January 25, 2003
MAXIM MAGAZINE HEATS UP SUPERBOWL IN MAXIMVILLE
Bow Wow attends "Maxim Magazine Heats Up Superbowl In Maximville, USA" at the Old Wonderbread Factory.
February 6, 2003
BOW WOW'S 16TH BIRTHDAY BASH
Bow Wow attends his 16th Birthday Bash.
February 7, 2003
NBA READ TO ACHIEVE READING RALLY
Bow Wow during Jam Session as part of NBA All Star Weekend in Atlanta, Georgia at the Georgia World Congress Center.
February 9, 2003
CELEBRITIES AT THE 2003 NBA ALL-STAR GAME
Snoop Dogg and Bow Wow wait for the start of the at the 2003 NBA All-Star game at the Phillips Arena February 9, 2003 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Februari 9, 2003
CELEBS AT THE NBA ALL-STAR 3 ON 3 JAM SESSION
Brian Litrell of the Backstreet Boys shoots over Bow Wow at the Jeep celebrity 3 on 3 game at the NBA All Star 2003 Jam Session in Atlanta, Georga.
February 9, 2003
NBA ALL-STAR JAM SESSION
Bow Wow shows off his first place trophy from the Celebrity Shooting Stars competition at the NBA All Star 2003 Jam Session in Atlanta, Georga.
February 9, 2003
NBA ALL-STAR WEEKEND
Chris Kirkpatrick and Li'l Bow Wow pose for a photo during the Celebrity Half Court Hustle at Jam Session as part of NBA All Star Weekend in Atlanta, Georgia at the Georgia World Congress Center.
February 16, 2003
BOW WOW DURING NBA GAME
Bow Wow sits courtside as he poses for a photo during the game between the Boston Celtics and the Phoenix Suns at America West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns won 102-92.
February 16, 2003
BOW WOW AND COOLIO
Bow Wow and Coolio talk during the Phoenix Suns Third Annual celebrity shootout at America West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.
March 1, 2003
BOW WOW SITS RINGSIDE
Bow wow sits ringside before the start of the John Ruiz and Roy Jones Jr. WBA heavyweight championship bout at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
March 5, 2003
CELEBRITIES ATTEND LAKERS GAME IN LOS ANGELES
Bow Wow attends the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Indiana Pacers at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
March 15, 2003
CELEBRITY BASKETBALL GAME
Frankie Muniz & Bow Wow during Frankie Muniz Hosts "HoopLA", a Celebrity Basketball Game Which Benefits The Starlight Children's Foundation at Crossroads School in Santa Monica, California, United States.
March 28, 2003
CELEBRITIES ATTEND LAKERS GAME IN LOS ANGELES
Bow Wow and Lori Petty attend the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Washington Wizards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
April 12, 2003
NICKEDLEON KIDS CHOICE AWARDS
Bow Wow during Nickelodeon's 16th Annual Kids' Choice Awards 2003 - Arrivals at Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, California, United States.
April 12, 2003
BACKSTAGE AT NICKEDLEON KIDS CHOICE AWARDS
Bow Wow signing autographs during Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards 2003 - Backstage at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, United States.
April 15, 2003
BOW WOW UNLEASHED ON NEXT LP, TALKS ABOUT LIFE POST-JERMAINE DUPRI
On his third album, aptly titled Unleashed, Bow Wow is barking like you've never heard him. "I'm 16 years old now, [so] I'm talking a lot of garbage, talking a lot of trash, you know what I'm saying?" a brash Bow Wow said Saturday at Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards. "That's how I'm doing it on this album."
So who will be the victim of the no-longer-Lil'-one's unleashing? "I'm talking trash to everybody, man," Bow Wow said. "If you buy the album and listen to it, you'll know who I'm talking to."
One might expect a war of words with fellow youngster rhyme slinger Lil' Romeo, but that's not the case. "That little cat ain't no rival with me," Bow Wow said. "You got to think about it. I'm 16 years old. He's 13. He could be my little brother, so, you know, I never really feel like no competition, but it would be a different ... if he started talking about me, but little man never said nothing wrong about me."
Unleashed, due in June, features production from the Neptunes, Bone Crusher and Jazzy Pha (Lil' Wayne), among others, but none from longtime Bow Wow collaborator Jermaine Dupri. "I didn't work with Jermaine this whole album, so it kind of gave me the opportunity to just step up and just do what I want to do, put everything together and just write for the fans," Bow Wow said.
