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The Original Pimp: Too $hort
What really set Too $hort lyrics apart, as well, was that he didn't resort to using the N word or talking about shooting people or gang banging. His real focus was on women and being a pimp, and all the fun and games that came with it. He also liked to rap about being in the rap game, and in that way, Too Short lyrics put him more in the fun and free spirited rap of the 1970s and early 1980s than the gangsta rap that was starting to take off in the 1990s.
But enough discussion about the history of rap overall and Too $hort's place in it, right? Let's get down to talking about Too $hort albums and all the great work he did in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was the middle of the 1980s that Too $hort started to make a name for himself in his hometown of Oakland, along with his cohort Freddie B. The two of them founded their own record label, Dangerous Music, which would become Short Records, which would become Up All Nite Records.
A String of Success
Too $hort stopped just being a regional phenom and got national attention with the 1988 Too $hort album "Life Is Too Short." That was followed up in 1990 with "Short Dog's in the House" and the 1992 Too $hort record "Shorty the Pimp." He even put pimp in the titles of his records? Right, like we said, Too Short was all about the game, people!
These three first Too $hort records were definitely his most popular, though he kept putting a few more albums out into the mid-1990s. These included the 1993 Too $hort record "Get in Where You Fit In" (again with the provocative sexual innuendos) followed by the 1995 "Cocktails" and the 1996 "Gettin' It." That last one would be the final solo Too $hort record.
A Tall Future
That doesn't mean Too $hort stopped being in the game. He merely turned to working with other artists. Who? Not schleps that's for sure. Too Short has worked with Jay Z, Biggie, UGK, Tupac, and Snoop Dogg. As one of the classic pimps of hip hop, Too $hort has a lot of rep still in the business. After all, he is credited with first using the pronunciation of the not nice word for girl that would later became popularized by Snoop. (Think "beyatch.")
Too $hort also continues to run his record label, Up All Nite Records, which has such acts on it as Dolla Will and The Pack. He is also credited with being a big influence and positive critic for Southern rappers (Too $hort moved to Atlanta).
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