Bow Wow‘s not “Li’l” anymore.
The rapper-turned-actor, who started his singing career at the tender age of 6 after Snoop Dogg discovered him and later starred in the basketball comedy Like Mike, has definitely come of age.
Now, at 18, Bow Wow‘s ready to take on the world. He’s got a new film, a hit album, Wanted, and just signed to star in The Fast and the Furious 3: Tokyo with Lucas Black (Friday Night Lights).
In his latest film, Roll Bounce, a throwback to the ’70s disco roller-skating era, Bow Wow finally shows his acting mettle. He plays X, a teenager who plays it smooth at the roller rink while he must cope with a family tragedy at the same time. Hollywood.com caught up this well-spoken young man to talk about the physical and dramatic challenges of Roll Bounce as well as his dream to retire in five years as a very wealthy man.
What drew you to Roll Bounce?
Bow Wow: “A lot drew me. It was different, something I haven’t done yet, that people haven’t seen me do. That’s my new thing now. I’m trying to step out of the box now. When I do films, I want to just give people the unexpected. Roll Bounce was a challenge to me, acting-wise. And also trying to maintain that while doing the skating thing. Trying to pull off a lot of these things I have to pull off in this film. That’s really why I chose this film. And it went real great.”
You were very convincing as a roller skater. You had to learn all that for the movie?
Bow Wow: “Yeah, I did had to learn all that stuff before. But a lot of people might not realize, I’m from the Midwest originally. I’m from Ohio. We skated a lot in the Midwest, every Saturday and Sunday, so I used a lot of my skills and I put them in the movie. We had a lot of choreographers and skating coaches to help us do things, but I was a little more advanced than the other guys, so I was able to pull off more.”
Speaking of the guys, there was definitely a genuine camaraderie between you and the rest of the Garden Boys, your skating posse in the movie. Did you guys have a good time?
Bow Wow: “Definitely. Khleo Thomas, who plays Mixed Mike and was in Holes, I took him on tour with me. He raps, too! I might be signing Khleo as one of my first artists. He’s a real cool guy, very smart. And [Roll Bounce] really drew us closer together. Now, I bring him wherever I go; he’s kind of like my sidekick.”
Do you think traditional roller skating should make a comeback?
Bow Wow: “It should definitely come back. I mean, it’s still here but with so much going on today with technology and so many new things, it’s hard [for roller skating] to make a comeback. But I definitely think once they see [Roll Bounce], they’ll definitely want to go back. It’s just a different vibe, and it’s going to bring you back to that timeframe. Like when I go to an NBA game, makes me want to play basketball. When I go to an NFL game, makes me want to play football. So I know when people go see this movie, they’re going to want to put on some skates and try it, if you haven’t tried it. Or if you did, it’ll make you want to go to the roller rink.”
Was is difficult to shed your 21st-century mannerisms to get into the ’70s?
Bow Wow: “Nah, it wasn’t that hard. The main challenge was trying to pull off those scenes I had to do in the movie. But we had to do a lot of homework. We had to watch old ’70s movies and TV shows. And they really prepared us to go into this film. We had to learn how they talked and walked in the ’70s –the whole swagger and posture. Once we got that down, we knew it’d be a piece of cake once we got to the set.”
Did you have to watch Saturday Night Fever?
Bow Wow: “That was one of the ones we were suppose to watch, but I chose not to. I watched Cooley High, and then I watched The Jeffersons and Good Times, TV shows like that.”
How did you prepare yourself for your dramatic scenes?
Bow Wow: “I actually watched a lot of Tupac [Shakur] movies to get to my character, too. Some of Tupac‘s movies were similar to my garage scene [in which X has a meltdown with his father]. Tupac has been a big influence on me as far as my acting and my career in general. He was such a cool person to follow as far as his work ethic and what he meant, even though his life was cut short. I really looked to him as inspiration and give me energy to do what I had to do. I’m glad that everything came off they way it did onscreen.”
Did you also learn from Chi McBride, who plays your widower dad?
Bow Wow: “He helped me a lot. He was by my side through the whole thing and I know I couldn’t have pulled off what I did if it weren’t for him. He gave me a lot of advice and just taught me some things I didn’t know. He showed me the ropes, and he was the only guy I would listen to. I’m really not an advice person; I like to do everything on my own. That’s just how I am; I’m my own type of dude. But I listened to Chi.”
What was one piece of advice Chi gave you that rang true for you?
Bow Wow: “He told me to listen with my ears. Just to hear, to use my ears more than anything. More than me just trying to nail the scene, to let it come natural. He told me you just got listen to it, listen to the words. When you say your lines, listen to ’em, just don’t say ’em. When you hear ’em, then it’s just going to come. And it worked. I don’t think the average person really understood what he was talking about, ’cause I didn’t either. But after I did it, I definitely got what he was saying.”
The film also shows the innocence of being a kid in the ’70s. Do you think kids can be as innocent today?
Bow Wow: “Definitely, without a doubt. Teenagers are going to be teenagers, and they are going to do what they want to do. That’s just how they are. I definitely feel like it’s still going on today. Clowning around, even at school. That’s where it really takes place. All the joking around and ribbing each other. It’s ‘your momma this’ and ‘your momma that.’ It still goes on, and I don’t think it’ll ever go away either. But just going out and having a good time is a little harder these days. There’s so much madness and crazy people in the world. I’m not sayin’ there weren’t crazy people back then, but it was more loose and more fun back then. Now everything is so uptight. It seems like the ’70s had a real loose vibe.”
Who are some of your favorite musicians from that era?
Bow Wow: “I definitely like George Clinton. He was like the realest thing when it came to hip-hop music.”
So what do you love more: making music or making movies?
Bow Wow: “I love them both the same, but I think in the future, I’ll end up doing more films than I will be doing music. Keep elevating my game, my acting ability. Elevate it to the next level. Roll Bounce is definitely the stepping stone in my career, to the level I want to be.”
Since you started out so young, what kind of things have you learned in the music biz?
Bow Wow: “Oh man, you’ve got to learn a lot in the music industry. It’s a lot of work, traveling. When I do a movie, I feel like I’m on vacation. You just have to maintain and stay focused. And just keep putting out good product. When you put out good music, then everyone is going to go buy it. You just gotta be appealing. The same thing with acting. You just got to appeal to the audience. There’s got to be something about you that draws them to you. And once you got it, they’ll come see you whether it’s a concert, movie, whatever. I’m just tryin’ to dominate both of them right now.”
How do you deal with the fame?
Bow Wow: “I love it. I eat it up. I use it for what it’s worth, and I just try to have as much fun as I can. You know it’s hard. Sometimes I don’t feel like being bothered, but you’re going to get that. I don’t think some people understand what goes into your job, it’s what you got to do. Some people respect it and some people don’t. But hey, it’s our job to go out here and make some records. We always like the front end of it, when people go buy our records. We like to buy the cars, the homes and jewelry and stuff like that. And there’s the other part. But that’s what I’m here for, man. I’m not going nowhere no time soon. I’m just having a ball doin’ this right here.”
And now that you’re dating singer Ciara, has the fame thing heightened?
Bow Wow: “Nah, not really. It’s expected now that we went public with it. It’s not like the world hadn’t heard anything new about other celebrities out right now. It’s nothing new to us.”
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Bow Wow: “Rich, rich and filthy rich. And probably retired.”
Well, even though you rarely take advice, what kind would you give to someone starting out?
Bow Wow: “Stay focused. Be yourself and don’t change for nobody. And if it’s your dream, don’t let anyone say you can’t because always can. And put God first. If you do that, you should be aiight.”
Roll Bounce opened in theaters Sept. 23.
