Edd’s MANtra: Bye, Bye Bow Wow
A couple of weeks ago I talked about Kid Cudi and his hasty decision to retire after the release of his upcoming debut album.
I thought he should be more concerned with his album actually seeing the light of day – we are in a recession after all. The big wigs won’t even let their golden goose Lil Wayne release his rock album. And maybe that’s for the best. Have you HEARD that “Prom Queen” song?
Anyway, on the subject of retirement, looks like Bow Wow is the next rapper ready to hang it up. From sohh.com:
This is my last album because for me, there’s no more that needs to be done on the music side, I’ve done everything,” Bow explained. “And the scary thing is I’m 22 years old and I’m young. … There’s nothing more to accomplish that I haven’t seen yet…I feel like now it’s time to endure a new challenge…Close the chapter on the Bow Wow legacy.
Heh. The Bow Wow legacy.
Before you ladies snicker, I remember back in around 2000 when he first showed up and y’all couldn’t wait until this guy turned 18. The kid was on 106 and Park 24/7. Then after a couple of years he started “smelling himself” as they say down south, and women shied away from his new-found haughtiness. That didn’t stop his aspirations to become “the next Will Smith,” as he said last year. “Roll Bounce” is right up there with “The Pursuit of Happyness.”
But before he leaves the music world, let’s look at his career in terms of sales.
2000 – Beware of Dog – 2,470,000
2002 – Doggie Bag – 1,348,000
2003- Unleashed – 797,000
2005- Wanted – 1,599,000
2006 – The Price of Fame – 897,000
2007 – Face Off (with Omarion) – 354,000
2009 – New Jack City II – 31,000
To quote Jay-Z, “you had a spark when you started/and now you’re just garbage.”
Looks like around 2006, either his fan base grew up, got tired of his attitude (ladies were pretty pissed about his breakup with Ciara) or they stop caring. And what do rappers do when people stop caring? They start talking retirement.
Do you think it’s a coincidence his announcement was made a couple of weeks after his blasphemously titled new album, New Jack City II, was released to crickets?
Enjoy retirement, Bow Wow. Can’t wait for you to star in “Like Mike 2: Still Not Like Mike.”
Yeah you know you’re headed for lameville when your album is advertised on those cheesy commercials that end with “On sale now at Target,” and you didn’t even know it came out…If he would’ve stayed humble, I think he would’ve had more longevity. Oh well!