Why Bow Wow Is One of many Most Essential Artists of the Millennium
Shad Moss aka Bow Wow is a legend, and his significance within the 2000s paved the best way for a lot of who got here after him. He created a uncommon blueprint that helped outline an period and demonstrated how an artist with a number of skills can thrive and create success.
He was launched to the world through the long-lasting Arsenio Corridor Present on the age of six. This younger Black little one from Ohio captured the world’s consideration together with his efficiency and, in some ways, was a foreshadowing of what the long run held.
That future started to take form when legendary producer Jermaine Dupri took Bow Wow below his wing in Atlanta. This partnership helped launch a cultural reset. Dupri molded Bow Wow into the artist he turned—making a sound and serving to him construct a persona. That method turned a lane for a lot of younger artists to enter the mainstream and make an influence.
Bow Wow’s rise aligned with Atlanta’s ascent because the epicenter of Black music—a place as soon as firmly held by New York and Los Angeles. He helped outline the sound and the vibe of the period. His debut album, Watch out for Canine, went multi-platinum and opened the door for a era of Southern artists. Dupri’s label, So So Def, led the cost with the likes of Kris Kross, whom he found at a mall, and Da Brat—with Bow Wow holding the highest spot.
Bow Wow transitioned into Hollywood extra easily than most after establishing a large fan base in music. His movies—Like Mike, Roll Bounce and Lottery Ticket—created a lane that didn’t exist on the time for younger Black males. He was a chart-topping rapper and a box-office draw who helped normalize the rapper-turned-actor trajectory.
As with many within the highlight, Bow Wow had his private life on full show. His relationships with Ciara and Angela Simmons typically overshadowed his profession and gave the world a front-row seat to what it meant to develop up a famous person within the 2000s. In some ways, he was one of many first rappers to expertise the hyper-visibility that younger stars face within the social media age.
Certain, there have been a couple of cornball moments. Some profession decisions didn’t land, and some on-line incidents turned him right into a meme—like his public beef with Soulja Boy or the notorious pretend personal jet put up. However who hasn’t made questionable decisions?
By all of it, Bow Wow’s influence is plain. Bow Wow is the face of the Millennium. The Millennium Tour exists due to him. Each act on that stage—whether or not it’s Omarion, Trey Songz or B2K—owes a debt to him.
He made teenage superstardom worthwhile. He made crossover success look straightforward. And he proved that younger Black artists might dominate each house they entered.
Give it up for Shad Moss, aka Bow Wow—one of the crucial essential artists of the Millennium.