Did that kid rapper “Lil' Bow Wow” really not release his iconic “That's My Name” song in the mid-1990s?

Question

I have a distinct memory of myself hearing this song on the radio in a certain rented "summer house" in the (roughly) mid-1990s, perhaps even earlier, with the memorable refrain going:

Bow wow wow, yippie yo, yippie yay

Song:

But when I now look it up on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bow_Wow_(That%27s_My_Name)

Released October 17, 2000

Huh? In the year 2000, I know for a fact that we had not had anything to do with that rented summer house for years already, so I could not possibly have heard it on the radio in the year 2000 (and late 2000, nonetheless)... And I remember myself still being a kid -- not 15 as I would've been in 2000.

While this wouldn't be the first time in my life that I got two different memories mixed up in my head, I really did think that this one was real. I expected to see something like:

Released August 15, 1995

Or even:

Released July 9, 1993

This disturbs me on a fundamental level. Could it be that I'm confusing this with some other kid rapper who also called himself "bow wow"? I know I'm really stretching it here, but I really did think that I had heard it in that room, sitting in a certain position and looking out into the kitchen from the bed. I strongly associate that song with that room, yet I apparently heard it many years later, at a much later age. It just doesn't add up.

It seems like I cannot trust my memories whatsoever. This one in particular downright scares me.

I notice that he raps "my name is" in a way which reminds me of a song by Eminem. This is the only hint I have that maybe this is a different/later song which parodies some earlier kid rapper, but I frankly don't think this is the explanation. I probably have just blended together two different memories...

Answer 1

Possibly you heard George Clinton/P-Funk's "Atomic Dog" (1982), which first introduced the "Bow wow wow" line. It also could have been Public Announcement's "D.O.G. in Me" (1998), which also used the line at the end of the track (and was sued by the P-Funk "Atomic Dog" copyright holders).

"Atomic Dog", according to Wikipedia (link above), was used in Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990-1996), Boomerang (1992), and Menace II Society (1993), so may well have received airplay around those times.

Another possibility is "Who Am I (What's My Name)?" from Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle (1993).

George Clinton did a remix of "Atomic Dog" with Coolio and Shorty in 1996.

WhoSampled.com lists 318 songs that samples various elements of "Atomic Dog", 107 of which were released between 1993 and 1995.

Answer 2

As @Aaron mentioned, you're almost certainly thinking of Snoop Dogg's 1993 hit, "What's My Name?". Snoop was Lil Bow Wow's early mentor --he was even the one who gave him his stage name (as an echo of his own). The Bow Wow track is essentially a reworking of Snoop's song, and Snoop himself appears on it, so it is easy to get the two tracks confused.