Price of Fame

Bow Wow opens his fifth CD, The Price of Fame with a solemn interview clip in which the rapper/actor discusses "the mental breakdown dealing with the price of fame," thus setting the stage for a deeply emotive release. For a handful of tracks, he does exactly that, showing fans--and his competition-- just how refreshing that can be. The disc's first single, "Shortie Like Mine," featuring fellow teen heartthrob Chris Brown finds Bow Wow spitting rapid-fire rhymes and embedding lyrical skills with his especially melodic rap style. "Tell Me" combines those same talents mixed with surprisingly candid subject matter: a plea to get his ex to come back to him. As he implores "I'm a whole different individual now/everybody but you invisible now" to compelling back beats and samples (thanks to co-Executive Producer Jermaine Dupri), it feels like the pair could create a new genre: emo/electro/hip-hop. Dupri's amped-up hooks drive the disc, staying consistent while Bow Wow's identity oscillates between a lover and a wanna-be gangsta. Other songs worth noting are the hidden track, an R. Kelly duet dubbed "I'm a Flirt" and the cheeky "Damn Thing" featuring Da Brat. On the downside, a number of tunes contain far too much thug posturing: "Bet That," "4 Corners" (featuring Lil' Wayne) and the 50 Cent-inflected "On Fiya" are filled with clichéd car/money/thug lyrics, causing Bow Wow's uniqueness to get lost in the flow. --Denise Sheppard