One-star reviews are something I rarely give out. I don't like reviewing a product if I have nothing remotely positive to remark about it, but I simply feel obligated to on Bow Wow's latest release, Price of Fame. Front and forward, I've gotta comment on the title of this release; Price of Fame. Bow Wow tricks unsuspecting buyers into thinking this could possibly be a mature, and introspective effort from the nineteen year old who dropped the "Lil'" in his name two LP's ago. Bow Wow's at a good age to offer wisdom from a youthful perspective, as Mobb Deep dropped The Infamous at the very same age.. however, while Mobb Deep were dropping knowledge over hardcore hip-hop backdrops aiming for classic status, Bow Wow's dropping club track after club track over poor, and overproduced beats hoping to rake in some cream with an album that, simply put, is well below subpar.

Firstly, Bow Wow's flow is horrendous. His breath control, or lack thereof, is abysmal. The beats he's chosen for his album are commercial rejects; much like everything Bow Wow's mentor, Jermaine Dupree, produces. Bow Wow doesn't even write his only songs, so I'm simply wondering, who the hell is ghostwriting this kid's lyrics, and why on earth does he still have a job? One reviewed quipped that the 'haters' who give this album negative reviews are jealous of Bow Wow's swagger; what swagger? Bow Wow doesn't sound comfortable on the microphone, despite having over half a decade in the game under his belt.

Bow Wow does offer a surpisingly insightful track in Outta My System, but even that one bit of insight can't save this abortion of an album. I didn't come into this release expecting anything more than a more mature, refined Bow Wow, and I came out seeing the same artist, and person he's been for the last six years; there's been no progress, and Bow Wow feels like little more than a persona created by JD, and his horrible entourage of ghostwriters. Even the likes of Nick Cannon could become a respectable artist in the hip-hop community, but Bow Wow isn't dropping any Can I Live?'s on Price of Fame. It's more of the same exact product you've been listening to since Bow Wow was telling you to "Bounce With Me." When Bow Wow says he's going to move all the 'old rappers out of the way' on Don't Know About That, you can't help but laugh at the sheer stupidity of that statement, and cringe at the disrespect. Bow Wow maybe young, but he's more washed-up than legends like KRS-1 or De La Soul, or even mainstream darlings like Snoop and Ice Cube; which is horrible, considering he was far below-average at his peak. If Bow Wow could dramatically, and quite frankly, miracuously, mature between this and his next release, then he maybe able to survive in the game, but if Bow Wow keeps going like this, it's time for this kid to hang up his hoodie.

I was excited for this CD when the single "Shortie Like Mine" was released. However, that's easily the best song on this album, and most of the other material is far below that level of quality. I'm a big fan of Jermaine Dupri's production, but most of the beats here are pedestrian and very similar to one another. The one beat by Nitti and JD, "Don't Know Bout That", is a nice break in the monotony (though not by a whole lot). The lyrics are the typical pop rap stuff...rims, jewelry, girls, etc. I usually don't mind that, but here it just sounds so worn out; there aren't really any clever twists or anything to keep your attention. Basically, you shouldn't pay more than a few bucks for this CD, and I'm being charitable giving this three stars...I'm hoping it'll grow on me a bit more.

Lets get this straight now. Lil bow wow never had talent. He was just another cute lil kid marketing gimmick. But now he is older and he isn't that cute anymore (at least not cute to a straight male). Bow wow couldn't spit a dope bar to save his mother's life let alone make an album. Whoever is ghost writing for him needs to be slapped twice as hard as bow wow needs to be. I hope this album is the one that delivers a fatal blow to his rap career and sends him into immediate retirement. As a whole the album is weak, lyrics are on k-fed's level, and the beats are average. Avoid this album at all cost in order to spare your eardrums. Check out NaS or Mos Def for some quality music!

For someone that is trying to showcase himself as a hardcore thug, this cd is a failure. If you are scared that a cd with parental warning will chase off fans, then don't do it. Nobody wants to listen an edit cd.
That's the main problem with this cd-if this was a new artist, you could learn to like them. However Bow Wow is an established artist that has been in public eye for years and now he's trying to be something that he is not. A 50 Cent starter kit.

The decent tracks are:
Don't Know About That, Bet That and Price of Fame (if you get pasted the editing and bleeping out of words)

Many after this one bombs, his next cd will go back to what made him popular in the first place.

