Unleashed is the third studio album by American rapper Bow Wow. It was released on August 19, 2003, by Columbia Records. Recording sessions for the album took place from 2002 to 2003. The album features guest appearances from Amerie, Baby, Mario and Jagged Edge, with its production handled by Bink!, The Neptunes, Jazze Pha, Swizz Beatz and Lil Jon, among others. It is Bow Wow's only album without assistance or production from his mentor Jermaine Dupri, and the first album where he dropped the 'Lil' from his stage name after his film debut in Like Mike (2002).

Unleashed was supported by two singles: "Let's Get Down" and "My Baby". It received mixed reviews from critics, who felt that despite the changes in flow, production and lyrics, Bow Wow didn't distinguish himself enough to stand out from other rappers. Despite the mixed critical reception it was a commercial success, debuting at number three on the Billboard 200 and selling 120,000 copies in its first week. The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in September 2003.

Following the release of his sophomore album Doggy Bag (2001), Lil' Bow Wow achieved minor success on the Top R&B Singles charts, with "Thank You" and "Take Ya Home". In 2002, after finishing production on his debut film Like Mike and releasing his cover of "Basketball" for the film's soundtrack, Bow Wow chose to drop the "Lil" from his name completely and continue his career simply as Bow Wow. In an interview with MTV, he said that he wanted to distinguish himself from the other rappers, who had the word in their moniker:

"All these Lil’ rappers, I’m just kind of getting real irritated by it. I said, 'You know what? Drop the Lil'. Forget it. I’m Bow Wow.' Besides, I’m growing up, I’m not little anymore. [I just decided] two weeks ago. I really got irritable. It’s all these Lil’ cats, forget it. I’m Bow Wow now. Everything is just 'Bow Wow,' no 'Lil' Bow Wow.'"

In an interview with Billboard, he spoke about the album's content, saying that he wanted his fans to follow him on the journey that he has started three years ago with a new sound and different lyrical content that defines his growing maturity.

The lead single, titled "Let's Get Down", which was co-written by a then unknown, Clifford Harris (aka T.I.). Bow Wow talked with Billboard on wanting to make an impact, after changing his name and wanting to work with rapper Baby, saying that he was looking for a single that would grab people's attention and that Baby's inclusion almost didn't happen but then changed his mind to work with him on the song. In September 2003, in an interview with website Whudat, T.I. talked about his contribution to Bow Wow's third album and the song itself:

"Yeah this time around I wrote some songs for him. Even on the single, 'Let's Get Down'. I wrote the third verse and the hook. Usually how we did it was [Jazze Pha] he'll write one verse, Bow Wow would write one verse, his homeboy Rocka would write one, and I'd write a verse and come up with the hook."

In 2009, in an interview with HipHopDX, Bow Wow commented on how getting T.I. to ghostwrite for him on his third album didn't tarnish his credibility as a rapper, saying that he learned about the songwriting process by contributing about 85 percent to the album while T.I. wrote a full song and a couple verses to a few tracks.