Bow Wow Albums (7)
What The Critics Say
Not that Bow Wow wasn't gradually working his way toward it, but on New Jack City II, the MC, now 22 years old, makes like a younger and slightly cleaner T.I. However, Bow Wow doesn't merely project the kind of smooth toughness/tough smoothness exuded by his obvious inspiration. There are moments where the album sounds exactly like an attempted cloning, as heard in the kicked-back yet insolent flow throughout the opening "Get That Paper," and it even appears that way, as seen in the video for "You Can Get It All," from the mannerisms to choice of eyewear. Though Bow Wow drops a litany of curses from track to track and has transitioned from "Hey Little Momma" to "Pole in My Basement," New Jack City II is nonetheless within the domain of pop-rap, laced with candy-coated hooks and beats that are easy on the ears. Jermaine Dupri's long-running tradition of supplying Bow Wow with productions built on very easily identifiable sources continues (Rick James' "Big Time," TLC's "Baby-Baby-Baby," Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walking," Slick Rick's "La Di Da Di," Bobby Brown's "Roni"), and Swizz Beatz, oddly credited as "Swizz Beatsz," provides a typically noisy and purposefully obnoxious production for the closer, one of Bow Wow's toughest tracks yet. Some of these developments come off a little forced, but Bow Wow knew he had to abandon the PG material or risk irrelevance. It should pay off, yet it has no apparent effect on his output's quality level. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Omarion, coming off a number one album, and Bow Wow, coming off a Top Ten album -- both of which were released in late December 2006 and varied drastically in quality, with O's 21 wailing all over The Price of Fame, teamed up for a December 2007 release, Face Off. Being a collaborative album between a singer and a rapper, comparisons to R. Kelly and Jay-Z's Best of Both Worlds and Unfinished Business are bound to be drawn. It's better than both of those releases, which isn't saying much at all, but it can be sensed throughout that O and Bow Wow, who have come up together, had a lot of fun goofing off and bouncing ideas off one another -- as opposed to the R. Kelly/Jay-Z affairs, in which those two giants were basically going through the motions. That said, not many of Face Off's tracks are bound to be considered among either artist's best work. In stretches, it's perfectly entertaining, yet most of it goes in one ear and out the other, not leaving much in the memory. Exceptions include "He Ain't Gotta Know," co-written and produced by T-Pain (with none of T-Pain's polarizing tics in place), and a couple of the lighter Omarion showcases, like "Girlfriend" and "Can't Get Tired of Me." The lousiest of the bunch is the "Going Back to Cali" knock-off "Hey Baby (Jump Off)," a low point that might actually have more in common with the Fat Boys' "Wipe Out." It'll probably be the album's biggest hit. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Bow Wow's 2006 effort was supposed to be his "edgy" album and according to the man himself in pre-release interviews, maybe his last album, but on the title cut he declares he'll stay with game because he's "addicted to the cream." This is just one example of the identity crisis Price of Fame suffers from since it isn't really "edgy" either. There are hardcore poses, somewhat sensual tracks that might have mom and dad running into the room, and a couple thug songs that paint the star of Like Mike as a real G. Still, even if there's a guest artist by the name of Cocaine J, all of the hard stuff is undermined by pulled punches and editing of the cuss words when there's no "Parental Advisory" version available. Price of Fame can't decide if it wants to be the now-19-year-old Bow Wow's first street record or last teen record -- the same straddling as found on his much better, 2005 effort Wanted -- but it also tries to jump on the Southern hip-hop bandwagon with the tired "4 Corners" which features some seriously thin beats and scratching. Saving the album from being a disaster are two perfectly acceptable singles; "Shortie Like Mine" which swaggers with a great hook, and the bonus cut "I'm a Flirt" with R. Kelly and Bow Weezy jackin' for chicks." Running a close third is the soul-searching "Tell Me" which is a good argument Bow Wow is ready to take on more mature material and might even come up with something astonishing. Mentor Jermaine Dupri's beats are just so-so on the abundant filler and the guest artists -- Lil Wayne, Pimp C, Chris Brown, and so on -- don't really offer anything substantial, so if you don't have a poster of Bow Wow in your locker, check the singles and skip the album. