Avg Rating: 
3.5 ( 13 total votes )
The first time I saw Bow Wow he just a 13-year old kid with “Lil” in his name, Harlem shakin his heart out on the Take Ya Home video. Right away I had two thoughts: 1. His raps may be written for him, but the boy can actually flow. 2. Those models he’s grinding with are easily twice his age, especially the dominatrix one with the whip. I’m pretty sure that’s illegal. The early days of Bowizzle’s career were a blessing for the teenage rapper, but now that the man’s old enough to legally drink … ...Read the full album review
DJBooth Album Review
The first time I saw Bow Wow he just a 13-year old kid with “Lil” in his name, Harlem shakin his heart out on the Take Ya Home video. Right away I had two thoughts:
1. His raps may be written for him, but the boy can actually flow.
2. Those models he’s grinding with are easily twice his age, especially the dominatrix one with the whip. I’m pretty sure that’s illegal.
The early days of Bowizzle’s career were a blessing for the teenage rapper, but now that the man’s old enough to legally drink it’s beginning to feel more like a curse. The teenage girls that filled his mailbox with love letters and his bank account with zeros have made him a star, but you can’t be cute forever. Plus, it’s hard to be taken seriously when people remember you were barely cracking 5 feet. Leaving boyhood behind and becoming a man’s hard for everyone, but it’s especially hard when you grew up in the spotlight.
What’s a 22 year-old ex-child star transitioning into adulthood to do? Drop a new album with a parental advisory sticker, of course. Bow Wow’s latest effort, New Jack City II, is a decided foray into more adult material that ironically finds him reuniting with childhood mentor and producer-extraordinaire Jermaine Dupri. The result is the story of an artist in transition, a balancing act that has Bow singing about strippers while still trying to hold onto the Let Me Hold You crowd. Bow Wow’s not a man-sized rapper yet, but he’s well on his way.
It’s no coincidence that New Jack City starts off with the sparse Get That Paper, a fully-swaggered attempt to bury Lil Bow Wow once and for all. In retrospect it wasn’t a good idea to put the focus squarely on Bow’s wordplay; lines like “I ain’t kidding like Jason” are decent at best…especially when Nelly was dropped them on Hot in Herre seven years ago. But Bow’s lyrics didn’t make him famous, his delivery and personality did. That’s why the banging Been Doin is a legitimate rider, swaggering on head-knocking DJ Toomp beat while Bow drops a remarkably precise rapid-fire flow. Add a street-cred endorsement from T.I. and Been Doin starts to look like the blueprint for Bow’s hip-hop future, though it could use more strippers. Speaking of which, why do I like Pole In My Basement so much? Everything about Bow singing in auto-tune tells me to run, but I can’t front, I’ve got Pole In My Basement on repeat. Maybe it’s the laid-back production, maybe it’s Bow’s surprisingly good vocals, but I can’t help but be a little impressed. Let’s see him put a pole in his kitchen, then I’ll be really impressed.
As hard as Bow’s working to become his own man he’s too smart not to realize the biggest royalty checks he’s cashing are for Like You. Accordingly Bow’s made sure to sprinkle no small amount of scream worthy tracks throughout New Jack City, starting with the T-Pain assisted She’s My. He’s obviously hoping Pain can bridge the generational gap like he did for Chris Brown on Kiss Kiss, and he almost succeeds. Pain and Bow manage to craft the kind of catchy single that radio should eat up, especially with a typically hilarious guest verse from T-Pain. It’s the same story on the syrupy You Can Get It All, a track nearly every radio R&B hitmaker has a hand in (Johnta Austin, Byran Michael Cox and Dupri). Bow hit the bottom of the teenage barrel on Marco Polo, but here he raises his game, even sounding at times like Nelly circa 2002 (again). Personally I prefer Pole In My Basement, but I’m not a fifteen-year-old girl. That’s Get It All’s intended target, and it hits square on.
The rest of New Jack City II falls between these two extremes, oscillating from the symbolic quasi-reunion with J.D. on Rock Da Mic to the uninhibited I Ain’t Playin, featuring Trey Songz. Ultimately New Jack City doesn’t truly impress, but that’s ok. Like everyone it will take time for Bow to come into his own as a man, and when he does we’ll look back at this album as the beginning of a new phase in his musical life…or the beginning of the end. With Bow Wow’s track record, my money’s on a long career.
