Shad Gregory Moss, better known by his stage name Bow Wow (formerly known as Lil’ Bow Wow), is an American rapper and actor. He was born on March 9, 1987. Late 1990s rapper Snoop Dogg helped launch his career when he introduced him to song producer Jermaine Dupri and got him signed to So So Def Records. Beware of Dog, his debut album as Lil’ Bow Wow, was released in 2000 when he was just 13 years old. Doggie Bag followed a year later.
Unleashed, Bow Wow’s third album, was the first one to be published after he dropped the “Lil’” from his stage name and the first one not to be distributed by So So Def. It was released in 2003. His two highest-charting songs, “Let Me Hold You” (with Omarion) and “Like You,” came from his subsequent album, Desired (2005). (featuring Ciara). Bow Wow and Puff Daddy’s Bad Boy Records signed a management agreement in September 2015.
In the 2002 film All About the Benjamins, Bow Wow made his debut as a cameo. Bow Wow made his acting debut in the same year, playing the lead in Like Mike. Afterward, he started playing the lead in films, including Johnson Family Vacation in 2004 and Roll Bounce in 2005. Moreover, he appeared in a supporting role in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift in 2006, playing the same position in F9 (2021). In addition, Bow Wow made five appearances in the television show Entourage and as Brody Nelson in CSI: Cyber from its premiere in 2013 until the program’s discontinuation in 2016.