Bow Wow

It’s hard right now for Bow Wow to call any place home. The writing and recording, touring, acting and charity work seem to have him constantly hop-scotching about the United States. Little wonder, then, that when the rapper slips onto the phone he sounds exhausted. “I’m a New York right now. I just got in from Amsterdam yesterday,” he explains with the air of a man still deep in the decompression zone. “I will be in New York for, like, the next month. I’m actually filming my brand new movie here, so I’ll be here for a little while.”

The acting bug has bitten hard for Bow Wow. He may have just completed a successful month-long tour of Europe, but his name is increasingly being found atop a different type of marquee. “I love working in film. I love ’em both but acting is definitely… let’s just say I could see myself doing more acting in the future than music. It’s peaceful, less stressful, I’m at ease when I’m doing it, and I just have a passion for it. I love it. It’s challenging and I love challenges, and I just respect the craft a lot.”

It’s all a long way from how it started for Shad Gregory Moss. Born in Columbus, Ohio in 1987, Moss latched onto rap music when he was just three years old and by age six was already performing recreationally under the moniker Kid Gangsta. In 1993, he appeared at a concert in Los Angeles and was noticed by Snoop Dogg, who subsequently christened him Li l’ Bow Wow. A few months later and Lil’ Bow Wow earned his stripes by appearing on Snoop’s seminal record, Doggystyle, an experience that he can now only vaguely remember. “Just being in the booth, and Snoop and them telling me to, ‘Say it like this. Say it like that,'” he laughs.

Bow Wow’s now a little ambivalent when he looks back on that early start, sometimes unsure of whether the experience has prematurely jaundiced his own career outlook, or if it was simply a case of getting head start in the rap game. “I mean, yeah, sometimes I feel like I’ve been there and done that, because I’ve done it multiple times, you know? And once you win four or five championships you get used to being a champion and it’s all great. That’s how I’ve been pretty much my whole career. But when I look back over it I feel blessed and feel like I’ve accomplished more than what a lot of artists have accomplished in a lifetime. On top of that, I’ve been able to travel around the world and do my thing all over, so that right there is enough for me, if anything.”

Regardless of how he views his own rap career up to this point and the ever encroaching demands of his film work, Bow Wow is still busy writing new material and remains in high demand for his notoriously energetic live performances. Chuck D noted recently how hip hop is a performance art that has gotten away from the passion and necessity of performance, something which could never be levelled at Bow Wow.

“It’s important for me to put together a compelling live show every time I take the stage,” he explains. “Yes, it’s very important, very important, because, you know, it might be someone’s first time seeing me live and you always want to leave a great impression. And it might even be a person’s first concert, so I always go hard. Every concert I have, I always go hard.”

This autumn Australia will get its first taste of the Bow Wow live show when the rapper makes it to local shores for Supafest 2011. He joins an all-star bill, which includes Busta Rhymes, Timbaland and Nelly, as well as his own early career mentor, Snoop Dogg. “This will be my first time so I can’t wait to get to Australia! It’s been a long time coming and I definitely can’t wait. I’m really looking forward to it. Man, it’s going to be all about entertainment. Just entertainment to the full capacity. Just a lot of high energy and I swear to god, once you see the whole entire show I will stand out from any other artist on the show, trust me.”

Bow Wow [US] performs at Supafest with Snoop Dogg [US], Nelly [US] and more on Sunday April 17 at the Melbourne Showgrounds.