That's what I just did. To this day there are certain dreams that I haven't reached yet, that I still wanna reach, that I'm still striving for. But with Snoop, I already knew that I was getting my hands into; I knew I was gonna come off rapping, how my image was gonna look back then. I just knew if it wasn't working with Snoop, it was gonna work somewhere--and I'm happy where I'm at.
LAUNCH: What are some of those other dreams you're talking about?
BOW WOW: The dreams that I haven't accomplished yet are...um, me winning a Grammy, me winning a Oscar. Once I get those two...my movie career has just started, and people might fail to realize the fact that I'm only 16 years old, and these cats are getting their Oscars in their 30s and 40s, I have, like, 20 more years down the road to go. So I'm gonna probably end up doing 20 or 30 movies before I reach that point. It takes time, and with me, I'm not the type of person that has patience, but this is such a big step. I wanna go down in history, so I really wanna take my time with everything and just be smart about the whole situation.
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