-09 08:52:43
Rapper Bow Wow Growing Up with His Fans
By Gail Mitchell
Reuters
LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Bow Wow 's image as the cute preteen heartthrob who cut his teeth on pop confections still lingers.
But that's not the Bow Wow criss-crossing the country promoting his fifth album, "The Price of Fame," due in stores Dec. 19 via Columbia. Yes, the rapper still leaves hearts throbbing. But now he's added a less innocent feel to his rap game.
"I'm grown," proclaims a deep-voiced Bow Wow , who turns 20 in March. "This time I'm definitely pushing the edge."
A maturing Bow Wow surfaced on 2003's "Unleashed." Mixing mainstream and street, the album found Bow Wow minus his Lil' tag -- and the creative juice of producer/mentor Jermaine Dupri . Head of Bow Wow 's former label So So Def, Dupri had moves to Arista Records. Though "Unleashed" went gold, its 774,000 sales didn't approach his earlier Nielsen SoundScan totals of 2.7 million for 2000's "Beware of the Dog" and 1.1 million for 2001's "Doggy Bag."
"Our split took a toll on my career and on me as a person," Bow Wow says. "Blood is thicker than all this business and I consider Jermaine blood. So when it came time to work on my fourth album, I wasn't doing it unless I got Jermaine back."
Dupri adds, "We had a conversation that let us both know we came in this together and we are supposed to leave together."
The reunion resulted in 2005's "Wanted," which moved 958,000 units, according to SoundScan -- proving Bow Wow was wanted indeed. Two top five crossover hits, "Let Me Hold You" featuring Omarion and "Like You" with Ciara , netted comeback kudos.
Now Bow Wow is reclaiming the same territory with current hit "Shortie Like Mine." The fast-climbing single pairs him with fellow heartthrob Chris Brown and singer/songwriter Johnta Austin.
When it comes to edgy, the female-targeted, smooth-grooved "Shortie Like Mine" doesn't exactly fit the bill. But as Dupri notes, such songs are integral to Bow Wow 's transition from preteen novelty act to full-fledged adult rapper.
"I've tried to make records that grow with his fans," he says. "Although he's five to 10 years older mentally than his true age, I never let him leave those fans because that's who made him and I made him for them."
After "Shortie," Bow Wow says "Price" features two other "real girl records. Other than that, this is definitely a straight, edgy rap album." The title track, one of four co-written by Bow Wow (born Shad Moss), is one example. On its intro he declares, "I'm letting people feel my pain, letting them know what I've been through this year alone." Guests Lil Wayne, Pimp C, Lil Scrappy and Short Dawg join him on "4 Corners," which he calls the "ghettoest street record I've ever done and the only record on the album that we really had to clean up." Additional collaborators include R. Kelly .
Retailer Tim Wilson of Urban Lights Music forecasts that first-week sales for "Price" will range between 175,000 and 200,000.
Spurred by sales of 4 million ringtones and Bow Wow 's own online/game-centric lifestyle, Columbia's marketing team mounted an intensive Internet/digital "Price" campaign. "The challenge," says Liz Hausle, VP of marketing at Columbia, "is superserving his 13-18 core while attracting new 18-34 fans. Bow Wow is a walking focus group whose fans live and breathe on the Internet."
The campaign includes early release of "Shortie" on MySpace and the social network-themed "Shortie" video; contests giving fans the chance to be one of his video "shorties"; and construction of a Bow Wow environment in the virtual world space called Second Life. Complementing these efforts are Bow Wow 's appearance in Gap's current "Holiday in Your Hood" print campaign, a recent stint as a villain on TV's "Smallville," customized TV spots and a limited-run CD/DVD retail package through Wal-Mart/BET.
As he promotes "Price," Bow Wow is negotiating several movie roles and mentoring young rappers Jinsu and Khleo under his LBW Entertainment banner. He says he doesn't have time for what he calls "the BS" in the biz. "If I don't feed into that, I'll be straight. That's what's given me the longevity I still have and am striving to keep."
