Wanted

Bow Wow | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 12, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0009OPO0I
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (113 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #151,832 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Bow Wow turned 18 this year and re-teamed with superstar producer and mogul Jermine Dupri to create his fourth Sony release. Album features guest appearances by Ciara, JD, Omarion and Snoop Dogg. 2005. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Merely Average with a few stellar cuts...3 stars, July 18, 2005

By 

Michael Brent Faulkner, Jr. "Brent Faulkner" (Kentucky) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wanted (Audio CD)

Children stars really have a hard time being accepted as truly credible artists in the music industry. Bow Wow, who was a child star rapper, is now in transition to becoming an adult rapper and so naturally, he must shed his young image and try to appeal as harder and edgier. Yet still, he can't just completely change his pop-rap style (which sometimes tends to be corny as a rap-style), which he is known for. It is a difficult situation.

On WANTED, Bow Wow tries to act older by cursing and using terminology such as "n****". His constant use of the "n" word just goes to show you that Bow Wow tries a little too much to act grown up. But, just like his R&B contemporaries Mario (18) and Omarion (20), they all try just a little too hard by adding adult references and "mainstreamed" CDs as I like to call them that don't feature the infamous PARENTAL ADVISORY label (Mario was the most successful in pulling off his CD). The production for the most part is fine, yet sometimes it sounds too much like the song before it, flawing the particular song. For the most part, Bow Wows raps tend to focus too much on his age, being grown up, and on cockiness. Here's how I evaluate each song:

1. "Do You": Bow Wow tries too hard to be older here, the production is ok with a nice choral effect in it. 3/5

2. "Big Dreams": A Much better track than the opening tack that features nice drum programming, a nice serious and believable rap from Bow Wow with a nice hook. It catches your attention, yet compared to The Game's "Dreams" for example, it still doesn't capture a certain emotion or dramaticism that such a performance as "Dreams" by the Game or say "Why" by Jadakiss does. The Album's 3rd best track. 4/5

3. "Let Me Hold You" feat. Omarion: The flagship song for the album. This was smart of Bow Wow to choose this as the first single. The production is simple, but very nice featuring a haunting synth line and nice booming bass. Omarion sings the hook/chorus beautifully and Bow Wow has a nice rap. The very best track on the Album. 5/5

4. "Fresh Azimiz" feat. J-Kwon: Corny, corny track. The production here I don't find to be very stellar and it makes the already corny, cocky rap by Bowo sound even cornier. What makes it worse is the fact that it isn't anything other rappers haven't done better than Bow Wow before. Uninspired, one of the worst of the album. 2+/5

5. "Cavier" feat. Snoop Dogg: The worst album on the track. There is too much hook and not enough substance to hold this track up. This is probably of Snoop's many collaborations his worst and most uninspired by a mile. This is very, very corny. 2/5.

6. "Like You" feat. Ciara: The second best track on the album, good production along with a very nice collab. with Bow Wow's girlfriend Ciara makes this track good. The production of this track overall has a nice timbre to it, especially when Ciara sings the hook in unison with Bow Wow rapping it. 4.5/5.

7. "B.O.W.": The fourth best performance on this album. Basically, this arrangement features only a background drum programmed beat with Bow Wow's rap as the center piece. Believe it or not, Bow Wow pulls off this very well. It is too hooky, but it is still a notch above "Caviar", "Fresh Azimiz", and "Do You". 3.5/5.

8. "Go" feat. Jermaine Dupri: This is an average track, but not bad like "Caviar" and "Fresh Azimiz". It is listenable with a nice vocal harmonies as well as a repetitive hook. The major problem with the hook is that it is too repetitive and grates after the 4:24 track is over. Another flaw is that this track sounds too much like Jermaine Dupri's earlier songwriting and production work on Kris Kross's "Jump". He practically aludes to it when he raps about his first recordings in his basement. Not a bad track though. 3/5.

9. "Do What It Do": This is yet another "floptastic" track, yet not as "floptastic" as earlier ones. Jermaine Durpi once again appears, making too many appearances by the same guy in one album. The positive thing is that he doesn't have his own verse in this song. Again, you get tired of references to Bow Wow's age and his cockiness showing once again how hard he is trying. Other flaws include the hook isn't as catchy as the other tracks and the production is too similar to the other tracks. 2.5/5

10. "Is That You (P.Y.T.)" : More of the same basically. It is corny and nothing that we haven't heard in the rap world before. The production again sounds too similar to everything else as well as the beat. Is that James Ingram singing the hook? I'm not sure, but whoever is providing the vocals there, it is a nice refreshment to a boring track. 2.5/5.

