Not too many artists in any genre of music have attained the success that Todd “Too Short” Shaw has garnered over his 15 plus years in the industry. If there was a hip-hop version of Mount Rushmore, along with the busts of Run, DMC, Jam Master Jay and LL Cool J there would undoubtedly be Too Short.
However unlike Run, LL and company Short did not start out on a major label or with major backing behind him, he started out selling tapes out of the trunk. A street teamer before there was a definition of sniping, Short used to make tapes for known cats in the streets of East Oakland, putting their names in songs, which gave him neighborhood fame. The personal mix tapes precluded the 75Girls Records releases that would eventually get Short his first major label deal with Jive Records back in 1985.
Known for the low-end bass and knocking beats and his favorite word, Short has spent most of his career catering to his fan base but over the last couple of releases fans have complained that he veered from the sound that made him famous. “My little cousin came to me and was like where’s the bass and I was like whoa, don’t nobody ever ask me where’s the bass,” says Short.
On “What’s My Favorite Word” Short’s 14th album, he has brought back the real big beats and the town feel to it, ” On this whole album I went and analyzed some old Too Short albums, just listened to all the first 13 albums and I think that this new album has that Bay [Area] hometown feel.” Old-school Short fans will agree that this is the most Bay oriented album Short has had in years. As with the last couple albums he has enlisted some of the Dirty South’s finest like Lil Jon, Big Gipp, Petey Pablo, and UGK to crunk it up, but he also takes it back home with Vidal from the Delinquents, B-Legit, E-40 and former Tone, Tony, Toni crooner Dwayne Wiggins.
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The hometown is what made Short and damn near what broke him, from the rumors drug abuse, his untimely death and countless beefs, through it all Short has never shied away from talking about any of it on wax or otherwise. Even though he moved to the ATL years ago certain town funk has stayed in the air, most notably the beef with Yukmouth of the Luniz.
The beef that has gone on for years, but was supposed to be done with the song “Funkin Over Nothin” which featured the Luniz and Short Dog. Both camps even went as far as going on 106KMEL and denouncing the beef. According to Short, Yuk heard the song “Longevity” and thought it was about him. To this day Yuk still throws lyrical blows at Short Dog but he says they will not be reciprocated, “My policy is he can refer to me on every album and he’s never gonna get in any advertisement from me.”
It seems that Beef is the biggest gimmick in Hip-Hop; cats are thinking that it worked for Nas and Jay-Z (well at least short-term for Jigga) so it should work for me, but Short is too old and seasoned for that shit, he is on to bigger more creative things. They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks but according to Short he is going to do something new on his next album, something that he started on “What’s My Favorite Word” with the song “It’s a Set Up,” which was the first song he recorded for the album. He planned on making the rest of the album like that but the flow just wasn’t there “I’m gonna postpone that ideal and I’m letting you know right now the next album I put out is gonna be a 100% positive album, not even shying away from the pimpin and the sexuality but I’m only gon’ speak on it in positive terms.”
Changing his game up may be a little risky for a man who has a fan base as loyal as any artist but this late in the game it may be necessary to keep his name hot in the industry. But that change is at least a year away and before that comes fans have a fresh album of classic raunchy tunes filled with enough bump to rattle the trunk.
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Beefs, rumors and haters all come with the territory when your walls are covered with gold and platinum plaques and your name is synonymous with an entire city. Regardless of the curse Short has the gift that has spawned more than a handful of rappers and lifted him to legendary status. He may not be the best lyricist or spit the slickest flow but there is not a rapper dead or alive with a better track record, like it or not, Short Dog is still in the house.
