Too Short

Todd Anthony Shaw (born April 28, 1966), better known by his stage name Too Short (stylized as Too $hort), is an American rapper.

A pioneer of West Coast hip hop, Shaw was among the first acts to receive recognition in the genre during the late 1980s.

His lyrics were often based on pimping and promiscuity, but also drug culture and street survival; exemplified respectively in his most popular singles "Blow the Whistle" and "The Ghetto."

He is one of few acts to have worked with both Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. during the height of their respective careers.

In 1980, he and his family moved to Oakland.

He was a drummer in the band at Fremont High School in Oakland.

In the mid-1980s, Shaw along with a high school friend Freddy B, produced custom songs (called "special requests") locally on cassette for people in Oakland and the Bay Area.

Shaw began recording in 1983, cultivating a regional following with three independent projects tailored for his native Oakland.

In 1983, Too Short started his solo career and released his debut album, Don't Stop Rappin' on Oakland record label 75 Girls Records And Tapes which, along with four 12" releases, featured raw, simple drum beats from a LinnDrum drum machine. This was also one of the first hip hop records to use the word "bitch" – a word which became one of the rapper's trademarks and was the focus of subsequent raps such as "Ain't Nothin' but a Word to Me".

In 1985, Too Short and Freddie B. formed the label Dangerous Music to regionally distribute his music, and with others formed rap group the Dangerous Crew.

Dangerous Music became Short Records, and then Up All Nite Records.

His fourth album, Born to Mack (1987) sold an estimated 50,000 units from Shaw's car trunk, leading to a commercial re-issue by Jive Records the following year.

His fifth album, Life Is... Too Short (1988) became his first entry on the Billboard 200 and received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

In 1988, he formed the group The Dangerous Crew with Oakland-based rappers and producers, and in 2020, he formed the West Coast hip hop group Mount Westmore with frequent collaborators Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg and E-40.

With his 1988 release, Life Is... Too Short, he began using replayed established funk riffs (rather than samples) with his beats.

Subsequent work was primarily collaborative, including work with Tupac Shakur, the Notorious B.I.G., Scarface, and Pimp C.

One of his notable collaborations during this period was on the track "The World Is Filled..."

on the Notorious B.I.G. album Life After Death; he comes in on the third verse after Diddy and Biggie.

Being featured on the album introduced him to a wider audience as well, due to his typical style contrasting greatly with the Mafioso theme of the album.

His sixth album, Short Dog's In The House (1990) peaked at number 20 on the chart while marking his first and highest-charting Billboard Hot 100 entry as a lead artist with its single, "The Ghetto."

In the early 1990s, his self-produced beats came from mostly a TR-808 and from mid-to-late 2000s, a TR-909 was used.

These albums all charted fairly well, as they all were in the top 71 of the Billboard 200, but they did not do as well as Too Short's earlier 1990s releases, as none of them reached the top 10.

His following four albums—Shorty the Pimp (1992), Get in Where You Fit In (1993), Cocktails (1995), and Gettin' It (Album Number Ten) (1996)—each peaked within the top ten of the Billboard 200 and received platinum certification by the RIAA.

Too Short relocated to Atlanta in 1994, but he did not begin working with a more diverse variety of Southern artists until 2000, when he collaborated with Lil Jon.

He also appeared on TWDY's hit single "Player's Holiday" from their 1999 debut album Derty Werk as well as the Priority Records compilation Nuthin but a Gangsta Party.

After these appearances, he began working on his eleventh album, Can't Stay Away.

The album included guest appearances by 8Ball & MJG, Jay-Z, Jermaine Dupri, Sean Combs, E-40, Daz Dillinger, Lil Jon, Soopafly, Scarface and B-Legit.

With the 1999 release of Can't Stay Away, Too Short came out of retirement, continuing his sexually explicit, relaxed style of rap.

New albums released 2000–2003 were You Nasty (2000), Chase the Cat (2001), What's My Favorite Word? (2002), and Married to the Game (2003).

In 2006, he formed the record label Up All Nite Records, through which he signed the hyphy group the Pack and Lil B.

Shaw was born and raised in Los Angeles, California.

For his next album, Blow the Whistle (2006), Too Short now took advantage of the new hyphy rap music that was emerging out of his original home base in Oakland.

This saw somewhat of a resurgence for Too Short as it peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard 200, much better than each of his previous three releases.

However, his subsequent releases, such as 2007's Get Off the Stage, have not been as successful.

On October 7, 2008, Too Short was honored by VH1 at the fifth annual "Hip-Hop Honors" along with Cypress Hill, De La Soul, Slick Rick and Naughty By Nature.

In 2009, Too Short recorded for Daz Dillinger, Lil Jon, Soopafly, Scarface and B-Legit.

In 2011, the rapper was featured on Wiz Khalifa's song "On My Level".

He also collaborated in Snoop Dogg's 2011 album, Doggumentary in the song "Take U Home" and on the 50 Cent song "First Date".

In 2012 Too Short along with E-40 released two collaboration albums on the same day titled History: Mob Music and History: Function Music.

Both charted in the top 100 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.