11. "Mo Money" feat. T. Waters: Despite an overabundance once again to dirty references/profanity in an unlabeled album, the production is among some of the best production work on the whole of the album. The hook is catchy and overall the rap/song are ok, not stunning, but average. 3/5

"When I Turn 18" is the second half of the track after "Mo Money" has faded out. It isn't worth your time. We've sailed the boat of Bow Wow's age the whole album and by this time it is just ridiculous. 2/5.

Overall, the scores that I gave each song average out to be about 3 stars. That is the most I would give this album. Bow Wow still has a lot to prove to become an adult rapper and WANTED just doesn't do it. Again, 3 stars.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bow Put It Down, July 19, 2005

By 

Melissa Long "Miss Lissa" (Memphis, TN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wanted [DualDisc] (Audio CD)

Bow Wow really put it down on the album. I love Bow, but his past CDs really haven't done much for me. Unleashed was good, but I was bored with it within 2 weeks. This CD is off the chain. I LOVE IT!!! I wasn't execting it to be as good as it is. There's not one track I don't like. I can put it in and let it play all the way through. The DVD is nice also. It's got his video for "Let Me Hold You" on it and his new video with Ciara "Like You". Bow has really matured and you can tell from his lyrics. He's definitely in a league of his own. He's the best doing what he's doing right now. If you've never like Shad Moss (Bow Wow) you will after you listen to this CD. Especially track #4 ("Fresh AZIMIZ"), it's the hottest song on the album to me. That and "Do What It Do" (track #9). I'm telling you, you've got to cop this album, you'll regret it if you don't.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, Excellent, Excellent!, October 1, 2005

By 

Theresa Richardson "Pimppi" (Jacksonville, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wanted (Audio CD)

This cd is off the chain! why is everone saying that it's not! every song on this is great! everone is used to lil' bow wow. IT'S 2005 EVERYONE! BOW WOW IS 18! HE'S GROWN UP!(well almost. he still can't do certain things)What do you think he's supposed 2 do? U expect him 2 make songs like "bounce wit me",and "take ya home"? He has 2 make a whole new image 4 himself... an adult rapper.(well, almost). But anyway, this cd is great! I'm not even gonna make a list of rated songs on this album. Everthing song is a 5!

(I'll make a review Anyway)

1. Do You- 5/5: This song is great. It has a nice beat, refrain, and a nice rap. The main objective to this song is to let all of the rappers who are trying to follow in Bow's footsteps to stop and do their own thing.

2. Big Dreams- 5/5: This song is awesome! It's telling everone who has "big dreams" to keep going and achieve your goal. This song has a nice beat, and rap.

3.Let Me Hold You- 5/5: This song is beatiful.I would tell you about it but possibly you already know. Let Me Hold You has a beatiful beat,rap, and Omarion does an excellent job on the chorus.

4. Fresh Azimiz(As-I'm-Is-)- 5/5: This song is awesome! It has a great beat, rap, and refrain. The main objective to this song is telling you how Bow Wow loves to make other people jealous by flashing all of his material things.

5. Caviar- 4/5: This song is the only one that I don't really enjoy. It has a very nice beat, and refrain. But the part that I don't really like is when Snoop raps.(I'm a big fan of Snoop)But other than that It's cool.

6.Like You-5/5 This song is perfect. It has a nice beat, refrain, and rap. Bow Wow does an excellent job on this. Ciara is awesome to. She puts a nice melody and flow to the song.

7.B.O.W.- 5/5: Bow Wow wrote this one. It's excellent. Bow Wow raps with a melodic beat in the background. Of coarse, He's of the chain. It has a nice beat, and refrain.

8.Go-5/5: This song is so good! It has a nice beat, melody, rap, and refrain. It's kind of like a a song that you would dance to in a "Crunk & B" dance competition. Jermaine Dupri also does an excellent rap on this.

9. Do What It Do- 5/5: Nice beat and everthing! It has a nice beat, rap, and egyption melody to it.

10. Is That You (P.Y.T.)- 5/5: This song also has a good egyption melody to it. It has a nice rap and refrain. In the song, it has a remix of Michael Jackson's " P.Y.T." (Pretty Young Thing) song.

11. Mo Money- 5/5: This song is one of my favorites. It has an excellent beat, refrain, and rap. This song is so good!
After the song "Mo Money" fades, It has the song "Eighteen" from Bow Wow's album "Unleashed". To me, I can understand why they put Eighteen in the song. On this album, Bow Wow's 18!

Conclusion: This album is above excellent. The order of the songs are perect! So buy the album!