Bow Wow and Omarion – Face Off (2007)
Face Off by Bow Wow and Omarion
Bow Wow Biography
Shad Gregory Moss (born March 9, 1987), better known by his stage name Bow Wow (formerly Lil’ Bow Wow), is an American rapper, actor, and music producer. Bow Wow was born in Reynoldsburg, Ohio to Teresa and Alfonso Moss. His mother worked three jobs to care for him after Alfonso left the family. Teresa later married Rodney Caldwell, and Bow Wow has a two half sisters Erica and Jasarah. Bow Wow was raised, and attended school, in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, a small city in the Columbus metropolitan area, until his rap career took off.
Upon making his debut in 2000, Lil Bow Wow appeared as an unexpectedly popular adolescent rapper. Upon closer inspection, though, the young hip-hop upstart turned out to be produced and mentored by Jermaine Dupri, and the aformentioned debut BEWARE OF DOG featured a guest appearance by Snoop Dogg himself, after whom the younger canine is partially modeled. Parents of young hip-hop fans everywhere were relieved to find that entirely avoided both expletives and objectionable topics in his lyrics, instead favoring more of a good-time ethic descended straight from the tradition of the Jackson 5. Bow Wow’s popularity extended to film and TV, as he appeared in ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS and on the MOESHA series.
Omarion Biography
b. Omari Ishmael Grandberry, 12 November 1984, Los Angeles, California, USA. Vocalist Omarion launched his solo career at the start of 2004 following the surprise break-up of his former group, the highly successful R&B boy band B2K. His solo work followed the direction of B2K’s US number 1 hit “Bump, Bump, Bump“, a raunchy collaboration with P. Diddy written by R. Kelly. Leading producers and songwriters including the Neptunes and Rodney Jerkins were brought in to beef up the sound on his debut O. The Underdogs-produced title track was a US Top 20 hit at the start of 2005, paving the way for the album to make its debut at the top of the US charts. During recording sessions for his debut album Omarion also found the time to appear as Reggie in Bill Cosby’s Fat Albert. He had made his acting debut earlier in 2004 alongside the rest of B2K in their lamentable “street dancing” movie, You Got Served.
About The Album “Face Off“
Omarion and Bow Wow would like you to believe their new album is a duel, at least in the cultivated mode of the battle rap or the prizefight. The problem is, the two young stars can’t bring themselves to even fake a beef. Despite all the mutual scowling on Face Off, the record isn’t a real war of words and styles so much as a bonanza of goodwill. Which, by the way, is way better. As collaborators, the former B2K star and the ex-kid genius work up a rich counterpoint of hip-hop and R&B. Neither has the acrobatic rap skills that would make a feud entertaining, but both shine when poised between genres.
The vibe here, then, is more in line with the recent R. Kelly/Usher joint “Same Girl,” in which the two pals slowly figure out they’ve fallen for one lady, but don’t get overly worried about it. Bow Wow and O, two eligible bachelors, might fall into some competitions at the club exit, but their solution is to harmonize about it.
And why not? This story is about young stars basking in the glow. On “Hey Baby,” Bow Wow, describing himself as “so fly I’m about to take off,” rhymes shot-taking at the bar with “drop that top on the Aston Mar’.” Soon, Omarion jumps in for a croony overlay about what it’ll take for this “baby” to be his girl, to “fly around the world.” His solution is vague and self-helpy: “don’t be afraid to show who you are.” But does it really matter when the beat is this crisp?
The album’s other lead track, “Girlfriend,” is closer to straight R&B, and in fact sounds in many ways like a Kelly song. The deft ad libs and grace notes on the melody are particularly “R.” But the youngsters’ style is ultimately, well younger. The beat here is pealing and postmodern, with a sterility and crispness that touch on hyphy (though the tune has nothing else in common with the Northern California rap school).
The aura of youth is important, because in a real sense, young cool is the “genre” these guys are working in. Face Off is further evidence that rap and R&B are continuing to blur; at any rate, the distinction isn’t meaningful here. What counts is that the fellas convince us they’re fresh. “Can’t Get Tired of Me” runs mellow-gold flows against sugary arias, all of it articulating one big point: these guys provide such a good time, you literally cannot get sick of them.
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Listen
Face Off album tracklists are:
01
Face Off
02
Hood Star
03
Girlfriend
04
Hey Baby (Jump Off)
05
He Ain’t Gotta Know
06
Bachelor Pad
07
Listen
08
Can’t Get Tired of Me
09
Number Ones
10
Baby Girl
11
Take off Your Clothes
12
Another Girl
Buy the CD album Face Off
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