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Too Short
Musical artist

Too $hort, or Too Short, (born Todd Anthony Shaw on April 28 1966 in Los Angeles, California) is a rapper who started his career as a youth in Oakland, California. Through his music, Too $hort has cultivated a persona of a no-nonsense pimp, and is widely credited for popularizing pimp culture in hip hop, along with Ice T.

Biography

Too $hort is a pioneer of the West Coast hip hop sound. Initially, his first releases had raw and simple drum beats using a TR-808 or TR-909 drum machine. With his 1989 release, Life Is...Too $hort, he began infusing funk and Blues sounds with his trademark beats giving birth to the Bay Area hip-hop sound known as Mobb music. While $hort's backing tracks have matured, his trademark rap style has changed little throughout his career - something $hort takes pride in both in songs and interviews.

In the early 1980s $hort produced custom raps for people with his high school friend, Freddie B. In 1986, Too $hort and Freddie B. founded the Dangerous Music record label to distribute his music regionally. Dangerous Music has since changed names to $hort Records, and now Up All Night Music.

Too $hort has released 16 albums to date, with his latest being Blow The Whistle which contains a newly released single, the title track "Blow the Whistle" (2006). In his 1996 release Gettin' It (Album 10) $hort claimed he was retiring, stating this was "the last album" in the title track. This retirement was short lived when he returned in 1999 releasing his album Can't Stay Away.

He appeared on the hit "Player's Holiday" which appears on T.W.D.Y.'s (1999) debut album and Priority Records compilation "Nuthin But A Gangsta Party." After the appearances, he began working on his 11th album which was appropriately titled Can't Stay Away. The album included guest appearances by Eightball & MJG, Jay-Z, Jermaine Dupri, Puff Daddy (now Diddy), E-40, Daz Dillinger, Lil' Jon, Soopafly, Scarface and B-Legit as well as recognized verses by $hort himself. When he relocated to Atlanta in (1994), he began working with a more diverse variety of artists including Twista and Lil Jon.

In 1994, $hort relocated from Oakland to Atlanta, Georgia. He still represents his Oakland roots as on his 2003 record he has a track titled "California Girls." In addition, his "Blow the Whistle" music video, was made in Oakland. Along with his crafty appearances, $hort has been able to remain a prominent figure on the underground scene, a West Coast hero, and an overall legend by constantly updating and reinventing his sound. $hort has come from rapping over raw drum beats, through the g-funk era, through the Bay Area signature sound, and on his latest efforts, the crunk era. He guest appeared on his close friend Lil Jon's album and scored a hit record with the track "Bia Bia" along with Ludacris and Chyna White.

Too $hort is one of the few rappers to release 6 platinum solo albums in a row which puts him in select company. As stated on his track "These Are The Tales" off the Chase The Cat album, "Six platinums in a row, Ice Cube and Cool J/ Who else did that shit." He is also the first rapper to use the word "biatch" in a rap.

In 2004 The Ghetto appeared on popular videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, playing on West Coast hip hop radio station Radio Los Santos.

Up All Nite Records

Too $hort runs his own record label, Up All Nite Records. Artists on the label include The Pack, and Keak da Sneak, best known for their singles, "Vans" and "Gimme the Mango."

Adult films

Too $hort has also moonlighted in the adult film industry, with the 2003 film Get In Where You Fit In, .

Discography

Main article: Too $hort discography

External links

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