SOHH Exclusive: R. Kelly Gives Bow Wow & Omarion Thumbs Up On Collabo Album
Thursday - August 16, 2007 by Janeé Bolden
With their collaborative album Face Off due out this December, SOHH caught up with rap heart throb Bow Wow and R&B sensation Omarion to address the inevitable comparisons to R. Kelly and Jay-Z's Best of Both Worlds project.
The partnership between hip-hop and R&B is nothing new, but when it comes to rapper/singer joint ventures there aren't any more storied than the one between Kells and Hov. Despite the Best of Both World's legacy, Omarion and Bow Wow are already doing their best to distance Face Off from the project that preceded it.
"We definitely respect Jay-Z and R. Kelly because I would say they have influenced not even just us, but the game," Omarion told SOHH. "But one thing that we want people to understand is that they [are] who they are and Bow and O is who [we] are. And what we're going to bring to the table is totally different than what they brought to the table."
"Totally different," Bow Wow added, "I can see the comparisons but musically... totally different."
Since they've both made successful transitions from child to adult superstars, made big chips for their roles in the Scream tours, and hit the studio together ("Let Me Hold You"), the young music stars say the major difference between them and the elder duo is that shared history.
"Our story is different than theirs," Omarion said. "Our story is that we really grew up together in the industry."
While the story may be different, some of the players may well be the same. In fact, Bow Wow says that when R. Kelly heard about the Face Off project, he jumped at the opportunity to get involved.
"Rob's like 'Yall doin the best of both worlds? What? That's me, that's what I do. Ya'll need to go ahead and let me bless that track. Ya'll know I got something for ya'll. Ya'll need to just come on ahead with it.'"
"We already got they blessings on it now the people gotta respect it and we gon' make them respect it with the music," Bow Weezy continued.
Anticipated for release sometime this December, the dual project follows solo releases for both Omarion (21) and Bow Wow (The Price of Fame) which were both released last year.