Shad Gregory Moss was born on March 9, 1987 in Columbus, Ohio. Shad never saw his father when he was growing up, neither did his half-sister Erica, by his mother and her other husband. When he was five, he started his rap career using the nickname "Kid Gangsta". One year later, he took front stage during "The Chronic Tour" and impressed rapper "Snoop Dogg" who later gave him the name "Lil' Bow Wow". Snoop Dogg later hired him as an opening act and introduced him to Jermaine Dupri, a producer who helped Shad's career.He backed up the success of his 2000 debut album, "Beware of the Dog", with 2001's doggy bag, which contained songs like "Thank You", and "Take You Home".In addition to his own albums, Bow Wow has contributed to Will Smith's album, Wild Wild West, which was named after the movie which also stars Smith, and had a guest appearance on Brandy's TV sitcom, Moesha. He made his acting debut in Like Mike, where he acted as a young orphan who gets a shot at the NBA. He is also a good friend of basketball star Allen Iverson. Bow Wow is currently dating pop star Ciara.At the 2005 MTV Music Awards, Ciara showed up with a big "engaged " ring on her finger, but they both denied being engaged.