Before dropping his third album, the rapper, who starred in "Like Mike" last year, is shooting his next movie, an ensemble comedy called "Johnson Family Vacation".
"He's a great actor," co-star Vanessa Williams said of Bow Wow. "We're having a good time." In what free time is left, Bow Wow is developing his own fashion line, Shago Clothing.
April 17, 2003
BOW WOW LIVE
Bow Wow performs at the 2003 Jordan Capital Classic high school all-star basketball game in Washington, DC
May 5, 2003
BOW WOW FOR 'PRESIDENT'?
"This is Bow Wow season," the 16-year-old beamed Wednesday night at Sony Studios.
Bow Wow has sheared off his long braids for a new look, is headlining the Unleashed Tour later this summer, has gotten beats from the Neptunes, Lil Jon, Bink and Jazze Pha for a new album and will launch his new clothing line on June 10. Not to mention the fact that he's got two new movies on the burner.
"I'm the main character of course, again," Bow explained of his role in the upcoming flick "Mr. President," which he will begin shooting next year. He inked the deal Tuesday night with the Will Smith-owned Overbook Entertainment, which is producing the comedy.
"It's about a teenage kid who wins an essay-writing contest and gets to be the president for a day, but ends up being the head of state permanently. It's gonna be funny. No telling what I'm gonna do in office [but] I'mma be wilding out fo' sho.' [The movie] is a great opportunity for me."
B.W., who is also "still in the talking stages" with the WB network for a sitcom, will be hitting the silver screen much earlier than 2004, however. "The Johnson Family Vacation," in which he and Solange Knowles play the children of Vanessa Williams and Cedric "The Entertainer," will debut this fall. He said that Cedric would often give him advice on the movie set.
Bow also obtained pearls of wisdom recently from another celebrity he had the pleasure of working with this year — Baby from Cash Money. The Birdman lays his mack down on "Let's Get Down," the first single from Bow's Unleashed, due July 22. "I told my A&R [guy] that I really wanted to do a record with Baby," Bow said. "Throughout [recording] the whole album, that's who I wanted to do a song with. He was actually going to be on another record but it turned out that he was on 'Let's Get Down.' I was real excited.
" 'Let's Get Down' is a party record," he added. "Baby is instructing me on my pimp game. [He said,] 'Dog, this is what you need to go do.' I'm listening to Baby. He's like the godfather. The concept of the video is that I go to the DMV to get my license. I get in the car and Baby's my instructor. We're in Atlanta taking a tour [and] Baby is like, 'Bow, pull over. Tell this to shorty.' He tests me on my speaking game with the ladies. A normal DMV person would be testing you on your right turn, [saying] 'check your mirrors.' Me, I was tested on did I spit game to the girl correctly."
Another track off Unleashed, "I'll Move On," finds Bow Weezey talking to everyone, not just the girls. "Let your boy grow up," he raps on the track, which the Neptunes produced with Mario singing on the hook. On it he tells his fans that just like everyone else, he will make mistakes, and they should not over-analyze his moves as he grows from a boy to man. "Life goes on as I roll on," he says in his new, deeper voice over the tune's bouncy piano and drum-enhanced beat. "I can only be a child for so long/ Y'all don't want to see my childhood prolonged/ But it's time Bow Wow said so long/ Y'all ain't ready for the new phase."
But when B.W. finally does reach adulthood, he said, watch out. No more baby ballin' for him. Produced by Lil Jon, "Eighteen" is a musical wish list of things Bow wants to do once he becomes legal — the first being hitting the clubs. The cut starts off with him being turned away at the door by a bouncer because he's too young. Wow goes on to proclaim that he's looking forward to hitting that age milestone when he'll be able to ride on his own clean rims, buy his own house and get a girlfriend who's older than him.
Other tracks off Unleashed include "The Don," where he raps with swagger ("He's the Don, the Dutch," Pharell Williams says on the hook) and "My Baby," where he comforts a broken-hearted friend.
June 18, 2003
BOW WOW BACKSTAGE TRL
Bow Wow during LeBron James, Bow Wow and Magic Johnson Visit MTV's "TRL" - June 18, 2003 at MTV Studios - Times Square in New York City, New York, United States.
