Unleashed (Bow Wow album)

Background

Following the release of his sophomore album Doggy Bag (2001), Lil' Bow Wow achieved minor success on the Top R&B Singles charts, with "Thank You" and "Take Ya Home". In 2002, after finishing production on his debut film Like Mike and releasing his cover of "Basketball" for the film's soundtrack, Bow Wow chose to drop the "Lil" from his name completely and continue his career simply as Bow Wow. In an interview with MTV, he said that he wanted to distinguish himself from the other rappers, who had the word in their moniker:

"All these Lil’ rappers, I’m just kind of getting real irritated by it. I said, 'You know what? Drop the Lil'. Forget it. I’m Bow Wow.' Besides, I’m growing up, I’m not little anymore. [I just decided] two weeks ago. I really got irritable. It’s all these Lil’ cats, forget it. I’m Bow Wow now. Everything is just 'Bow Wow,' no 'Lil' Bow Wow.'"

In an interview with Billboard, he spoke about the album's content, saying that he wanted his fans to follow him on the journey that he has started three years ago with a new sound and different lyrical content that defines his growing maturity.

Music and lyrics

The lead single, titled "Let's Get Down", which was co-written by a then unknown, Clifford Harris (aka T.I.). Bow Wow talked with Billboard on wanting to make an impact, after changing his name and wanting to work with rapper Baby, saying that he was looking for a single that would grab people's attention and that Baby's inclusion almost didn't happen but then changed his mind to work with him on the song. In September 2003, in an interview with website Whudat, T.I. talked about his contribution to Bow Wow's third album and the song itself:

"Yeah this time around I wrote some songs for him. Even on the single, 'Let's Get Down'. I wrote the third verse and the hook. Usually how we did it was [Jazze Pha] he'll write one verse, Bow Wow would write one verse, his homeboy Rocka would write one, and I'd write a verse and come up with the hook."

In 2009, in an interview with HipHopDX, Bow Wow commented on how getting T.I. to ghostwrite for him on his third album didn't tarnish his credibility as a rapper, saying that he learned about the songwriting process by contributing about 85 percent to the album while T.I. wrote a full song and a couple verses to a few tracks.

"Eighteen", which was produced by Lil Jon, is described as a coming-of-age song, where Bow Wow is proclaiming some things that he wants to do when he reaches that age milestone. "My Baby" is an emotional song that has him comforting a friend dealing with a broken heart. Bow Wow described on this Neptunes-produced track "The Don, The Dutch" as "the '2Pac record'" that'll surprise listeners not expecting it. Another Neptunes track "I'll Move On", has him asking his fans to let him grow up into adulthood and not overthink the decisions he makes as he progresses.

Critical reception

The album received generally mixed reviews from music critics who appreciated the maturity in the production and lyrics but felt that Bow Wow hasn't found a style that defines him. Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews praised the album for being consistent with its beats and Bow Wow for changing his lyrical tone saying, "By maturing his musical sound along with his voice, he successfully sheds the "Lil" image for good and makes an effective play for establishing his longevity in the business." Donnie Kwak of Vibe said that Bow Wow manages to by past formulas with his mature flow and display his sensitive side on "I'll Move On" concluding that, "Because he's willing to embrace his growing pains, Bow Wow's future is promising." Jason Birchmeier of AllMusic commented on how the album manages to straddle the line between Bow Wow's previous pop rap material and his new mature hip hop image. Despite changing his flow and lyrics and experimenting with new beats, People felt that Bow Wow "has yet to really develop his own style and sometimes regresses to playing to the kiddie crowd."

Personnel