But that's not the Bow Wow criss-crossing the country promoting his fifth album, "The Price of Fame," due in stores Dec. 19 via Columbia. Yes, the rapper still leaves hearts throbbing. But now he's added a less innocent feel to his rap game.
"I'm grown," proclaims a deep-voiced Bow Wow , who turns 20 in March. "This time I'm definitely pushing the edge."
A maturing Bow Wow surfaced on 2003's "Unleashed." Mixing mainstream and street, the album found Bow Wow minus his Lil' tag -- and the creative juice of producer/mentor Jermaine Dupri . Head of Bow Wow 's former label So So Def, Dupri had moves to Arista Records. Though "Unleashed" went gold, its 774,000 sales didn't approach his earlier Nielsen SoundScan totals of 2.7 million for 2000's "Beware of the Dog" and 1.1 million for 2001's "Doggy Bag."
"Our split took a toll on my career and on me as a person," Bow Wow says. "Blood is thicker than all this business and I consider Jermaine blood. So when it came time to work on my fourth album, I wasn't doing it unless I got Jermaine back."
Dupri adds, "We had a conversation that let us both know we came in this together and we are supposed to leave together."
The reunion resulted in 2005's "Wanted," which moved 958,000 units, according to SoundScan -- proving Bow Wow was wanted indeed. Two top five crossover hits, "Let Me Hold You" featuring Omarion and "Like You" with Ciara , netted comeback kudos.
Now Bow Wow is reclaiming the same territory with current hit "Shortie Like Mine." The fast-climbing single pairs him with fellow heartthrob Chris Brown and singer/songwriter Johnta Austin.
When it comes to edgy, the female-targeted, smooth-grooved "Shortie Like Mine" doesn't exactly fit the bill. But as Dupri notes, such songs are integral to Bow Wow 's transition from preteen novelty act to full-fledged adult rapper.
"I've tried to make records that grow with his fans," he says. "Although he's five to 10 years older mentally than his true age, I never let him leave those fans because that's who made him and I made him for them."
After "Shortie," Bow Wow says "Price" features two other "real girl records. Other than that, this is definitely a straight, edgy rap album." The title track, one of four co-written by Bow Wow (born Shad Moss), is one example. On its intro he declares, "I'm letting people feel my pain, letting them know what I've been through this year alone." Guests Lil Wayne, Pimp C, Lil Scrappy and Short Dawg join him on "4 Corners," which he calls the "ghettoest street record I've ever done and the only record on the album that we really had to clean up." Additional collaborators include R. Kelly .
Retailer Tim Wilson of Urban Lights Music forecasts that first-week sales for "Price" will range between 175,000 and 200,000.
Spurred by sales of 4 million ringtones and Bow Wow 's own online/game-centric lifestyle, Columbia's marketing team mounted an intensive Internet/digital "Price" campaign. "The challenge," says Liz Hausle, VP of marketing at Columbia, "is superserving his 13-18 core while attracting new 18-34 fans. Bow Wow is a walking focus group whose fans live and breathe on the Internet."
The campaign includes early release of "Shortie" on MySpace and the social network-themed "Shortie" video; contests giving fans the chance to be one of his video "shorties"; and construction of a Bow Wow environment in the virtual world space called Second Life. Complementing these efforts are Bow Wow 's appearance in Gap's current "Holiday in Your Hood" print campaign, a recent stint as a villain on TV's "Smallville," customized TV spots and a limited-run CD/DVD retail package through Wal-Mart/BET.
As he promotes "Price," Bow Wow is negotiating several movie roles and mentoring young rappers Jinsu and Khleo under his LBW Entertainment banner. He says he doesn't have time for what he calls "the BS" in the biz. "If I don't feed into that, I'll be straight. That's what's given me the longevity I still have and am striving to keep."
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