Milwaukee native Jacob Latimore was in grade school when the first installments of the Scream Tour, featuring acts such as Bow Wow and Omarion, were touring the country.

“I came up watching Lil Bow Wow and those guys,” Latimore fondly recalled.

Now 15, the rising singer and actor is one of five featured acts on the latest edition of the successful franchise, Scream Tour: The Next Generation, which stopped at The Rave on Thursday.

Latimore, along with Hamilton Park and OMG Girlz, will open for headlining teen acts Diggy and Mindless Behavior.

“It’s going to be amazing. I’m going to give them a great show,” Latimore said in a recent phone interview. “I’m glad I was able to come home.”

Other than a promotional appearance at a local Boys & Girls Club awhile back, Latimore, who lives in Atlanta with his mom and manager, Latitia Taylor, hasn’t appeared here since his 2006 performance at Summerfest.

Signed to Jive records at age 13, Latimore has spent the past two years recording his album, auditioning for TV roles and appearing in films, including last year’s “Vanishing on 7th Street” with Thandie Newton and John Leguizamo.

“The last two years have been a lot of hard work,” Latimore said. “Grinding, doing shows, letting people see my face, developing my online presence.”

One TV network in particular has taken notice of Latimore’s hard work. On Oct. 21, Latimore performed his song “Like ‘Em All,” co-written by Milwaukee native Chad Roper, on BET’s popular music video show, “106 & Park,” as a part of its “Young Stars Week.”

This fall, Latimore will appear in a recurring role as Jacob Matthews on BET’s newest sitcom, “Reed Between the Lines,” airing at 9 p.m. Tuesdays.

Latimore said BET recently offered him his own show, “Young Man on Campus,” about a freshman starting his first year of college.

“We’re going to start filming the pilot very soon,” he said.

But no matter how many TV or movie roles he’s offered, Latimore said his first love will always be singing and dancing. While there’s no solid release date for Latimore’s upcoming album, he confirmed that he has been working with industry heavyweights in hopes of creating a memorable debut.

“I got in the studio with R. Kelly. He wrote me a really cool song,” Latimore said. “I worked with Mario Winans, too.”

At this point, Latimore is less concerned with albums and auditions than he is with making sure he’s the most talked-about member of the Scream Tour. He may have already achieved his goal: The headline on the St. Louis American’s review of the concert earlier this month was

“Jacob Latimore best in show for Scream Tour’s class of 2011.”

“The show is a lot of energy, but it’s not just for the kids to watch. It’s for everybody,” Latimore said. “A lot of the parents have been tweeting that they like my show a lot, too.”

Michael Malden and the OMG Girlz visited Real Milwaukee to promote the Scream Tour that’s making a stop at the Rave/ Eagles Ballroom.

About the Scream Tour:

In the spirit of continuing the rich tradition and legacy created 10 years ago, the SCREAM TOUR is returning and getting back to the premise that made it such a powerful force in 2001—introducing the next generation of artists to the masses. With that being said, this year’s SCREAM TOUR aptly titled—SCREAM TOUR: The Next Generation (NXG) brings the SCREAM TOUR brand back to its roots and introduces fans to an entirely new crop of young stars. This year’s SCREAM TOUR: NXG stars musical phenoms and Conjunction/Streamline/Interscope recording artist Mindless Behavior & Atlantic Records’ recording artist Diggy, son of hip-hop icon Rev Run of RUN DMC fame. It will also feature JIVE recording artist, Jacob Latimore & Atlantic Records’ new R&B quartet Hamilton Park and introduce to the world the winners of the 2010-2011 “R U The Next Scream Star?” Nationwide Contest–The OMG Girlz.