June 18, 2003
MAGIC JOHNSON,BOW WOW AND LEBRON JAMES
Magic Johnson, Bow Wow, and LeBron James pose for a photo backstage during MTV's Total Request Live at the MTV Times Square Studios in New York City
June 18, 2003
BOW WOW LIVE AT TRL
Bow Wow appears on stage during MTV's Total Request Live at the MTV Times Square Studios in New York City.
June 24, 2003
THE 3RD ANNUAL BET AWARDS ARRIVALS
Bow Wow during The 3rd Annual BET Awards - Arrivals at The Kodak Theater in Hollywood, California, United States.
June 24, 2003
THE 3RD ANNUAL BET AWARDS SHOW
Bow Wow and Cedric The Entertainer introduce a montage of Earvin "Magic" Johnson's Career for Humanitarian Award.
June 24, 2003
BOW WOW BACKSTAGE
Bow Wow appears at the Smirnoff Ice Triple Black Lounge where Distinctive Assets gave gifts to the artists and celebrities attending the 3rd Annual BET Awards at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel complex in Hollywood, California.
July 9, 2003
BOW WOW HITS STORES WITH CLOTHING COLLECTION FOR LIL' BALLERS
Just in time for the back-to-school shoppers, Bow Wow's new Shago clothing line hits stores this week. The apparel is influenced by other rappers' menswear lines, such as P. Diddy's Sean John, but is designed for boys and features sizes ranging from 2 to 20, according to Bow Wow's spokesperson. Shago, which takes its moniker from letters in Bow Wow's real name, Shad Gregory Moss, includes three collections: Classic, Knight and Racing.
Several of the items, which are available at more than 150 department and specialty stores, including Macy's and Burdines, feature an SG logo or 87, the year the rapper was born. The Classic Collection includes jerseys, long-sleeved tees, sweaters, two-piece front-zip velour sweat suits, denim jeans, and jackets with patches and multicolor stitching. Navy and burgundy with white and gold trim pieces make up the more vintage Knight Collection, which includes T-shirts, sweat suits, hooded pullovers, letterman sweaters, fleece jackets and button-down woven shirts.
The Racing Collection is the sportiest of the three, featuring crew shirts accented with patches, khaki and stone cargo pants, gel-print T-shirts, sweat suits and a reversible quilted jacket.
Shago also offers a few accessories, including caps, backpacks and a sports bag.
When he's not chasing his fashion-mogul dreams, Bow Wow is rapping and acting. His third album, Unleashed, is due August 19, pushed back from July 22. Bow Wow's next movie, "Johnson Family Vacation," will hit theaters next spring.
August 11, 2003
BOW WOW UNLEASHED
As if the everyday stress of adolescence isn't enough, imagine going through it in the public eye. That's the challenge that faces Bow Wow.
Formerly known as Lil' Bow Wow, the 16-year-old Cleveland native tackles issues that affect many of today's teens on his third Columbia/Sony Urban Music (SUM) effort, "Unleashed."
"I'm still talking about girls, but I'm also talking about other things," Bow Wow says. "I got to cover a lot of true-life situations. We call the Neptunes-produced track ["The Don, The Dutch"] the '2Pac record' because it's so deep. There are things [in the song] that you don't [usually] hear Bow Wow talk about. It's really going to surprise some listeners."
Bow Wow feels his fans will go with him on his journey and not be alienated by the shift. "It's cool because [my fans] don't want me to be stuck on the same little stuff that I was talking about two or three years ago," he continues.
"I think they're sick of that. My fans have grown up with me, therefore I have to step it up when it comes to the topics I talk about. I can't still be talking about my Mickey Mouse -- that's old. I have to really touch on situations that are going on right now that they can relate to."
Due Aug. 19, "Unleashed" is Bow Wow's first set since his former producer/mentor Jermaine Dupri took his So So Def label to Arista. In addition to the Neptunes, producers on the album include Swizz Beatz and Lil Jon.
"I was going for a more mature sound this time," Bow Wow says. "I wanted to go back in [the studio] and do something that I hadn't done before. I had the opportunity to really buckle down and write on this album. I wrote 90% of it."
Bow Wow's 2000 debut, "Beware of Dog" (So So Def/Columbia), sold more than 2.6 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. His 2001 follow-up, "Doggy Bag" (So So Def/Columbia), has sold more than 1.1 million units.