Ok, I'll be blunt with what what I'm about to say in this sentence - Bow Wow's fifth studio album, "The Price Of Fame", SUCKS! You'd think an album with such a title would provide music that dug deeper, both musically and lyrically, than the short-lived Pop-(c)rap he's made a living on for the majority of his career, but it doesn't. Actually, let me ask you this - how many of you really expected this album to be great? How many of you really set your expectations high enough to the point of expecting this album to be some kind of "Illmatic", "Doggystyle", "Reasonable Doubt" and all the rest of those critically acclaimed Hip-Hop album classics?

Seriously, Bow Wow has little to no brains. Yes, he's a decent rapper, he's got a natural sense of laid-back cool, he's a millionaire, his affiliation with Hip-Hop legends like Snoop Dogg gives him street credibility, ladies and little female kiddies love him, guys envy his success and the dude managed to hook up with one of today's most successful R&B artists of this decade, Ciara. Unfortunately, none of it amounts up to anything when it comes to his lyrical ability, which is -to (once again) be blunt - awful. The unconvincing "Intro" jacks the beat from his previous mini-hit/Lil' Romeo "diss" "Fresh Azimiz", while the bland wannabe club banger "How You Move It" sounds like an actual rip-off of "Fresh Azimiz", and that track was already bad in the first place. The smooth vocals Chris Brown & Johnta Austin provide on lead single "Shorty Like Mine" can't hide the fact that Bow Wow is a horrible lyricist. For crying out loud, half of the album's tracks feature guest artists, all of whom chew Bow Wow up and spit him back out like the moronic hack he really is.

Even when he tries digging deeper in songs like "Outta My System", where the evidently talented songster Johnta Austin's soulful vocals are forced to play second-best to T-Pain's reedy squeak, he still sounds bland and emotionless. He even ends the aforementioned ode to ex-girlfriend Ciara with this mushy conclusion - "If I could, I would turns back the hands of time / And correct all the mistakes I ever did / But now I guess I gotta move on, right? / It's still hard / And I stick love you to this day / Peace". Really, Bow Wow? If you truly loved Ciara like you said you did, why did you two really break up? Why are you more concerned with tryna pick up dime-a-dozen h*es with radio-bound garbage like "Bet That", "Damn Thing" (feat. long-forgotten rapper Da Brat), "I'm A Flirt" (feat. R. Kelly) & the raunchy "Give It To You"?

If there's one thing that truly shocked me about this album, it's not that Bow Wow co-produced some of these album's tracks, but the fact that he does a GOOD job doing so alongside other producers like Jermaine Dupri. I'm not sure who produced what, but whoever laid down the hard-hitting, synth-heavy beats of the Bow Wow / Cocaine J. / Young Capone collaboration "Don't Know About That" or the Bow Wow / Lil' Wayne / Lil' Scrappy / Short Dawg / Pimp C collaboration "4 Corners" deserves some serious recognition for making the listening experience of "The Price Of Fame" a little less painful.

Altogether, a terrible album that teaches you nothing you don't already know, nor does it provide you with the entertainment you might've been hoping for. 1 STAR!




N.B.:
To Bow Wow,
For the love of love of whatever it is you love most, cut down on the boasting, keep your clothes on and act like the man you continually claim to be. I respect the fact that you have -to some degree- worked for years to get to where you are, there's no denying that your music essentially remains unchanged after all these long years. Where's the ambition, hunger, thought-provoking substance and introspective material that made greatness out of Hip-Hop legends like Nas? Where's the quality music and unexpected surprises you promised to your fans, haters and readers?

On another note, get your facts straight. You evidently can't create a hit song of some kind without the help of someone else, your acting skills are weak, you're not as "gangsta" as you think, you're not the hottest thing to hit the block and you clearly do not possess the talent, dedication, time, talent or focus to find talented musical individuals, nonetheless push them into the mainstream or fund them with the necessary materials or experience required for artistic growth.

Assuming that you're reading this, you're probably thinking that I'm just another babbling hater with nothing better to do, but I'm just speaking what I truly feel - something that I was hoping from you on "The Price Of Fame". If you think I'm wrong, then prove me wrong and do something more worthwhile than shaving your head and flashing your ugly flesh across global TV screens.

From,
CrazyWhacko_88