Listen to More: Bow Wow Written by Nathan S.
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Member Reviews and Ratings
Average Member Rating: Total Ratings: 13
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 241 |
no one better rate this a 4 or 5
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| Posted on Apr 07, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 10 |
Rating:
Overall I'm proud at the fact that Bow Wow is musically gainly maturity and has stepped up his vocal game. The album hassome nice cuts pne of my favorite is Like This. The production is pretty good throughout.
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| Posted on Apr 07, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Crew  Total Ratings: 1624 |
Rating:
Good review, the album was pretty solid. I actually should say it's exactly what I expected. I was not looking for a 4 or 5 star album, but merely a rotation record with a small handful of repeat records - which this is. I really think Bow is holding true to his word on retiring soon though, so this may be one of the last efforts from him we will hear.
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| Posted on Apr 07, 2009 |
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Tastemaker  Total Ratings: 1345 |
Rating:
I was kinda doubting this cd, but took the risk and downloaded it. FIRE! Will put you in a cruisin' mood, perfect for Spring/Summer. Most tracks are memorable, while some are forgettable.
My Picks: 1. Like This 2. What They Call Me 3. Pole In My Basement 4. You Can Get It All My Skips: 1. Shake It 2. Get That Paper Everything else is neutral. |
| Posted on Apr 07, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Member |
Rating:
Nath I know how you rate albums now - by how good the attempt and quality the music is coming from the ARTIST. But this isnt above average. Its the same tiring formula from Bow Wow, and once he gets older his sales will rapidly decrease becasue his core audience will no longer buy his music.
Jus my opinion lol YO Wheres Jadakiss' n M |
| Posted on Apr 08, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Member |
Rating:
mf dOOMS ALBUM AT. Are the booth not reviewin them??
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| Posted on Apr 08, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Member |
i met him (& OMARION) back stage @ the puyallup fair last year!!!! BACKSTAGE PASSES BABY!!!!=]]]....he was soooooo hot
- thanx KUBE93 |
| Posted on Apr 09, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Crew |
Only 30,851 in its first week? Bow Wow, I'm afraid it's time to officially hang up the mic, my friend. It's funny how UGK sold more than Flo Rida and Bow Wow without a charting single. And who has the hottest "rap" record on the planet again? Smh...
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| Posted on Apr 09, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 237 |
Rating:
Been doin is a hot track. Other then that, this album is okay.
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| Posted on Apr 09, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Member |
Rating:
can't even rate this ok..
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| Posted on Apr 09, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 12 |
Rating:
alright...
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| Posted on Apr 09, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Member |
Rating:
decent album, but Bow still doesn't really impress me. "Roc The Mic" is probably the best track in my opinion, "You Can Get It All" serves its purpose, but Bow continues the mediocre lady joints and boasting. Definitely better than Price Of Fame, but I think Wanted was one of his most complete albums, although he's never really dropped any significant albums, just decent ones.
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| Posted on Apr 10, 2009 |
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Tastemaker  Total Ratings: 1191 |
@ Jordan Hung - The funny thing is, an Aussie beat them all, lol
Been Doin This & You Can Get It All are the only tracks worth listening to on this album |
| Posted on Apr 13, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Crew |
Bow Wow announced today that he is officially retiring today. Good luck with that.
@ Aussie_Pride: That's true, haha. |
| Posted on Apr 14, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Member |
Rating:
BOW Weezy laid it down on this album...Everything was clicking from the Featured artist to his flow everything was workin for me
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| Posted on Apr 14, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 12 |
Rating:
i wasnt expecting his cd to be any good but i guess i was wrong... it was a couple of songs on tha cd that i really like: Like This,What They Call Me,Pole In My Basement,You Can Get It All
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| Posted on May 01, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Member |
this is a good look. he did good i like it.
but this is kind of different for him cuz he alwys doin somethin about his girl. |
| Posted on May 04, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 21 |
Rating:
hey i love this song it is the bast i love the way it is put out there
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| Posted on May 07, 2009 |
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DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 177 |
Rating:
its a 3.5 i rounded up. ur review was right on point.
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| Posted on Dec 08, 2009 |
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Rating:
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| Posted on Dec 13, 2009 |
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