The success of lead single "Let's Get Down," which features Cash Money Records' Baby and Jazze Pha, proves that his fan base is ready for more. The single is No. 15 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart and No. 30 on The Billboard Hot 100.
"I wanted something that was going to hit hard," Bow Wow says of the single. "I also wanted to do a song with Baby. Actually, Baby wasn't going to be on that song. He was supposed to be on another song, but he hopped on 'Let's Get Down' because he was feeling it. After that, everything just came together."
In addition to his successful recording career, Bow Wow has ventured into film. He made his debut last year in the basketball-themed family comedy "Like Mike." Among his upcoming film projects is "Johnsons' Family Vacation," starring labelmate Solange Knowles, Cedric the Entertainer, Steve Harvey and Vanessa Williams.
Prior to that film's release, Bow Wow will star with Will Smith in the Fat Cats-directed "Mr. President," and he begins shooting a sitcom for the WB in mid-September that may serve as a mid-season replacement. He has also launched a clothing line, geared toward 12- to 18-year-old males.
While Bow Wow's stock is rising in several media outlets, his focus is on promoting "Unleashed." He recently hit the road with Universal recording artist Lumidee and Disturbing Tha Peace/Capitol artist Chingy in support of the album with his Unleashed tour.
August 20, 2003
BOW WOW, PHARRELL AND THE NEPTUNES AT MTV TRL
Bow Wow with Pharrell Williams, in middle, and Chad Hugo of The Neptunes pose for a photo on stage during MTV's Total Request Live at the MTV Times Square Studios in New York City.
August 20, 2003
BOW WOW IN STORES APPEARANCE TO PROMOTE THE RELEASE OF HIS NEW CD "UNLEASHED"
Bow Wow in Store Appearance to Promote the Release of his New CD "Unleashed" at Best Buy at 86th and Lexington in New York City, New York, United States.
August 21, 2003
BACKSTAGE WITH BOW WOW AT HOT 97'S CONCERT
Bow Wow during Backstage with Bow Wow at HOT 97's Concert at Hudson River Park in New York City, New York, United States.
August 27, 2003
BOW WOW AND HILARY DUFF JOIN TEEN PEOPLE
Hilary Duff and Bow Wow Join Teen People to Celebrate New October Issue and Release of Their CDs in New York, New York, United States.
September 1, 2003
BOW WOW LIVE IN CONCERT
Bow Wow performs at the Arie Crown Theater in Chicago, Illinois.
October 4, 2003
NICKELODEON CELEBRATES LETS JUST PLAY CAMPAIGN
Bow Wow during Nickelodeon Celebrates Lets Just Play Campaign at Nickelodeon Studios On Sunset in Hollywood, CA, United States.
October 18, 2003
BOW WOW LIVE IN ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS, EUROPE
Bow Wow live in Ahoy Rotterdam.
November 1, 2003
BOW WOW SHOOTS
Bow Wow shoots at the NBA Entertainment Celebrity Game November 1, 2003 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
November 13, 2003
BOW WOW "UNLEASHED" AT MANDALAY BAY PRESENTED BY PEPSI
Bow Wow visits local radio stations to promote his meet and greet and concert at the House of Blues Las Vegas.
November 13, 2003
BOW WOW "UNLEASHED" AT MANDALAY BAY PRESENTED BY PEPSI
Bow Wow greets and signs autographs for fans from the "Make A Wish Foundation" who had a private dinner with him a the House Of Blues."
November 13, 2003
BOW WOW "UNLEASHED" AT MANDALAY BAY PRESENTED BY PEPSI
Bow Wow rehearses for his concert for VIP's and National Contest Winners at the House of Blues Las Vegas.
November 13, 2003
BOW WOW LIVE AT MANDALAY BAY PRESENTED BY PEPSI
Bow Wow perform at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
November 13, 2003
BOW WOW LIVE IN CONCERT
Bow Wow performs for VIP's and National Contest Winners at the House of Blues Las Vegas.
November 16, 2003
31ST ANNUAL AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS ARRIVALS
Bow Wow attends the 31st Annual American Music Awards at The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California.
November 16, 2003
31ST ANNUAL AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS SHOW
Bow Wow and Nick Cannon present the award for Favorite Female Hip Hop Artist
December 19, 2003
WGCI BIG JAM IN CHICAGO
Bow Wow performs at the WGCI Big Jam at the United Center in Chicago, Il.
