Washington Informer

WI: So how did you feel being a part of Ice Cube’s film movement, Cube Vision again?
Bow Wow: It was a blessing for me to work with Cube again. It’s funny, because I remembered when Cube gave me his e-mail and I would blow him up! I would be like ‘Yo, Cube, I want to do one of your movies man; I’m ready.’ When I signed on to do Lottery Ticket and they told me Cube was coming aboard I was like wow! I asked for it, and here it comes.

WI: Did you ever get to talk to Cube one-on-one about the film?
Bow Wow: No, not really. Once we got on set, he definitely talked to me, sometimes quick little stuff here and there. He knows that I’ve be doing it for so long, so I don’t need pointers, but I listen every time Cube says something. He’s been doing the acting and rapping thing longer than me. I respect him so much; he’s a pioneer at what he does in hip-hop and in general. I remember being in the trailer asking him about little stuff and he would be quick to give me a response.

WI: There were some spicy scenes in the Lottery Ticket. You’ve done love scenes before in the HBO series Entourage, but was it weird doing intimate scenes with both Teairra and Naturi in this project?
Bow Wow: They were both cool. After I did Entourage I think I can pretty much handle anything. I think that the love scenes in this film are more passionate and real, like two people coming together. With Naturi and me, you want that to happen. The audience is like ‘yes’! With T, that was a totally different scene. Even by the previews you can tell that she’s a beast in bed. It was like ‘This is how it’s going down? Give me a chance, man!’(laughs)

WI: A lot of people are asking you what you would do if you won that much money? But what would you do if you won $370 million and had to give it to a charity. Which one would it be?
Bow Wow: I would start home first. I would go back to Columbus and rebuild the city up. Whatever the worst part of the city is, I would just try to clean it up and make it better for the kids. I would put parks and schools up. I would want to do it right from my pocket, because that means more. When I donate to charities, if it’s not my charity or a charity I really know, I don’t know where the money goes and I don’t trust it. If you need $100,000 put me in touch with the person in charge and I will hand them the check.

WI: You’ve been preparing for your next album for a while – even while you were filming. How do you balance being on set for three months, then putting out the Greenlight Mixtapes and stuff?
Bow Wow: That was hard. It’s always hard transforming from rapper to actor. People don’t understand that when I act, I’m a different person; it’s a craft. I tend to get weird when I act, so it’s hard. That’s why I did the Greenlight Mixtapes. I did it for practice for myself. My fans don’ t even know this, but I did it for practice, because I didn’t feel like I was ready to get back in the studio yet. I took so much time off I was like ‘yo, I can’t just jump right into an album. When I do my next album, I want to make sure it’s right, I’ve already been talking to a lot of people, it’s going to be a big project once I roll it out.

WI: You have LBW ENT (Lil Bow Wow Entertainment), and you’ve supported artists like Khleo and Miss Nana in the past. Do you see yourself signing artists anytime soon?
Bow Wow: I’ve always wanted artist. I asked Slim and Baby from Cash Money the other day if it’s really that hard running a label. He said it’s the hardest thing in the world. The thing about me is I’m such a real person. I watch this happen all the time in hip-hop where they’ll sign guys and those guys will never come out.

They’ll sit and become a writer and never get a chance to fulfill their dream. I don’t want to mess with anybody’s dream. I don’t want to sign them and they never come out. Then it turns into an argument and he’s making records and YouTube blogs dissin’ me. I’m cool, so to prevent all of that I stay solo, I roll solo, I’m a solo artist. If the opportunity comes and it makes sense I will. But right now, I’m way too busy to be worrying about what somebody else is doing.