Beware The Dog: The Story of Bow Wow’s Death Row Days

By Erich ‘Sermon’ Donaldson (@SermonsDomain)

There was a time where Bow Wow was everywhere. A 13-year-old rapper wasn’t too common, and Jermaine Dupri made it work. He saw the vision in the young Columbus, Ohio native and turned him into a star. Bow’s debut album, Beware The Dog, is certified double platinum. It was the introduction to the world as songs like “Bounce With Me” and “Bow Wow (That’s My Name),” featuring Snoop Dogg, became hits. This was the path that Lil Bow Wow ended up on, but imagine if he took a different journey on a less of a kid friendly record label and never got introduced to Jermaine Dupri.

In 1993, Shad Moss attended a Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg concert in his hometown. The duo asked for people to come up on stage, and Shad’s mother’s boyfriend raised his hand. Shad, however, didn’t want to go up despite being a performer already and having won talent shows under the name Kid Gangsta. He would tell Vibe magazine in 2000 that he “got up there and did his thing.” A Billboard article from the same year says that Shad freestyled for the sold out crowd and impressed Snoop enough to be invited backstage after the show.

Backstage, Lil Bow Wow was born. Snoop Dogg, who gave him the name, invited him on the rest of the tour. Several reports over the years say he was signed to Death Row, but…