The canon of west coast hip hop legends holds a special place for Todd Shaw, better known as Too $hort, even better known as Bay Area hip hop's oldest mac. With almost 30 years in the rap game, his relaxed brand of raunchy realism could be recognized anywhere. 17 albums, 3 gold records, 5 platinum record and one double platinum record (1988's Life is…Too Short) pretty much proves that point. He's been rapping and doing shows since before most people who read this blog were even born. And while many of his peers have trailed off into anonymity, $hort dawg is still at it. And tonight happens to be one of his biggest Orange County shows to date at The Grove of Anaheim. But aside from his history of success from struggle, Too $hort's affinity for “freaky tales”, scandalous exploits and x-rated humor probably scared the shit out of your parents when they heard you bumping “I'm a Player” in your bedroom.
But when it comes to reliving the glory days of hip hop's yesteryear, it doesn't get any better than the boom bap and thick bass of “Gettin' It”, or even the revamped Donny Hathaway sample on “The Ghetto”. And of course, you can look forward to plenty of club bangin' craziness with his more recent jams/ stripper anthems (i.e. “Blow the Whistle” and “Shake That Monkey”). But if you're like me, $hort dawg's old material will always be his gold material. Check out this vintage interview he did way back in the day after the JUMP….priceless.
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