No longer just a teenage girls’ heartthrob, Bow Wow is one of the few child stars who has been able to successfully transition into an adult career. Here, the rapper/actor tells us why you shouldn’t believe everything you read on the internet, why mama knows best, and why women are his kryptonite. There’s been rumors of you being involved with video models. Do you think that video models get a bad rep? A lot of people have the perception that video chicks are all hoes and are all sleeping with all the rappers. In your experience have you found that to be true? There are some girls in the workplace who know how to handle their business without doing things that video vixens do. I’ve ran across a couple females who know how to do their job and handle their business. It’s kinda like strippers. Some strippers go to work, get their bread, then wake up in the morning and go back to college or use that bread to pay off their student loans. You’ve got some who respect the game, but then you’ve got some who may do bad things to get to the top. If they want that extra celebrity power, they’ll do whatever they have to do to get it. I’ve most definitely ran through my course of video models. For me, it just comes with the game. When you’re a high roller and a big baller, especially in Hip Hop, that shit just comes with the territory. That’s all we’re around – video models and models. We don’t get a chance to meet the regular girls that work at Target or work a 9-5 in an office. We go to the hottest spots. I live in Miami, so I see those type of girls all the time. Not all video girls are [hoes]. Some are and some aren’t. Since you were very young when you started out in the business, have you kinda gotten over the appeal of the groupies and the models? I was exposed to a lot of things at an early age. There’s always moments where I don’t feel like being with a chick, because I know I’m going to be a laughingstock if I try to get too serious with her. There’s probably another rapper or ballplayer she’s kickin’ it with. So, I do get tired of it, but some days I might just want to get a couple of girls around and we’re all just kickin’ it with no strings attached and no feelings. Sometimes you want to have girls around for that. So I’m half and half with it. Some days I don’t want to be bothered with [groupies], and some days I want some fun girls around. Do you think you were exposed to too much being in this industry so young? Was it something your mom was concerned about? My mom was never really concerned. She understood. At six years old, I was running with Snoop and I was out there in L.A. by myself. I was always a smart kid growing up. I was very mature for my age, so my mom never really had to worry about me much. So did Snoop put you up on game? Was he giving you advice on how to deal with females? Nah, I’d credit that to my mom. My father was never in my life, so I never had a man teach me game. I got my game from a woman. I was raised by a woman and was in a house full of women at an early age. I figure that’s the best way, because nobody knows a woman like a woman. If you have a good female friend that you’re not sleeping with, she can give you good insight. My mother raised me, so I just asked her for advice and listened to her. So I guess that’s why I’m so successful with women now. What was her advice? Little stuff. “Bow, clean your ears. Make sure your nails aren’t dirty. Girls don’t like that.” To this day I try to be perfect. I believe in perfection. I try my best at all times to be perfect when women are around. I credit that to my mother. When a girl comes to my house she doesn’t have anything to say to her friends. “Bow is dirty” or “Bow’s room is dirty,” none of that. I’m ten steps ahead of what she’s thinking. That’s how I win my way with the women. I guess you can call that cheating, because I get my game from a woman. Nah, it’s not cheating. That’s fair. So what kind of car would you say helps you get the most attention from females? My Lamborghini. I have an orange and black Lamborghini Murcielago. That always does it for [the ladies]. When the doors lift up, they like that. You mentioned earlier that you wouldn’t want to date a girl who’s kickin’ it with another ballplayer or rapper. Why do you think there’s still such a double standard between men and women? A woman is supposed to be pure. That’s what makes a woman a woman. A woman is supposed to cherish her body. Guys are like, we’re the dog. We’re the inner beast; the lion. I’m not saying it’s cool, but there’s a difference between men and women. It’s been that way forever. A woman is supposed to be pure and respect her body. As guys, we’re dogs. Dogs are messy and dirty. Dogs sniff themselves. That’s just what dogs do. I guess it’s a stereotype that we’ll never be able to get away from. There are some things that women can get away with that guys can’t get away with. So I think there will always be a double standard. 64 // OZONE MAG
