Doggy Bag

01/04/2002 8:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Dan Leroy

When pint-sized stars can no longer get over on their gosh-darn cuteness, it's usually time to start thinking about a career change. But Jermaine Dupri protege Lil' Bow Wow, feeling heat from even-younger guns like Lil' Romeo, gives evidence on his sophomore set that he may yet escape that fate. Doggy Bag suffers from the fact that, at age 14, Bow Wow's at a serious in-between age: he's still not quite ready to tackle the harder street stuff, as tracks like "The Wickedest" and "Crazy" prove, while he's about outgrown sugary confections like "All I Know" (a "Candy Girl"-sampling duet with Lil' Corey). What remains, however, shows the presence of genuine talent; the humble "Thank You" is a shout out to fans and family that actually sounds sincere, and "Off the Glass" offers the other side of the coin, a strutting groove where Bow Wow brings the bling bling and boasts he'll be "ridiculous" by age 20. Maybe not, but Doggy Bag at least suggests he'll be around to have the claim verified.