Who’s Erica Mena’s ex-fiancée, Bow Wow? Wikipedia, Biography, Age, Family, Height, Net Worth, Fast Facts

• Shad Gregory Moss, better known as Bow Wow, is an American rapper and actor
• He gained fame as a young rapper, releasing albums such as “Beware of Dog” and “Doggy Bag”
• He has gone on to star in films such as “Like Mike” and “Johnson Family Vacation”
• Bow Wow has won several awards for his music and also has an Instagram and Twitter following of over 3 million
• He became the subject of the #BowWowChallenge after it was revealed he had faked a picture of flying on a private jet

Who is Bow Wow?

Shad Gregory Moss, better known by his stage name Bow Wow, was born on the 9^th March 1987, in Columbus, Ohio USA, and is a rapper, probably best recognized from releasing such albums as “Beware Of Dog”, “Unleashed” and “New Jack City II”, among others. He is also known as an actor, who starred in the role of Charlie Williams in the TV series “Entourage”, and as Brody Nelson in another TV series entitled “CSI: Cyber”.

Life before Fame

Speaking about his early life, Bow Wow was raised alongside two step-sisters in nearby Reynoldsburg by his mother, Teresa Rena Caldwell, who works as a hair stylist, and his stepfather, Rodney Caldwell, an attorney. His biological father, Alfonso Preston Moss, left the family at the time when he was born, so Shad has never met him.

Career Beginnings

Bow Wow became interested in rap music at the age of three. His mother spotted his talent and took him to participate at various competitions under the name ‘Kid Gangsta’. In no time he caught the attention of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dog, who gave him the new stage name ‘Lil Bow Wow’ and offered him the chance to perform together. Immediately afterwards, Snoop helped introduced him to record producer Jermaine Dupri, and he was signed by Dupri’s company So So Def Recordings. He began working on his debut album, but before its release, he recorded the soundtrack “The Stick Up” for the film “Wild Wild West” in 1999, which marked the beginning of an increase of his popularity, and established his net worth at the age of 12.

Rise to Prominence, “Beware Of Dog” and “Doggy Bag”

Bow Wow’s debut studio album, entitled “B,eware Of Dog”, was released in 2000, and immediately proved to be a huge success as it reached No. 8 on the US Billboard 200 chart, and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), adding a considerable amount to his net worth and increasing enormously his popularity. It consisted of the hit single “Bow Wow (That’s My Name)”, featuring Snoop Dogg, which peaked on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and the song “Bounce With Me”, featuring r’n’b girl group Xscape, which topped the charts, so earning him a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest rapper to have a No. 1 hit.

In the following year, he released his second studio album, entitled “Doggy Bag”, on which he collaborated with such musicians as Cox, Larry Johnson, Pharell Williams and many others. The album peaked at No. 11 on the US Billboard 200 chart, as well as No. 2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and achieved platinum certification by the RIAA.

Name Change and “Unleashed”

In April of 2002, he decided to drop  ‘Lil’the from his stage name, and his first album under his new name out came in 2003, entitled “Unleashed”. The album peaked at No. 3 on the US Billboard 200 chart, and achieved gold certification by the RIAA with such singles as “Let’s Get Down”, featuring Birdman, and “My Baby”, featuring Jagged Edge.

Other Albums

Bow Wow’s fourth album – “Wanted” – was released in 2005, with the hit single “Like You” featuring Ciara, increasing his net worth further, as it was certified platinum by the RIAA. In the following year he released “The Price Of Fame”, with the lead single entitled “Shortie Like Mine” featuring Chris Brown, which topped the Hot Rap Tracks chart. In 2009, “New Jack City II” out came and reached No. 16 on the US Billboard 200 charts. Although he started working on new album in 2010 and recorded several singles, he had to delay it so he could dedicate himself to his daughter. However, in 2016, he announced that he would release one more album, entitled “NYLTH”, after which he will retire from rapping.

Acting Career

Apart from his career as a rapper, Bow Wow tried himself as an actor, and he made his debut film appearance in the role of Calvin in the 2002 film “Like Mike”, which was followed by his portrayal of Kelly in the film entitled “All About The Benjamins” in the same year. His next major role came two years later, when he was cast as D.J. Johnson in the film “Johnson Family Vacation”. Thanks to his acting skills, Bow Wow has appeared in several more Hollywood film titles, such as “Roll Bounce” (2005), playing Xavier ‘X’ Smith, “The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift” (2006), portraying Twinkie, and “Hurricane Season” (2009), starring as Gary. During that period, he also guest-starred in such TV series as “Smallville” in 2006, and “Ugly Betty” in 2008. All of these roles contributed a lot to his net worth.

Other Film and TV Projects

To speak further about his acting career, Bow Wow landed the role of Charlie Williams in the TV series “Entourage” (2008-2009), after which he featured as Kevin Carson in the 2010 film “Lottery Ticket” and as Byron in the film “Madea’s Big Happy Family” in the following year. In 2013, he was cast as Eric in the film “Scary Movie 5” and two years later was chosen to portray Brody Nelson in the TV series “CSI: Cyber”, which lasted for a season. He is currently filming the title “Superstition: The Rule of 3’s”, which will certainly increase his wealth in the forthcoming years.

Parallel with those roles, Bow Wow hosted BET’s music video show “106 & Park” from 2012 to 2014, and later he was the host of the radio show “RnB Friday Nights” in 2016.

Awards

Thanks to his accomplishments in the music industry, Bow Wow has won a number of significant awards and nominations. The hit single “Bow Wow (That’s My Name)” brought him such rewards as the BET Award as well as the Billboard Music Awards for Rap Single of the Year, both in 2001. He also won the 2001 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award for Favorite Male Singer, for which he was nominated later in 2006 and 2008, among many others.

Bow Wow Net Worth

His career started in 1999 and since then, he has been an active member of the entertainment industry, primarily known for being a rapper. So, if you ever wondered how rich Bow Wow is, it has been estimated by authoritative sources that the total size of his net worth is over $1.5 million, with more income coming from his career as an actor. Beside that, Bow Wow also increases his fortune through owning a clothing line.

Personal Info

Regarding his personal life, Bow Wow has a daughter, named Shai Moss, with his ex-girlfriend Joie Chavis. After their broke up, he became engaged to reality TV star Erica Mena in November of 2014, however, the couple ended their engagement. Bow Wow is currently in a relationship with Kiyomi Leslie, an Instagram model. His current residence is in Atlanta, Georgia, where he lives with his mother. Speaking about his appearance, he is 5 feet 7 inches (170 cms) tall and his weight is reputed to be around 148 lbs (67 kgs).

Never letting up. @Thee_Kiyomi #GUHHATL ❤️ pic.twitter.com/yzJIRLu2VN

— Bow Wow (@smoss) July 28, 2018

Social Media Presence

In addition to his involvement in the entertainment industry as a rapper and actor, Bow Wow is an active member across many of the most popular social media sites, including his official Instagram account, having more than 3.8 million followers, and Twitter account, on which he has more than 3 million followers.

Bow Wow Challenge

In May of 2017, Bow Wow posted a photo of flying on a private jet, but he was spotted by a fan on a regular commercial flight, and it turned out that he just downloaded the photo from the Internet and posted it. Since then, social media users have been making jokes by posting their own photos and using the hashtag #BowWowChallenge.