LIL' BOW WOW AND DEATH ROW

Not many people would imagine a preteen rapper like Lil' Bow Wow joining Death Row Records. The label's artists mainly produced CD's with Parental Advisory labels on the front. Along with Snoop, Death Row's other hip-hop stars were known for a type of rap often referred to as "gangsta rap." This hip-hop style was named for its agressive beats and lyrics about violence and gang life. One of its best-known stars,Tupac Shakur, was shot to death on a Las Vegas street in 1996.

Label founder Marion "Suge" Knight didn't want Shad to be a "Kid Gangsta"." He knew most parents were reluctant to buy the music his artists releashed. Many of their CD's went unheard by younger hip-hop fans.

A huge audience wasn't listening to Death Row. Knight thought Shad could change that. Pop music's boy bands and teen singers like NSync and Britney Spears were becoming famous and making millions of dollars. Knight was sure Lil' Bow Wow could do the same.

December 17, 1993

LIL' BOW WOW AT ARSENIO HALL SHOW

Los Angeles gave Shad more than just recording experience. Another Ohio native gave Lil' Bow Wow his next big break. At the time, Arsenio Hall hosted one of the most populair talk shows on late-night television. By the early 1990's, almost every actor or actress with a movie coming out was appearing on the show.

When Shad performed, he was seen by millions. People were beginning to recognize his name. Although he was in elementary school, he started getting into nightclubs and going to parties. He often bumped into Jermaine Dupri.

January 14, 1994

SNOOP DOGG'S ICONIC "GIN & JUICE" MUSIC VIDEO WAS RELEASHED IN JANUARY 1994

Bow Wow has spoken about his appearance in Snoop Dogg‘s classic “Gin & Juice” video, explaining that it was simply a matter of being in the right place, at the right time.

A six-year-old Lil' Bow Wow, as he was known then, opened the video as one of three little boys jumping on Snoop’s parents’ couch. Speaking to HipHopDX in a new interview, Bow Wow said the video was shot shortly after he was discovered along Dr. Dre‘s The Chronic Tour in 1993.

“We moved to LA right after,” he explained. “And it was really them starting to implement me around Snoop and the Death Row family. And I guess once they drew up the write-up for the ‘Gin & Juice’ video, they was like, ‘Yo, we need some bad kids. Jumping on the couch.’ And they was like, ‘Well, we just found this little kid in Ohio we’re about to sign: throw him in there.’ Which was smart.”

That wasn’t his only contribution to Snoop Dogg’s multiplatinum debut project. Bow Wow revealed that he also made a cameo on the album itself.

“That’s me doing all the voices on Doggystyle, Snoop’s first album,” he added. “All the kid voices. It’s like I was born to act, born to entertain. I was born to do what I do.”