Ohio rap prodigy Bow Wow has shown he’s up for ending his petty quarrel with his former mentor Jermaine Dupri. However, his recent attempt, caught in a backstage video, didn’t quite go to plan and left the 36-year-old red in the cheeks.
A video posted to Bow Wow’s Instagram page on Monday, May 8th, showed the rapper and actor attempting to build bridges with the super-producer backstage at the Lovers & Friends Festival on Saturday.
Despite Bow Wow’s best intentions, Dupri looked rather obstinate and showed very little emotion as the former tried to shove him playfully. Other people nearby taunted, “Hug Him!” and “Do it again!” suggesting the pair had already hugged it out, but Dupri was hesitant to do so again on camera.
“I’ll be the bigger person…… IM FOLLOWING U AGAIN @jermainedupri,” Bow Wow wrote in his Instagram caption. “hey its a step …1st time speaking all year #loversandfriends #recap.”
Last month, Bow Wow appeared on The Baller Alert Show, where he discussed his relationship with Dupri and revealed why there was a rift between them. “We had a conversation not too long ago. I’ll keep that there,” he said. “We spoke our peace not too long ago face to face. And then he did the Breakfast Club interview and I saw that and immediately hit him. We made a little pact that we ain’t even gon’ speak on this.”
“It’s like Obi-Wan and Anakin,” he continued. “That’s me and him. It’s the OG that know it all, been through it all, got the years, got all the recognition. And then Anakin, who then turns to Darth Vader later, was the young protege of Obi. Always the one ready to get out there and get it crackin’ – then Obi is like, ‘You’re not ready.’ They always butt heads because they’re so much alike.”
Shortly thereafter, Bow Wow appeared on Math Hoffa’s My Expert Opinion, where he revealed that the rift got so heavy that Nelly had to step in at one point. “The best way to explain it without going way too deep into it — and I told him this because we had a real talk recently — last month, I pulled up to the studio, and Nelly had to be there to be the mediator,” Bow Wow said. “I said, ‘I’ll come inside when you there. But you gotta be there. You gotta be right in the middle of this shit.'”
“Nelly’s like an uncle, like a big brother,” he continued. “So I walk in and I told JD to my face like, ‘You like Star Wars so much, right? That’s what we is. You Obi-Wan and I’m Anakin.’ That’s all it is. That’s the relationship.
“I’m the young n*gga who wanted all the info. I’m ready to go, I’m ready to go and it’s, ‘No, Bow Wow…’ That’s all Anakin was. Obi was the teacher, Anakin was the student. When Anakin wanted to go out, get it cracking, ‘No, Anakin. Stand back, you not ready.’
“So that’s the whole thing is that we’re the same, very competitive. I’m smart because I learned from you, could potentially be even smarter because I had three n*ggas who I learned shit from. You had no one you learned shit from. So I learned from you, I learned from Snoop, I learned from Puff, I learned from Birdman. Like listen sometimes, but JD is stubborn though.”