Mixerr Album Reviews #1,554

This is Michael Mixerr. Today I am going to review the Doggy Bag album by Lil Bow Wow.

The Doggy Bag album was released in 2001 on the labels of So So Def Recordings and Columbia Records during the peak of Lil Bow Wow’s career as a rapper. In 2001, Lil Bow Wow released a follow-up album after the triple platinum success of his debut album Beware of Dog in 2000. At that time, Bow Wow was a household name for preteens across the United States and Canada. He was considered a platinum rapper guaranteed for success. You couldn’t go anywhere in the country without hearing music being played.

Many fans, stans, and heads alike purchased the Doggy Bag album and thought it would be even better than the last album. Doggy Bag didn’t pan well with the music critics as much as his debut album Beware of Dog from 2000 did despite being heavily promoted by So So Def and Columbia/Sony. A handful of music critics such as AllMusic and NME critiqued the album for songwriting claiming that a change in songwriting and a change of songwriters is what led the album to be mediocre. The songwriters were Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox as they were on the debut album Beware of Dog, however The R.O.C. was not included for songwriting this time.

Production wise the album was wonderful. You had hot in-house producers of the time on this album such as Jermaine Dupri, The Neptunes, Chad Hugo, Bryan-Michael Cox, and George Clinton. With in-house producers such as Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox, and The Neptunes, you couldn’t go wrong. 

Doggy Bag is another platinum album gone wrong by Lil Bow Wow as a sellout. The only good songs were We Want Weezy (Intro), Thank You, Take Ya Home, Get Up, and All I Know. Only half of the album was enjoyable. We Want Weezy (Intro), Thank You, Take Ya Home and Get Up were the standout tracks. This is my least favorite Bow Wow album. If you enjoy pop rap, Doggy Bag would be a lot of fun for you!

As for the interludes, there were too many. 3 interludes is way too much for one album. Only 1 or 2 interludes are necessary for an album and not a whole bunch. Not 3 interludes with the way I think on my stance about interludes. I believe that interludes are a waste of space and time on an album. I'm not a fan of interludes. That's why I don't review them much at all.


We Want Weezy (Intro) is Bow Wow’s cover version of Eazy-E - We Want Eazy. This album has that live concert sound with a more updated sound for 2001. Bow Wow did a wonderful performance of covering Eazy-E’s song. People from everywhere gathered around and came to check out the sound that So So Def was throwin' down as they kept it crunk like this every day.

Thank You is a genuine heartfelt dedication to his fans. This song is specifically dedicated to his fans. I like how he thanked his fans in a song and not just in writing for liner notes. From signing autographs to giving daps to all of folks, he’ll be there. Just like that. Jagged Edge did a wonderful job on singing while harmonizing the chorus. Having Jagged Edge and Fundisha sing on the chorus was a wonderful idea.

The Neptunes produced the heavy beat bangin’ song Take Ya Home. It was one his hottest fierce singles of 2001 next to Thank You. Lil Bow Wow reached super-stardom in the teen market with this song as it appeared on many soundtracks for different movies. His pockets were filling up with cash after selling out shows on the Scream Tour with headliner acts such as B2K and Lil Zane.

On the Get Up song, Bow Wow blames himself in a cocky manner for his own looks. People get happy when they hear his music. They know all the lyrics to every song.

All I Know interpolates New Edition's Candy Girl song from 1986. All I Know is a short but sweet tongue in cheek type of song. I'm not sure how Bow Wow and Jermaine Dupri got talked into making this song but it should have been a single but probably wasn't due to sample clearance issues. Go figure.

Crazy is not too hyphy however. The songwriters were Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox as they were on the debut album Beware of Dog back in 2000. Chad Hugo of the Neptunes too lent a hand in production and studio time for this album.


I rate this album, Doggy Bag, 2/5**.