Unleashed

08/22/2003 4:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Dan Leroy

The last kid to make a great album was. . . who knows? Kids aren't supposed to make great albums, after all. The whole point is simply to stay alive and not embarrass yourself (and of course, making a little money on the side wouldn't hurt) until you're old enough to maybe do something worthwhile. So while the backlash that awaits the former Lil' Bow Wow's third outing is inevitable, he's followed the script about as well as one could ask. The title is an unfortunate misnomer, since Bow Wow has been straining against the pull of kiddie rap for some time and isn't off the leash yet; the duets with bigger boys (Baby, Jagged Edge) find all participants holding something back, and even "Eighteen," his adulthood fantasy, is a rarity: a hip-hop song that leaves too much to the imagination. Yet the beats feature the sizzle a teenage movie star deserves, and Bow Wow still has the command of a seasoned MC, breathing life into even the requisite tribute to dear old Mom. And when he does come of age, it'll be pretty interesting to hear what's really on his mind.