You know him well… we all do.
His name is Shad “Bow Wow” Moss, and he is confident. So confident
that he could make the average soul uncomfortable. Don’t be…
Bow Wow is humbled. You could even say that he’s a little scared.
To a young man which had his career laid out for him since the age of
5, 2010 and beyond could be his great unknown.
Alas, 2010 marks the 10 Year Anniversary
of his debut album Beware of Dog. Yet there is an aura Bow Wow
gave off; 6 albums, 8 movies to his credits, and 2010 is only the beginning?
In his voice, the answer was yes. And the beginning is August 20th
when Lottery Ticket arrives at theaters across the country.
Part 1 of our Lottery Ticket feature
gave us total access and unfiltered perspectives to Cube Vision’s
visionary, Ice Cube.
Part 2 delivers on an extremely vocal leading man,ready to put the ‘boy’ behind him. Bow Wow talks about his preparation
for the role of Kevin Carson, his respect for the leading lady Naturi
Naughton, and the Ambassador of his next album.
AllHipHop.com:
Take us back to when you were approached about
‘Lottery Ticket’. Was the role of Kevin yours from the very start?
Bow Wow: My agent called me. Told me
that there was this project pending. They wanted to get me over to the
office for a meeting. I met with Erik White. I was familiar with from
his music video directing. Erik told me that if I’m going to do this
movie that he needed me attached to the Kevin role. He said, “When
I think Kevin, I think you.” I remember taking that long flight back
to Miami, reading the script. And by the time I landed, I was in. We
contacted Erik and from there, all the dominoes were put into place.
Here comes (Ice) Cube, here comes (Mike) Epps, here comes Charlie (Murphy)
and here comes Loretta (Devine). The momentum kept growing. From day
1, I knew that this would be a home run for us. I’m just excited to
be on board.
AllHipHop.com:
In which ways have you prepared for this role?
Bow Wow: I watched a lot of movies.
I’ve watched “Juice”, one of my favorite movies. Watching Tupac,
watching ‘Bishop’ and ‘Q’, the roof scene and all that. I needed
all of that as far as the moods of the movie. And you can tell. I wanted
to show people that on screen. We’ve watched a lot of duo movies like
“The Pineapple Express”, “Bad Boys”, and of coarse we’ve watched
“Friday”. We wanted to watch some of the greats. We’ve taken bits
and pieces from every movie. And it helped us out a lot.
AllHipHop.com:
Talk about one of the goals you’ve set for yourself in taking on this
role.
Bow Wow: I just wanted to nail it.
I wanted to show the audience that this is not the rapper, that is the
actor. I wanted people to believe it. And so far, so good. People are
telling me that it’s believable and that it’s a good film. I put
all of my all into this. I shut down my schedule for two and a half
months. It was a dream come true working with Cube and Mike. I didn’t
want to let anybody down.
AllHipHop.com:
I talked to Ice Cube the other day about the climatic scene of the movie,
the moment between you and Brandon T. Jackson. Cube said he received
a call once you were done taping the scene and he was told that you
and Brandon nailed it. Without giving too much about the scene, what
was it like working with Brandon and talk about what went into
it.
Bow Wow: There was really no preparation
for that particular scene. That was the first scene of the morning.
Brandon and I were laughing and joking. But when they called out, “Action”,
we ripped it. To me, when you’re acting, you’re trying. I become
the character. If you become the character, you could be doing anything
at the time someone yells, “Action”, and you’re back in character.
That’s how it works for me. Brandon and I just tapped into the moment.
And when we heard, “Cut”, we were back having fun. I was back tweeting
to my fans.
AllHipHop.com:
The leading lady for the film is the lovely
Naturi Naughton. What have your learned from and about one another while
working on Lottery Ticket?
Bow Wow: It was very easy working with
Naturi. We both started our music careers around the same time (Naturi
with 3LW). I remember being on tour in London early on in my career
with them. It’s funny how God works. I never would’ve imagined that
we’d be working together after all these years. She held her own in
this movie. She has so much experience. She pays a lot of attention
to detail, wanting to make sure that every scene is perfect. She’s
very dedicated to the craft. I can really work with an actress like
that. She made my job easier. I have eight films under my belt, as well
as the Tyler Perry film that I’m shooting right now. I learned from
Naturi. She didn’t need any advice.
AllHipHop.com: Is the Tyler Perry
movie you’re speaking of “Big Happy Family”?
Bow Wow: Correct. I’ll have the pleasure
of working with Loretta Devine once more. It’s another huge cast.
I’m very excited about how my acting career is taking off. I am taking
on all challenges coming my way. The pressure of carrying a Cube Vision
film on my shoulders to working with Tyler Perry; man, skies the limit
for me. No telling what’s going to happen next.
AllHipHop.com:
You grew up in front of millions of people. And with that comes advice
from all directions. Everybody seems to know what’s best for Bow Wow.
What is some of the best advice you’ve received and maybe some advice
you’ve ignored over the years.
Bow Wow: I don’t mean to sound stubborn
or anything like that, I’m not to fond of taking career advice. I
am fine with personal life advice. As far as the business, there’s
nothing that no one can tell me; I’ve been doing this since 5. I’ve
been fortunate enough to have amazing mentors like Snoop and Jermaine
Dupri, now I have Baby as a mentor. These are guys that I have been
around my entire career. This is why I don’t have to ask about anything.
When you have greatness around you, you never have to ask for advice.
The only time I ask for advice is when it’s personal. Otherwise, I
hold my own.
AllHipHop.com: So how is everything
coming along with Cash Money? Any albums or
mixtapes slated to drop in between your movie endeavors?
Bow Wow: It’s simple, I’m moving
in any direction that God wants me to move. This Hollywood thing is
taking off for me right now. And it’s scary because I don’t have
as much time as I once had to get into the studio. But I’m writing
and I do have the “Green Light Mixtape” dropping on August 22, 2010.
It’s all about making sure that it’s the right moment. I’m bringing
in Jadakiss as the ambassador of my album. I’ve decided to bring him
on because I know Kiss. We’re close. I remember going to Yonkers for
a basketball event that he had. He brought me to the hood and we hung
out. There are some personal things that he knows about me. One of my
closest friends is from Yonkers. And when he went away, I held him down.
When Kiss heard about that, he gained even more respect for me. He hadn’t
a clue of how loyal I am. So that brought us closer. I said to him that
it would be a blessing to have him in the studio while I was working
on my new album, to just push me. This is what I meant by bringing him
on as the ambassador for the next album. I wanted to have someone on
my side with a true respect for Hip-Hop. Kiss is someone that people
wouldn’t normally pair me with. But we all know that Kiss is dope.
He is one of the illest emcees of our time. I wanted someone in the
studio like that to push me. If I wrote something that was wack, I needed
someone to tell me that it’s wack. I need that type of coaching around
me, and why not from a Top 5 emcee of all time, without any doubt. I
can’t wait.
AllHipHop.com: You have a very busy
schedule ahead of you, so I don’t want to take up too much of your
time. What would you like to end this conversation on?
Bow Wow: Definitely go and check out
“Lottery Ticket”, support it. We have a great cast. People will
love what we’ve done with this. I got a brand new mixtape on the way.
I got a brand new album on the way, the beginning of next year. Jadakiss
will be on the album, my Cash Money family will be on the album. I will
be in NBA 2K11 with Michael Jordan on the cover. I have a playable character
in the game (Bow Wow). It’s amazing being a part of one of the largest
NBA video game franchises, and to be in it is a blessing. I got a lot
of big things going on right now. And I just want to continue to have
fun and remain humbled. I’m working extra hard right now to be the
best I could be.
