Too $hort

Too $hort Honored With ‘Too $hort Day’ in Oakland at Street Naming Ceremony

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View this post on Instagram A post shared by Vital Versatility (@vitalversatility)

Too $hort received a proclamation from Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf over the weekend designating Dec. 10, 2022, as “Too $hort Day,” and a street was renamed in his honor.

The three-block stretch of Foothill Boulevard in East Oakland was formally renamed “Too $hort Way” in a ceremony attended by Ice Cube, Mistah F.A.B., and Sway Calloway, all of whom spoke on stage to express their congratulations. Too $hort Way is just outside Fremont High School, $hort’s alma mater, and where he walked to school for years.

The proclamation and street renaming were part of the Mayor’s intention to honor $hort’s artistic legacy and accomplishments to the Oakland community, particularly with hit songs such as “Blow the Whistle,” “Shake That Monkey,” “The Ghetto,” “Gettin It,” and others. In addition, $hort announced a collaboration with the Oakland Unified School District, Affect The Youth, and Fremont High School to restore marching bands and music programs to the district.

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Too $hort with Ice Cube, Mayor Libby Schaaf, Mistah F.A.B., and Sway Calloway
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Too $hort with Vital Versatility CEO Didier Morais and Gaelen Whittemore

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Too $hort To Be Honored In Street Naming Ceremony In Oakland

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According to. report from Datebook, West Coast legend and Oakland native Too $hort is being recognized by his hometown with a street now being called “Too $hort Way”.

Oakland’s City Council has announced that the three-block stretch on Foothill Boulevard between 47th avenue and High Street will soon be named after Oaktown’s first street-wise rapper. Councilmember Noel Gallo introduced the move during a council meeting on Tuesday (December 6). Mayor Libby Schaaf endorsed Short and the motion for the street naming has already been accepted.

“December 10th it’s official,” he captioned his post highlighting the street naming. “Blow the mafuckin whistle Biiiiiiiitch!!!!!”

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Too $hort’s street naming coincides with the release of his, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube and E-40‘s new album as the West Coast super group, Mount Westmore. The collective released their latest single, “Activated,” on December 2 with an accompanying music video.

Mount Westmore will be dropping their 16-track Snoop, Cube, 40, $hort LP on Friday (December 9) after initially making the project available exclusively via blockchain under the title Bad MFs this past summer. The release to DSPs will include additional tracks not featured in the previous release.

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Too $hort Explains Why He Kept His Friends Away From Tupac

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Too $hort explained how he tried to stray Tupac from bad influences during an appearance on the 85 South Show.

The Oakland rapper broke down how Tupac was a “different” person every single time he saw him. Throughout their relationship, Short explained that ‘Pac’s Zodiac sign as a Gemini became more apparent. “I never saw the same Tupac twice. They always trying to show the image of what Tupac was, and like, bruh, he was always like drastically different. Like most Geminis,” Short said.

NEW YORK – JULY 23: Rapper Tupac Shakur performs onstage at Club Amazon on July 23, 1993 in New York, New York. (Photo by Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

The legendary rapper revealed said that ‘Pac spent a significant amount of time in Oakland during Digital Underground‘s reign. Still, he wasn’t necessarily the leader of the circles he was tied to. “‘Pac was the lil homie of the crew,” Short explained, citing an old video where Tupac was a background dancer.

“Tupac started coming of age and I looked at him,” Short continued. He described the “So Many Tears” artist as a “real one” who wasn’t going to be punked.

“I was like, ‘I can not bring this n***a around my homies.’ ‘Cause it’s going to be like oil and fire. Like, when Tupac got to L.A., and they let him get around, he was going 10,000 miles an hour.”

“I knew it. I was like, I can not bring this n***a around my homies,” he said. “I literally made a conscious effort to not ever bring Tupac around my — he found his way to Richie Rich… he gave ‘Pac the town but I said, ‘I wouldn’t do it.’”

Short said he didn’t want to feel “that guilt” of introducing Tupac to people that would put him in sticky situations.

Check out the clip below and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

[WATCH] Too Short Says He “Made A Conscious Effort” To Keep 2Pac Away From His Friends

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Oakland Hip Hop legend Too Short made an appearance on the 85 South Show podcast and delved into his first time meeting late cultural icon Tupac Shakur and the evolution of Shakur following him embarking on his solo career after leaving Digital Underground. Short spoke candidly about keeping his friends away from ‘Pac, citing that they may have a negative impact on the then burgeoning star.

The “Blow The Whistle” star said “I’ve been platinum before most n***as. Shock G was the leader of Digital Underground, but 2Pac was the little homie in the crew.” He continued, “But 2Pac started coming of age, and I looked at him, I liked the n***a. But I’m an East Oakland n***a, right? And I seen him, he used to always keep his little thing, he was not a punk. He was ready for whatever. He was a real one.”

Too Short told the story to maintain the theme that he was concerned about ‘Pac’s well being, saying, “But I was like, ‘I cannot bring this n***a around my homies ‘cause it’s going to be like oil and fire.’ When 2Pac got to L.A., he went 10,000 mph. I knew it! I was like, ‘I cannot bring this n***a around my homies,’ so I literally made a conscious effort to not ever bring 2Pac to — he found his way to Richie Rich; he gave ‘Pac the town.”

See the entire interview above.

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Today In Hip Hop History: Too $hort’s Fourth LP ‘Shorty The Pimp’ Turns 30 Years Old!

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On this day in Hip-Hop history, Oakland rapper Too $hort released his fourth studio LP, Shorty The Pimp. 

