Bow Wow, born Shad Gregory Moss, is a popular American rapper from Ohio, USA, formerly known as Lil’ Bow Wow, and has actually been around for years, producing music and appearing on television as far back as 2000. However, with what song did Bow Wow start his career?
Bow Wow’s first track was titled Bounce with Me, which was released as the lead song on the album Beware of Dog, made publicly available back in August, 2000. The album was produced by the So So Def label by producers Jermaine Dupri and Michael Mauldin.
Today, we’re going to take a little trip back to the early days of Bow Wow’s career, exploring where he got his start, how he was received, and some of his early journey to how he got to where he is today. Ready? Let’s get straight into it.
Beware of Dog Making Waves
For a debut album, Beware of Dog is really something special. It was released on September 26th, 2000, through a partnership of the labels So So Def and Columbia Records, and took about a year to produce. Bow Wow worked on the album, obviously, with the help of his mentor at the time, Jermaine Dupri.
Now, what made the album special was just how many amazing hip hop artists were also featured on the track. Listening to it, you can hear the likes of Jagged Edge, Xscape, and even the legend himself, Snoop Dogg. If we were ever to release a hip hop album, we’d love to have that many influential features.
Of course, the lead song was Bounce with Me, a track that was also featured on the Big Momma’s House movie soundtrack that was released the same year, which would have surely helped in boosting the track’s popularity.
The following single from the album was titled Bow Wow (That’s My Name), which was released in October 2000, which was the track that featured Snoop Dogg.
Overall, the album was well-received by critics and fans alike, selling over 101,000 copies in its first week, and by March 2001, the album was certified by the RIAA as being double platinum. Very nice for a debut album!
If you have yet to hear the track yourself, want to take a trip down memory lane, and see where Bow Wow’s journey began, here’s the track in all its glory.
Bow Wow: Jack of All Trades
While Bow Wow is known for his music career, that’s not all this used-to-be boy wonder could do. He’s also a very popular actor and has appeared in plenty of great movies that you’ll have probably seen him in from time to time.
During the beginning of his career back in the early 2000s, he appeared in movies like Carmen: A Hip Hopera, Like Mike, the hit basketball movie, The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift, and Roll Bounce. As Bow Wow grew up and dropped the Lil’ from his name, he moved into even more mainstream movies, like Scary Movie 5 and Allegiance.
He also appeared in a ton of television shows, including The Steve Harvey Show, Ugly Betty, CSI: Cyber, and Entourage.
It’s safe to say that Bow Wow gets about and has a ton of talent going for him. While still pretty young, having been born back in 1987, it’s safe to say that we can expect a lot more to come from this boy wonder.
The Few Controversies
Nowadays, celebrities and those in the public eye wouldn’t be famous if it wasn’t for a few controversies here and there, and Bow Wow is included, although his are considered far from being serious, especially compared with other celebrities in similar positions.
For example, back in 2017, there was a viral trend taking place on Instagram known as the ‘Bow Wow Challenge.’ The premise is simple. Post a misleading photo online that you say is one thing, but you’re actually lying. Make sure to use the hashtag ‘Bow Wow Challenge’ as well.
This all stemmed from the fact Bow Wow uploaded an image on Instagram of a luxurious private jet that made it look as though Bow Wow was living the dream. However, the post turned out to be fake and misleading and had been taken from the MIA VIP Transportation website, aka; it was a stock photo.
Well, we’re sure Bow Wow must have felt a little embarrassed getting caught out in the way he did, but it’s an innocent scandal, to say the least, and definitely brought a lot of smiles to people’s faces. Keep up the good work, Bow Wow, minus the lying, and we can’t wait to see what you put out next!