Shad Gregory Moss , formerly known as Lil' Bow Wow (born 9 March 1987 , Columbus, Ohio ) is an African American rapper , actor , and music producer .

Biography

Bow Wow was born in Akron, Ohio to Teresa and Junie Moss. Junie left the family and his mother worked three jobs to care for him. Teresa later married Rodney Caldwell, and Bow Wow has a half brother Reginald Washington two step-siblings, Jonnaie and Jasarah. Bow Wow was raised, and attended school, in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, a small city in the Columbus metropolitan area, until his rap career took off.

At age five, he started his career in rap using the moniker "Kid Gangsta". One year later, in 1993, he performed at a Chronic tour in Columbus, and was noted by rapper Snoop Dogg and rapper Dr. Dre, who subsequently gave him a stage name, "Lil' Bow Wow". Dr. Dre later hired him as an opening act, officially gaining him a spot on the Death Row Records roster. "Lil' Bow Wow" then appeared on a skit on Snoop's debut Doggystyle.

In 1998 at the age of eleven, Bow Wow was introduced to record producer Jermaine Dupri, who helped shape his career.

Beware of Dog

At the age of 13, he released his debut album, Beware of Dog. It features Snoop Dogg, Jagged Edge, Jermaine Dupri, Xscape, Da Brat, & many more. It spawned the singles, "Bounce With Me", "Bow Wow (That's My Name)" featuring Snoop Dogg, "Puppy Love" with Jagged Edge, & Ghetto Girls". It was certified triple platinum and debuted at #8.

Doggy Bag

In 2001, he released his second album, Doggy Bag. It spawned the singles, "Take Ya Home" with Jagged Edge, and "Thank You". It went certified double platinum. Guest appearances include Xscape, Jagged Edge, Da Brat, and more.

Unleashed

In 2003, he released his third album, Unleashed. He wanted to drop the "Lil" out of his name and called himself, "Bow Wow". The first single off the album was "Let's Get Down", featuring Baby[Bird Man], the founder of Cash Money Records. This single became a success. Then he released his second single, "My Baby", featuring Jagged Edge. Unlike his previous albums, he doesn't feature the mentorship of Jermaine Dupri. This album only went gold. Guest appearances include Jagged Edge, Baby, Mario, & Amerie.

Wanted

In 2005, Bow Wow released his fourth album, Wanted. The first single was "Let Me Hold You", featuring Omarion. This song became a hit. Then Bow Wow released his second single, "Like You", featuring Ciara. After the single release, Bow Wow and Ciara began dating, but after a few months, they broke up. Then he released his third single, "Fresh Azimiz", which features J-Kwon & Jermaine Dupri. The album was certified double platinum. Guest appearances include J-Kwon, Jermaine Dupri, Omarion, Ciara, Snoop Dogg, & T. Waters.

The Price of Fame

In 2006, Bow Wow released his fifth album, The Price of Fame. Like Busta Rhymes & Ludacris, Bow Wow shaved off his cornrows for a new look. His first single was "Shortie Like Mine", featuring Chris Brown. This became a hit. Then there was a conflict between choosing a second single. He wanted "I'm a Flirt" to be the single, but at the last minute changed it to "Outta My System", featuring T-Pain, which became a success. R. Kelly then used the song and created a remix which features T.I. & T-Pain and made this his debut single for his album Double Up. This reached #12 on the billboard chart and Bow Wow shared credit. This went platinum only. Guest appearances include Chris Brown, T-Pain, Lil Scrappy, Lil Wayne, Short Dawg, Pimp C, Da Brat, R. Kelly, & Khleo Thomas.

Face Off

Bow Wow decided that he and Omarion wanted to release a collaborative album called "Face Off". It would be released December 11, 2007. There are no guest appearances on it. The first single is "Girlfriend", which peaked at #46 on the Billboard Top 100. Guest producers would include T-Pain, Nitti, The Neptunes, Scott Storch, Timbaland, & Rick Rubin.