Bow Wow – New Jack City II (3-31-2009)

Posted on Apr 22 in Reviewsby adminPrint

It seems like just yesterday when Lil Bow Wow first emerged onto the scene and stole the hearts of pre-teenage girls from coast-to-coast some nine years ago. After a string of successful albums and singles Bow Wow’s last effort, 2006’s The Price Of Fame, is most noted for featuring the original, non-single, version of R. Kelly’s smash hit “I’m A Flirt.” With the height of his career clearly behind him Lil Bow Wow, now known simply as Bow Wow is looking to, at the very least, stay on someone’s mind with his latest collection of work New Jack City II.

A combination of Nelly, Ron Browz, Jermaine Dupri, and Bow Wow equals a certified summer seasoned feel good joint with the instantly loveable “What They Call Me (Big Time).” Bow Wow and JD pass the mic back and forth between themselves, a very memorable strategy that the Atlanta veteran has done with the likes of Kris Kross and Da Brat, on the sentimental “Rock The Mic.” Aside from TI’s cameo appearance on the hook of “Been Doin This” the track turns out to be a monotonous nuisance at best.

JD and JR Rotem combine forces behind the boards to hand deliver Bow Wow a should-be smash hit with the album’s second official single “Like This.” T-Pain seems to be in his 2007 fashion; remember when when his music could do nothing but sound good, on the self produced “She’s My.” Drumma Boy’s magnificent production skills are buried deep beneath Bow Wow’s juvenile attempt at a sleezy one night stand anthem on “Pole In My Basement.”

Though Bow Wow has spent the better part of the past decade square in the center of the hip-hop spotlight he displays absolutely nothing of what his years have taught him on New Jack City II. Honestly Bow Wow sounds like nothing more than the top layer of his image. He speaks the part of a rich, spoiled, and rotten young man who hasn’t lived through the hardships of most people his age.

VERDICT – 11 / 20
LYRICS: 2
PRODUCTION: 4
DELIVERY: 2
CONSISTENCY: 3