Is Bow Wow Really Mixed? Rapper Posts Instagram Picture Of Light Skinned Father

The topics of race is and black pride have long been popular topics for rappers to rhyme about, but one veteran hip-hopper has tackled the subject matter outside of the recording studio in an unexpected manner. Bow Wow, born Shad Moss, brewed up a massive Twitter storm Wednesday when he announced he was "mixed," relying on a photo of his father that he posted to social media as proof of his claims.

The rapper was thought to have previously identified as being black — and in the eyes of many he still is. But now he wants all his fans and anybody else who cares to know that he is "mixed," according to a series of tweets he posted. He then takes it a step further to announce that his father's side of the family is "NOT BLACK." As a result, he will be abstaining from the voting process this year, he said.

As proof of his apparently newly discovered racial identity, he posted a photo of his father. The topic has since gone viral, garnering nearly 29,000 tweets as of early afternoon Thursday and sparking anger, confusion and, in some case, hilarity among many of his fans and other people watching on social media.

Adding a new twist to the growing controversy is the fact that he apparently made this very public announcement in part because he has no plans to participate in the 2016 elections. The entire Twitter madness happened after a user asked him who he'd be voting for. From there the conversation devolves into a discussion on race and heritage that would make genealogy expert and Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates blush.

For the record, Bow Wow, 35, said his family is white and Native American, which he says means he is not black. He said a phot of his father is proof.

Despite planning to sit out Election Day in November, he says he's still a big fan of Donald Trump — just not when it comes to politics. Rather, it's the real estate mogul's hotels that have the rapper gushing about the presidential candidate — the one in Toronto, at least.