Background and career
Shad Gregory Moss (born March 9, 1987), better known by his stage name Bow Wow (formerly Lil' Bow Wow), is an American rapper and actor. His career began upon being discovered by rapper Snoop Dogg in 1993 at the age of six; five years later, he signed with record producer Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings, an imprint of Columbia Records. As Lil' Bow Wow, his debut studio album, Beware of Dog (2000), was released at the age of 13, and followed by his second album, Doggy Bag (2001). Both commercial successes, the albums peaked at numbers 8 and 11 on the Billboard 200, respectively. Moss then parted ways with So So Def and signed with its parent label, Columbia Records, to release his third album, Unleashed (2003). It peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and was his first release after dropping "Lil'" from his stage name. His fourth album, Wanted (2005), spawned the singles "Let Me Hold You" (featuring Omarion) and "Like You" (featuring Ciara), which peaked at numbers four and three on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively, and remain his highest-charting songs.
His 2006 single, "Shortie Like Mine" (featuring Chris Brown and Johntá Austin), peaked within the chart's top ten and preceded the release of his fifth album, The Price of Fame (2006). His sixth, New Jack City II (2009), was met with trailing critical and commercial response, serving as his final album on a major label. He briefly signed with Birdman's Cash Money Records in 2009 to release a series of promotional singles—including "Ain't Thinkin' 'Bout You" (featuring Chris Brown) and "Sweat" (featuring Lil Wayne)—for his seventh album Underrated, which remains unreleased. He then signed with Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records in 2015, and again released no projects with the label. Moss first appeared in the 2002 film All About the Benjamins as a cameo. That same year, Moss was cast in the lead role for the sports comedy film, Like Mike. He later starred in the films Johnson Family Vacation in 2004 and Roll Bounce in 2005. He played a supporting role in the film The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift in 2006, a character he reprised in F9 (2021).
Moss appeared in five episodes of the television series Entourage, and starred as Brody Nelson in CSI: Cyber until the show's 2016 cancellation.
1987–2001: Early life and Beware of Dog Bow Wow was born Shad Gregory Moss in Columbus, Ohio, the son of Teresa Rena Caldwell (née Jones) and Alfonso Preston Moss. At age three, he became interested in rap. Under the moniker "Kid Gangsta", he began rapping recreationally at age six; he was also a fan of N.W.A at that age. In 1993, he performed at a concert in Los Angeles, and was noticed by rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg, who subsequently gave him a stage name, "Lil' Bow Wow". He then appeared on the Doggystyle album on the track, "Gz and Hustlas", and on The Arsenio Hall Show in late 1993. He also appeared in the "Gin and Juice" music video. Furthermore, he was supposed to appear on the Murder Was the Case soundtrack with the song "After 3", featuring Kurupt, Jewell, and CPO Boss Hogg, but it remained in the vault until the early 2010s. In 1998, at the age of eleven, Bow Wow met record producer Jermaine Dupri, who helped shape his career. In 1999, the soundtrack to the movie Wild Wild West featured his song "Stick Up" with Dupri.
How Bow Wow makes money
His career began upon being discovered by rapper Snoop Dogg in 1993 at the age of six; five years later, he signed with record producer Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings, an imprint of Columbia Records. Moss then parted ways with So So Def and signed with its parent label, Columbia Records, to release his third album, Unleashed (2003).
