Bow Wow (rapper)
Shad Gregory Moss (born March 9, 1987), better known by his stage name Bow Wow (formerly Lil' Bow Wow), is an American rapper and actor. His career began upon being discovered by rapper Snoop Dogg in 1993 at the age of six; five years later, he signed with record producer Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings, an imprint of Columbia Records. As Lil' Bow Wow, he released his debut studio album, Beware of Dog (2000) at age 13, followed by his second album, Doggy Bag (2001) the following year. Both met with critical and commercial success, the albums peaked at numbers ten and 11 on the Billboard 200, respectively.
"Bow Wow (musician)" redirects here. Not to be confused with Bow Wow (band).
Bow Wow
Shad Gregory Moss
- Lil' Bow Wow
- Kid Gangsta
March 9, 1987
Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
- Rapper
- songwriter
- actor
- television presenter
1993–present
- LBW (current)
- Bad Boy
- Cash Money
- Republic
- Sony Urban
- Columbia
- So So Def (former)
2
Moss parted ways with So So Def to release his third album, Unleashed (2003), which peaked at number three on the chart and was his first release after dropping "Lil'" from his stage name. His fourth album, Wanted (2005) spawned the singles "Let Me Hold You" (featuring Omarion) and "Like You" (featuring Ciara), which peaked at numbers four and three on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively, becoming his highest-charting songs. His 2006 single, "Shortie Like Mine" (featuring Chris Brown and Johntá Austin) peaked within the top ten of the chart and preceded the release of his fifth album, The Price of Fame (2006). His sixth album, New Jack City II (2009) was met with trailing critical and commercial response, serving as his final album on a major label. He briefly signed with Birdman's Cash Money Records in 2009 to release a series of promotional singles—including "Ain't Thinkin' 'Bout You" (featuring Chris Brown) and "Sweat" (featuring Lil Wayne)—leading up to his seventh album Underrated, which remains unreleased. He then signed with Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records in 2015, and likewise released no albums with the label.[1]
Moss first appeared in the 2002 film All About the Benjamins as a cameo. That same year, Moss was cast in the lead role for the sports comedy film, Like Mike. He later starred in the films Johnson Family Vacation in 2004 and Roll Bounce in 2005. He played a supporting role in the film The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift in 2006, a character he reprised in F9 (2021). Moss appeared in five episodes of the television series Entourage, and starred as Brody Nelson in CSI: Cyber until the show's 2016 cancellation.
Life and career
1987–2001: Early life and Beware of Dog
Bow Wow was born Shad Gregory Moss in Columbus, Ohio, the son of Teresa Rena Caldwell (née Jones) and Alfonso Preston Moss.[2] At age three, he became interested in rap. Under the moniker "Kid Gangsta", he began rapping recreationally at age six; he was also a fan of N.W.A at that age.[3] In 1993, he performed at a concert in Los Angeles, and was noticed by rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg, who subsequently gave him a stage name, "Lil' Bow Wow".[4] He then appeared on the Doggystyle album on the track, "Gz and Hustlas",[5] and on The Arsenio Hall Show in late 1993. He also appeared in the "Gin and Juice" music video. Furthermore, he was supposed to appear on the Murder Was the Case soundtrack with the song "After 3", featuring Kurupt, Jewell, and CPO Boss Hogg, but it remained in the vault until the early 2010s.[note 1][5]
In 1998, at the age of eleven, Bow Wow met record producer Jermaine Dupri, who helped shape his career. In 1999, the soundtrack to the movie Wild Wild West featured his song "Stick Up" with Dupri. At the age of 13, in 2000, he debuted with the album Beware of Dog under the stage name Lil' Bow Wow. Its debut single was "Bounce with Me", which featured R&B girl group Xscape. The album also included "Bow Wow (That's My Name)" featuring Snoop Dogg, which topped the rap chart,[6] "Puppy Love", and "Ghetto Girls". The Recording Industry Association of America certified Beware of Dog double platinum on March 5, 2001, signifying sales of two million copies.[7] In a 2009 interview, the rapper claimed that the album had sold over 3 million copies since its release.[8]
Other ventures
Acting career
Bow Wow has made guest appearances on Brandy's TV sitcom, Moesha, as well as The Steve Harvey Show and Brothers Garcia.[36] He made his acting debut in the film Like Mike which was released on July 3, 2002, in which he starred as a young orphan who gets a shot at playing in the NBA. Before Like Mike he made cameos in All About The Benjamins and Carmen: A Hip Hopera. Bow Wow also co-starred with Cedric the Entertainer, Vanessa L. Williams, and Solange Knowles in Johnson Family Vacation. Since the success of Like Mike, Bow Wow has starred in several Hollywood films, including Roll Bounce, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Hurricane Season.[37]
He has also made guest appearances on Smallville and Ugly Betty. He was part of the cast of the fifth season of HBO's Entourage, playing Charlie an up-and-coming comedian, and Eric Murphy's newest client. He starred in a 2010 comedy film, Lottery Ticket, with Ice Cube.[38] A documentary about his life titled Who Is Shad Moss? was released in 2011.[39] Bow Wow stated that the documentary goes all the way back to when he was on Death Row Records.[40]
Bow Wow starred in the film version of Madea's Big Happy Family, released in April 2011. In August 2014, Bow Wow announced that he would star in a CSI spinoff titled CSI: Cyber.[41] In 2021, he reprised his role as Twinkie in F9.[42]
BET's 106 & Park
On October 1, 2013, it was confirmed that Bow Wow was chosen to host for BET's 106 & Park after former hosts Terrence J and Rocsi retired from the show, it was seen in over 85 million homes in the U.S., Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, Africa, the Caribbean, and Germany until its cancellation in 2014.[43]
RnB Friday Nights
In 2016, Bow Wow began hosting a nighttime edition of the Australian Hit Network's radio show RnB Fridays, titled RnB Friday Nights.[44]
Controversy
Bow Wow received criticism for performing maskless at Cle Houston nightclub in Houston, Texas, on January 15, 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, in front of an apparently maskless crowd.[61][62] Bow Wow responded to the criticism by stating that he appeared for his friend's birthday and only performed one song ("Like You"); and that he was not paid for his performance. He also stated that he put on his mask after his performance.[61][62]