National Nitwit

(Los Angeles, CA) Rapper-turned-actor Lil' Bow Wow, previously typecast as a rapper, gangsta, and basketball-playing urban youth, finally breaks free in his new film, Roll Bounce.

Set in the summer of 1978, the film is about an urban roller skater who perfects his moves to a disco beat.

"Yeah, there's a lot more to music than just rap," said Bow Wow, whose real name is Shad Moss. "I am expanding into a whole 'nother mother here."

In the film, Bow Wow plays the main character - X - who faces a difficult challenge when the neighborhood roller rink closes down. He and his friends must go crosstown to the northside Sweetwater rink.

"I didn't want to keep doing basketball movies," said Bow Wow. "It's good that I can branch out into another cool urban phenomenon like roller skating."

Bow Wow said that in his next film he might play an urban cyclist whose def moves are accompanied by a hip-hop beat.