You were rumored to have a little thing with Superhead. She even hinted that she was pregnant with your child. If you already know a woman has been with a lot of other men, is that a turn-on or a turn-off? If you’re the type of person that listens to what other people say, and if that dictates your personal life, than you probably wouldn’t deal with that kind of woman. But if you’re the type of person who doesn’t care as long as you’re happy, you can block that out. A lot of people are probably just hating because they want her but they can’t get her. To me, it really doesn’t matter. No matter what girl you get with, she’s been touched before. Even if she’s a virgin I’m sure she’s kissed another guy or done something before. That’s just how the game goes. You have to suck it up and go with your gut. If you feel it, then you’ve got to block it out and forget what everybody else is thinking. To me, [her history] really doesn’t matter as long as I’m happy. As long as she’s good, I’m good, as long as she ain’t done no stupid shit before us. But if she was with another celebrity and it was a high profile [relationship] and then she ends up with me, it’s all good. I’m not trippin’ about the previous dude at all. It is what it is. You’re not going to find a girl who has not been touched before. So you’ve just got to live with that. Are we going to read about you in Superhead’s book number five or six? Nah, I doubt if you’ll find me in there at all. All of those rumors were false. You know the internet is crazy because when people put stuff out there, everybody believes it regardless of where it came from. I’m sure you read stuff about yourself on blogs and websites. What percentage of the things you’ve read would you say is based in truth? Everything is false. The majority of the press makes money off of negative things, so they don’t want to print positive things. For a guy like me, you rarely ever see me doing anything that’s negative or bad, so they just take things out of context. For example, TMZ said that I was driving drunk and they blew this whole thing up when it was really just me being young, having fun, and celebrating my New Year. But they’ll take it and twist it and run with it. If 10 people tell you pigs can fly and only one person says, “No, pigs can’t fly,” everyone’s going to believe the 10 people. That’s just how it goes. The media prints false stuff about me all the time. It’s just amusing. Sometimes if I’m having a bad day, I’ll just log on and laugh at the shit. It’s hilarious, because nobody knows me better than me. If they make up a story, to me it’s funny because I know what really happened. It’s hilarious how people can take something small and invent the whole situation. So don’t believe shit you read on the blogs. Unless they interview me like y’all at OZONE. There are a lot of kid rappers or kid celebrities who were never able to make that transition into being taken seriously in adulthood. Why do you think you were able to do it? Just being smart. I feel like strategy is the main key in this business. I didn’t want to just be wildin’ out or putting out a sex tape or doing a lot of the ignorant shit that you see a lot of young Hollywood stars doing. I wanted to show the growth and maturity through my music. That’s why I dropped records like “Out Of My System,” more mature adult relationship type records so people would respect me. I basically did it throughout my work, whether it’s through my music or my movies, rather than just my actions. I didn’t wanna make people feel like I was forcing [adulthood] by just being on a blog with a blunt in my mouth. That’s just ignorant shit and it’s not necessary for me. They’re not used to seeing Bow Wow do certain things. Or, if I’m playing a role, like my first sex scene on Entourage. I’m going to make you respect me as an adult through my work rather than my actions. Speaking of Entourage, are there any Bow Wow sex tapes out there? Nah, I love the checks that I get so I wouldn’t want to put out nothing like that. I don’t need the attention. So, no. Not at all. You won’t see anything like that. I can’t mess up my brand. You’re never tempted to pull out your phone and snap some pictures? Never. I’ve always been the type of person to learn from other people’s mistakes. So when I see all these other dumb ass niggas on here, and they’ve got camera phone pictures ending up on MediaTakeout, I’m like, how dumb can you be? I never do that. Really, I don’t even allow that. When girls come around they can’t even bring cell phones around me. My security holds their cell phones and they can get them back once we’re done kickin’ it or whatever. We just don’t allow that in my camp. I’m sure you’ve had some crazy screaming fans chasing you down. What’s the boldest groupie approach that you can recall? Everything. I’ve had girls throw tampons on stage, bras, panties, everything. I’ve had girls flash me while I was on my tour bus. I had a girl that snuck into my bus while I was in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio, and she was laying in my bunk. Before we pulled off, she kept saying, “I’m with Sean.” Sean is my best friend. I was like, “You know her?” He was like, “Hell naw! Get her off the