October 11, 2005 @ 1:34 pm

Lovers and Friends: Bow Wow & Ciara

Aliya S. King

In her videos and performances, Ciara consciously keeps her legs covered because she says she wants to “grow into” a grown and sexy look. For now, her style is defined by sensual-yet-sporty jeans and midriff-baring tops. But this skirt will be purchased for her downtime. She heads back into the dressing room to change into the next outfit. Before closing the door, she turns her head back to face a visiting journalist. “This is the first time anybody has seen me in a skirt,” she says, one hand on the door of her fitting room. “These legs are off-the record!” The sound of Ciara’s deep and throaty laugh floats through the air. But she’s only partly joking. She learned earlier today, during brunch with a reporter, that she can use the phrase “off-the-record” to keep a comment out of the press. A tight-lipped interview subject already, now Ciara is practically a Fifth Amendment specialist. And the expression is quickly becoming her mantra—especially when it comes to her boyfriend, former child prodigy and current teen heartthrob Bow Wow. “I’m not obligated to share my life,” she says.

Bow Wow and Ciara make an odd couple. And it’s not just because the statuesque Ciara towers over her diminutive boyfriend. Bow Wow is hell-bent on shedding his teen image, liberally using the N-word on Wanted, his fourth album. He’ll freely admit that he’s not a virgin (“I might look like one,” he will say later, “but I ain’t”). And when asked about his love life, he’ll break it down with no hesitation: “I got a female that just about every nigga wants, and she got a dude that just about every girl wants.”

Ciara, however, is freakishly paranoid about keeping her image sanitized. Spend a day with her, and the only things she’ll reveal are her legs.

In a few days, during a photo shoot for this magazine, Bow Wow and Ciara will be together: A young man who is determined to reconfigure his persona, and a young woman equally driven to protect her own.

To Read The Rest of This Story, Get This Issue At Your Local Newsstand Now! Do you want VIBE delivered to your home or office? CLICK HERE.

Also in VIBE’s November 2005 Issue:

• Dipset: Cam’ron’s Diplomat Disciples by Thomas Golianopoulos

• NEXT: Johnta Austin, Chamillionaire, Lil’ Boosie and Smitty

• Revolutions: Shaggy and Sean Paul, Twista, Three 6 Mafia, Elephant Man, YoungBloodz, Little Brother and more

• Start: Bobbito plays the tracks. Charlie Wilson states the facts.

Article tags: Bow Wow, Ciara, King 

Page printed from:
http://www.vibe.com/news/cover_stories/2005/10/lovers_and_friends_bow_wow_ciara/

Return to previous page