Inspired by a 1973 blaxploitation film of the same name, the album’s sexually braggadocio lyrics and funk-inspired production held true to the style Too $hort had established for himself over his past six projects. And although Too $hort rarely strayed away from his proven formula, his progression as an artist is evident on this project.

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Commercially, this album had great national reception and was Too $hort’s most popular album to date selling 82,000 copies in its first week. The project debuted at #6 on the Billboard 200 chart, where it peaked, and #11 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop chart.

Although Too $hort was never hailed as the greatest lyricist of his era, the production and instrumentation of his projects brought him such acclaim. On this project particularly, the instrumentation and composition from Shorty B alongside production from Ant Banks and Too $hort himself is strong enough to stand solo and still be considered a satisfying pseudo-funk album. Check out “In The Trunk” as an exemplary track from the album below.

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Too $hort Joins Shift for “Lil Freak” Single and Video

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Too $hort Joins Shift for "Lil Freak" Single and Video

Shifta, a reggae musician, and Too $hort collaborate on “Lil Freak,” a fresh interpretation of $hort’s classic “I Need A Freak.” This time, there’s a Caribbean twist that’ll have clubs all over the place this summer.

The two were having dinner one night when they decided to go into the studio and produce this banger with Lil Wonder and Jah Messiah on the spur of the moment. Third World Don directed the video, and the track is currently available on all platforms. Shifta’s upcoming EP, Lil Freak, will be published on Timeless Entertainment.

You can check out the new video below.

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Snoop Dogg Reveals The Release Date For The Mount Westmore Album With E-40, Ice Cube, And Too Short

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Getty Image / Jeff Kravitz

The greats of the West Coast are linking up this summer. Ahead of their long-anticipated Mount Westmore collaborative album, Snoop Dogg has taken to Instagram to reveal a release date for the project, with features him, E-40, Ice Cube, and Too Short.

Mount Westmore’s album is set to drop June 7. In the trailer, fans can hear a new song, which samples Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson’s “Angel Dust.”

The group first formed around this time last year. In an interview with HotNewHipHop, Snoop said the album would be “magic.”

“You bring the legends of the West Coast together, something great will always happen,” Snoop said. “Cube, 40, Short, and I have been running the game for years. This is the perfect time because each of us brings authentic and new ideas to the table. All four together? That’s magic.”

Also maintaining the group’s legendary status is Too Short, who spoke on the writing and recording process of the album last year in an interview with HipHopDX.

“I’m going to tell you one thing, one beautiful thing about the process is that early on we all acknowledge that in the studio, we are supreme alphas,” Short said. “We’ve always been that way, but on this project, we gave each other the authority to criticize, critique, veto, make suggestions, and just everything is like hands-down, I trust what you saying.

Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, E-40, And Too $hort Announce New West Coast Legends Album

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Too Short x Snoop Dogg x E-40

Music mogul Snoop Dogg announced a new album featuring his West Coast peers is set to be released this month.  The collaboration is already earning the supergroup “millions.” Snoop Dogg took to Instagram to grace fans with a preview of the new album with his fellow California-based rappers Ice Cube, E-40, and Too $hort.  The […]

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Happy Birthday To Oakland Rap Icon Too $hort!

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Today, we say happy birthday to one of the original West Coasters, Too $hort, born on this date in 1966.

As one of Hip Hop’s first self-made businessmen, $hort started off his career pumping his own X-rated mixtapes out of the trunk of his car. Releasing fifteen albums between 1987 and 2012, Too $hort has made tracks with everyone from B.I.G. and 2Pac to Lil Jon and Pimp C. As one of Hip Hop’s most versatile emcees, he’s found himself featured on, and featuring, tracks with the world’s other most respected lyricists.

Hailing from Oakland, he is considered one of the pioneers of the West Coast style, with many of his early works charting several times in the Top 10 for Billboard. Years later, he relocated to Atlanta, experimenting with the “Dirty South” sound for several years post-2000, resulting in his most well known party starter, and recent hit, “Blow The Whistle”.

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Mount Westmore Holds Court As West Coast Rulers In Their Black & White ‘Bad MF’s’ Video

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Mount Westmore, the California rap supergroup made up of E-40, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, and Too Short, has returned with their latest video, “Bad MF’s,” after making their debut last year with “Big Subwoofer.” The new video, shot in striking black-and-white, follows the quartet as they hold court at a photoshoot, record in the studio, and oversee parades of lowrider cars through the streets of Los Angeles over a mellow, funk-laden beat. The video does a great job of showing off the four hip-hop veterans’ easygoing chemistry, which has been forged over decades of reigning as the godfathers of West Coast rap.

Individually, the members of Mount Westmore have been upholding their impressive legacies in different ways, but all have continued to use their stature to extend hip-hop into new arenas and maintain their independent grinds. While Ice Cube promotes his Big 3 basketball league, he recently introduced a Nascar crowd to some of his historical hits. Meanwhile, E-40 has expanded his business interests to the realm of Mexican-style beer with his E. Cuarenta Cerveza company after helping celebrate his and Too Short’s status as Bay Area legends on Verzuz. In February, Short Dawg made the most of that momentum with a Tiny Desk Concert for the history books.

However, the one who’s been drawing all the headlines lately has been Snoop Dogg, of course. After burning down the Super Bowl’s halftime show this year, he announced his acquisition of Death Row Records and its accompanying catalog, removing some of the biggest hits from streaming in preparation of turning them into NFTs. He also released an NFT comic book and will be a playable character on Call Of Duty.

Watch Mount Westmore’s new video for “Bad MF’s” above.