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Bow Wow comes back to the house of Jermaine Dupri for Wanted, an album that's solid but not stunning. With Dupri in the producer's chair for every song save one, Wanted is a So So Def release in every way but officially. There's that good old partying and swaggering that made So So Def great, but little of the glitz. For a rapper not known for knocking 'em dead with his lyrics, this could be a problem. Fortunately, Bow Wow gets by on his charisma, cool, and choruses, which are extremely catchy. Even though the album plays off its title too much -- pretending that Bow Wow is a much bigger star in 2005 than he really is -- it's hard not to appreciate how this scrappy rapper keeps things interesting despite the B-level beats. "Do You" is a "Return of the Mack"-type number that really blows Bow Wow's popularity out of proportion, but it's made for the tweenies and teens who have the rapper's Right On! pinup in their lockers. Everything else here works on a more adult level, often very well. "Let Me Hold You" with Omarion and "Like You" with Ciara are sensual highlights, and "B.O.W." is a surprisingly skeletal number that finds BW bringing it with nothing but a sparse drumbeat to support him. Snoop collectors need not worry about obtaining his minimal appearance here, and there's really nothing necessary enough to push this to anyone but the So So Def and/or Bow Wow faithful. Perhaps Dupri and Bow Wow think this stark production boosts the rapper's thug factor, but he's a pop thug who doesn't swear much and he never claims to be carrying any heat. At the very least, it's an interesting way to develop a child star into an adult star, and a hook-filled one at that. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
A lot more changed for Bow Wow between his second and third albums (Doggy Bag and Unleashed, respectively) than his name. The formerly "lil" rapper starred in a Hollywood film, Like Mike (2002), and changed labels, leaving behind the hitmaking expertise of Jermaine Dupri and So So Def Records for the free-range pastures of Columbia Records. Moreover, the teenage rapper's voice changed noticeably and he decided to project a more grown-up attitude. He also changed his musical style -- while Doggy Bag had been a grab bag of pop-rap interpolations (appropriating everything from New Edition to the Cars), Unleashed lets loose esteemed contemporary rap producers like Swizz Beatz, Jazzy Pha, and Lil Jon. The result is unsurprisingly a very contemporary-sounding album, for better or worse. Bow Wow certainly no longer sounds like the pop-rapper that he began as, now that he's rapping alongside Baby from the Big Tymers on "Let's Get Down" and spitting tough game over DMX-worthy Ruff Ryder beats on "Get It Poppin'." But that candy-coated pop-ness was what had made Bow Wow so novel in the first place -- "Bounce Wit Me" certainly wouldn't have sounded as fun as it did without a kid rapping it, nor would "Take Ya Home" have sounded so adorable had a thug-pimp rapped it. That's the dilemma faced by Bow Wow and company on Unleashed: retain the kid-rap novelty (which can only be done for so long) or succumb to genre (which is inevitable). Curiously, Unleashed wants to have it both ways. The gratuitous sex, drugs, violence, and profanity that characterize most popular rap is largely absent, yet so are the "lil" aspects that made Bow Wow so darn cute in the first place. So, what you get are songs like "Let's Get Down," which is kid-code for "Let's Get It On," and songs like "Hey Little Momma," which is a PG-rated version of Cam'ron's similarly themed (yet far more explicit) hit from the year before, "Hey Ma." For sure, Unleashed is a transitional album for Bow Wow, yet it's a satisfying one -- and an interesting one at that, as you get to hear the superstar teen carefully walk the fine line between teen pop (à la the Jackson 5) and the streets (à la 50 Cent). ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Lil Bow Wow's second album, Doggy Bag, banks on the pop-rap success of the So So Def upstart's debut album, Beware of Dog (2000). Producer/songwriters Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox are once again at the helm, and in the tradition of pop-rap, they rely primarily on past hits for their ideas. For example, the album intro, "We Want Weezy," is an interpolation of the Bootsy Collins classic (already interpolated once by Dr. Dre and Eazy-E); the lead single, "Thank You," prominently samples the Cars; "Up in Here" is a rehash of DMX's recent hit "Party Up (Up in Here)"; "All I Know" interpolates New Edition's "Candy Girl"; and so on. If you enjoy pop-rap at its most obvious, Doggy Bag is a lot of fun, even though it's an awfully brief album, featuring only nine actual songs (if you don't count the intro and interludes). Thankfully those nine songs all have their charms. A special mention should be made for "Take Ya Home," which is produced by the Neptunes rather than Dupri/Cox and is the highlight of the album. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
So So Def mastermind Jermaine Dupri and his production/songwriting counterpart Bryan-Michael Cox collaborated with 13-year-old Lil Bow Wow for Beware of Dog, an endearing album graced with several pop-rap gems. The lead single, "Bounce with Me," is the best of the bunch, a feel-good rap song that's refreshingly PG-rated. "Bow Wow (That's My Name)" is another clear highlight, an enjoyable song featuring Snoop Dogg. Also refreshingly PG-rated is "Ghetto Girls," a ballad with good intentions. It's questionable whether Lil Bow Wow wrote his own rhymes for Beware of Dog (one suspects not). All the same, there's no denying the charm and vocal dexterity of Lil Bow Wow, who proves himself genuinely talented, if not exactly a prodigy. He's pretty cute, too. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
