Reconsider

A while ago Fuji blogged about a fake Lil Bow Wow autograph. Fuji mustered up a throw away line about how Lil Bow Wow was a reference in a Fat Joe song, meanwhile I straight up called his music trash.

Reason being that I just do not like the Jermaine Dupri/2000's era of mainstream hip hop. That post-Ma$e era "bling hop" that didn't know if it wanted to be hip hop or R&B was always really boring sludge to me. Outside of Dipset, Eminem and G-Unit (read: Lloyd Banks) I tuned out of mainstream hip hop and became the backpacker who'd talk your ear off about the latest MF Doom or Jedi Mind Tricks album no one listened to for pretty much the entirety of the 2000's.

That said, it took a while for me to remember that Lil Bow Wow did have some gems in his discography. Mainly from when he was five years old.

See, the thing is that Lil Bow Wow was a Death Row Records affiliate when he was barely in kindergarten. Yes, the record label that brought you Dr. Dre's The Chronic, Snoop Doggy Dogg's Doggystyle, 2Pac's All Eyez On Me, Tha Dogg Pound's Dogg Food, etc... He was right there in the beginning when Dr. Dre was still feuding with Eazy-E. He kinda goes into it for a little bit in the track above (which is alright).

The thought of a five year old Lil Bow Wow hanging around that record label is funny and interesting, and extremely horrifying when you recall how Suge Knight allegedly ran the place.

Still, the proof is right there. In the past decade or so some of Lil Bow Wow's work with Death Row has slowly started to surface. Like this track "After 3" which was allegedly supposed to be on the Murder Was The Case soundtrack but shelved for years.

I don't know if it's because of the tight 90's G-Funk era production or if it's just because I appreciate hearing Kurupt and CPO Boss Hogg in their prime but this track slaps. It's better than any of the So So Def era Bow Wow.

There's also this track Dave, which is essentially a rerecording of an early Snoop Dogg demo from before he was signed to Death Row. For a five year old whose voice is still more cutesy than it is hard, his flow is pretty refined. Shame it got worse.

I'd also be remiss if I didn't bring up Lil Bow Wow's appearance on the Arsenio Hall.

I think there's probably an alternate universe where Lil Bow Wow's career really did start with Death Row Records and it made for a interesting but weird (hopefully not tragic) story. In that world he's probably taken a lot more seriously than he is in ours where he's a walking punchline as a starlet who had no business singing about what he was signing about. Although to be fair he had no business rapping about what he was rapping about either.

That world is also probably the one where the Dr. Dre and Ice Cube joint album Helter Skelter actually got released as well as Dr. Dre's second album The Chronic 2: Papa's Got A Brand New Funk. and the MC Hammer and 2Pac joint album Too Tight. All of these are confirmed projects we were robbed of.

Anyway on a final note it's worth mentioning that Lil Bow Wow wasn't the only kid hanging around one of the most "dangerous" record labels at the time. Lil Malik (aka Mr. Malik or Lil Hershey Loc) was around during that similar time period. He was older than Lil Bow Wow but still a kid.

Some might know him as the kid who absolutely destroyed the beat on Pump Pump on Snoop's debut album Doggystyle.

He also has a recently surfaced unreleased gem from the Death Row vaults.

Personally I know Lil Malik as one half of the duo behind Illegal, the more "gangsta" version of a hip hop kid duo who really took a ton of shots aimed at Kris Kross. The other rapper Jamal would have his own interesting career both solo and with the New York city hip hop supergroup Def Squad.

So yeah I was wrong, Lil Bow Wow's material wasn't trash. It was just that everything he made after 1998 was.

As always thanks for stopping by and take care.