Posted by Emily Exton on 07/06/2011 at 1:14 PM News

The Popdust Files: bow wow

No longer “Lil” indeed, 24-year-old Bow Wow has confirmed he is a father to a newborn baby girl. (Time flies when you start recording albums at 13-years-old.) Rather than hold a press conference or appear on a talk show, the rapper chose to address the situation and the changes it has brought him via a candid letter to his fans, after leaked photos of his daughter and rumors of alleged paternity tests have run rampant of late (which threatened to sully his name more than that Lambo race with Soulja Boy). From his website:

Let me start off by saying i love my fans. With out yall i wudda been left the game. For the past 3 years i been batteling life. Even thought about taking my own. I felt like as a kid i did everything and saw everything too fast which spoiled my adult years. I felt as if i had no purpose to live(Thinking selfishly) until god gave me the illest gift of my life. No lambo, no blk card nuffn ammounts to my lil girl. I waited so long to tell yall the truth because i was nervous on how yall would look at me. Yall know everyone makes a big deal out of everything i do. I wanted to be 1st n let yall know the real. My lil girl is getting BIG fast. i love every minute of it. She inspires me to go harder.Even made me treat my mother better, its like it made me into a man over night. Never been a fan of posting pix of my daughter. Reason is because i want my boo boo to have everything i didnt. Want her to be able to cheerlead with her lil friends with out some asshole sticking his camera all in my lil girl face. I know how fame is. I missed out on so much that i now know how important it is to cherish and have those things in your life. Yes! I change diapers. Aint as bad as i thought hahaha. I want her to live with me so bad. Jus us 2. Thats my dream man but fellas yall know how it go. Baby gotta stay with they momma and all dat bull. I hate that! So i have to fly 5 hrs away to see her. I find myself going into my i phone book jus lookn at pix of her. Sometimes i tear up cuz i just cant believe it brotha be emotional. All in all im good. This is my 1st. I know all my fans gone support me and ride for her like yall been doin my whole career. To the ones that say “Im heart broken how can he do that to us” well i do have a life thats not all about movies or making albums. Im 24 now. I cant wait 4eva. Im happy and if your a fan then ud be happy too cuz yall gone be with me every step of the way. The bs that comes with having a baby momma is expected. So i neva trip. Jus gotta suck it up keep chin high and try not let her get the best of my feelings by playin them stupid games. Ima stay positive and keep maintaining long as i got yall i cant lose.  I love yall. And shai shai daddy love u too! Wizzle!!!!

So there you have it. With Bow Wow continuing to work on his long-awaited Cash Money debut Underrated (possibly pushed back to 2012), it will be interesting to see if fatherhood has any affect on his songwriting. We’ve heard “I’m Da Man,” his latest collaboration with Chris Brown, but until the full-length disc drops let’s take some time to remember the artist formerly known as Lil, while you imagine him rocking his baby girl to sleep. Who could forget this video? Little Solange!

[RapRadar]