Bow Wow Biography

Shad Gregory Moss, known professionally as Bow Wow, is an American rapper and actor born on March 9, 1987, in Columbus, Ohio. He began his rap career at a young age, performing at a concert in Los Angeles in 1993, where he was noticed by rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg. Snoop Dogg subsequently gave him the stage name "Lil' Bow Wow."

Bow Wow met record producer Jermaine Dupri in 1998, who helped shape his career. In 2000, at the age of 13, he debuted with the album Beware of Dog under the stage name Lil' Bow Wow. The album was a commercial success, and its debut single, "Bounce with Me," featuring R&B girl group Xscape, became a Top 20 hit. The album also included "Bow Wow (That's My Name)" featuring Snoop Dogg, which topped the rap chart.

In addition to his music career, Bow Wow has also found success in acting. He made his film debut in 2002 with a cameo in All About the Benjamins and went on to star in the lead role of the sports comedy film Like Mike. He later appeared in films such as Johnson Family Vacation, Roll Bounce, and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.

Bow Wow released several albums throughout his career, including Doggy Bag, Unleashed, Wanted, and The Price of Fame. His fourth album, Wanted, spawned the singles "Let Me Hold You" and "Like You," which peaked at numbers four and three on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. He has also collaborated with other artists, including Omarion, Ciara, and Chris Brown.

In recent years, Bow Wow has continued to work in the entertainment industry. He competed in the third season of The Masked Singer as "Frog" and finished in third place. He also headlined The Millennium Tour in 2020, 2021, and 2022. In 2021, he reprised his role in the film F9, and in 2024, he teased the release of his final album, Before 30.

Bow Wow officially announced his retirement from rapping in 2016, stating that he would release one more album. He has since released a joint retail mixtape with Soulja Boy titled Ignorant Shit and has been working on his final album.