West Coast hip hop is a regional genre of hip hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast of the United States. West Coast hip hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during the early to-mid 1990s with the birth of G-funk and the emergence of record labels such as Suge Knight and Dr. Dre's Death Row Records, Ice Cube's Lench Mob Records, the continued success of Eazy-E's Ruthless Records, Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, and others.
Todd Anthony Shaw, better known by his stage name Too Short, 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.
Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast is the debut studio album by American rapper Kid Rock. Released on November 27, 1990, by Jive Records, the album is marked by a straightforward hip hop music style, in sharp contrast to the largely rock-oriented sound of his later albums.
The Polyfuze Method is the second studio album by American musician Kid Rock. Released in 1993 by Continuum and Top Dog Records, the album marked the beginning of Kid Rock's shift from hip hop music to rap rock. The Polyfuze Method saw Kid Rock further develop his "trailer-park pimp-daddy persona".
Ant Banks, is an American record producer and rapper from Oakland, California.
Life Is... Too Short is the fifth studio album by American rapper Too Short. It was released in 1988 via Dangerous Music and re-released in 1989 through Jive Records. It appeared as a Dangerous Music/RCA Records release until Jive Records logos appeared on the release on October 25, 1990, after it became successful. It is currently his highest-selling album to date, being certified double platinum by the RIAA for sales of over 2 million copies.
Michael Earl Clark is an American record producer and DJ from Michigan, best known for working with Kid Rock, Insane Clown Posse, Prozak and Mickey Avalon. Clark has also worked with George Clinton, Patti Smith and R.L. Burnside.
The Dangerous Crew was an American hip hop band formed by Oakland, California rapper and producer Todd "Too Short" Shaw. The Dangerous Crew consisted of both live musicians and rappers: Stuart "Shorty B" Jordan, Ramone "Pee-Wee" Gooden, Anthony "Ant" Banks, Sean G, and rappers Too Short, Mhisani "Goldy" Miller, FM Blue, Dangerous Dame, Rohnie "Rappin' Ron" Royster, Ant Diddley Dog, Robert "Spice 1" Green Jr., Rappin' 4-Tay and Damani "Father Dom" Khaleel. The Dangerous Crew also had an R&B group known as About Face, who appeared on a few of the later releases by Too Short.
Short Dog's in the House is the sixth studio album by American rapper Too Short. The album was released on September 11, 1990, via Jive Records. The CD contains a number of both socially conscious songs, as well as dirty rap and sexually-explicit songs that have made Too Short famous. The album's production samples a number of classic P-funk records, as well as the heavy use of the Roland TR-808 for instrumentation. The laid-back beats would be a major influence in hip hop years later, and the album was key in the development of West Coast born G-funk that dominated the charts for the next few years. The album's cover was an influence for the cover art for Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle, just as Too Short's drawl-heavy delivery had influenced Snoop Dogg's vocal style. Upon release, the album received a number of positive reviews, which helped it reach the highest position on the U.S. R&B charts, of any of Too Short's albums, at the time.
Get In Where You Fit In is the eighth solo studio album by American rapper Too Short. It was released on October 26, 1993, through Jive Records, making it his fifth release for the label. Recording sessions took place at Dangerous Studios. Production was handled by The Dangerous Crew and Quincy Jones III. It features guest appearances from Ant Banks, Ant Diddley Dog, Father Dom, FM Blue, Mhisani, Pee Wee, Rappin' Ron, Ronese Levias and Spice 1.
Blow the Whistle is the sixteenth studio album by American rapper Too Short. It was released on August 29, 2006 by Jive Records. Production was handled by Lil Jon, Jazze Pha, Droop-E, Filthy Fingaz, Maestro, Playa Poncho, Sonny B and will.i.am. It features guest appearances from Jazze Pha and will.i.am themselves, as well as Bun B, David Banner, Dolla Will, E-40, Mistah F.A.B., Pimp C, Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg, and Tha Dogg Pound. The album debuted at number 14 on the Billboard 200, number seven on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, number six on the Top Rap Albums and number eight on the Tastemaker Albums charts.
Shon Adams, better known by his stage name E-A-Ski, is an American rapper and producer from Oakland, California. He served as both a rapper and producer for No Limit Records, producing on Master P's early records and also releasing some of his own material.
Ricardo Thomas, also known as Rick Rock, is an American record producer originally from Montgomery, Alabama and based in Fairfield, California. He is a founding member of the former rap group Cosmic Slop Shop and the Federation with fellow rapper Doonie Baby, and is regarded as a pioneer of the hip-hop subgenre Hyphy.
Dirty rap is a subgenre of hip hop music that contains lyrical content revolving mainly around sexually explicit subjects.
The discography of American rapper Too Short includes twenty-one studio albums, three collaborative albums, seven compilation albums, two extended plays and three mixtapes.
The Black Bossalini is the fifth studio album by American rapper Spice 1. It was released on October 28, 1997, via Jive Records. Production was handled by several record producers, including Ant Banks, Paris, Rick Rock, Ali Malek, Clint "Payback" Sands, Femi Ojetunde, Hen-Gee and Mike Mosley. It also features guest appearances from Big Syke, Ice-T, Kokane, Mack 10, MC Breed, Too $hort, WC, and Yukmouth. The album peaked at number 28 on the Billboard 200 chart and at number 5 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in the United States.
"The Ghetto" is a song by American Oakland-based rapper Too $hort. It was released on October 8, 1990 via Jive Records as the lead single from his sixth studio album Short Dog's in the House. Recorded at One Little Indian Studios in El Cerrito, California, it was produced and mixed by Al Eaton and Too $hort. The instrumental is based on the Donny Hathaway song of the same name.
History: Mob Music is a collaborative studio album by American rappers E-40 and Too Short. The album was released on November 6, 2012, by Heavy on the Grind Entertainment and EMI. The album was released in two pairs: History: Mob Music and History: Function Music. The album features guest appearances from Knotch, B-Legit, Kurupt, DJ Battlecat, T. Nelson, Beeda Weeda, Stressmatic and Rankin Scroo.
History: Function Music is a collaborative studio album by American rappers E-40 and Too Short. The album was released on November 6, 2012, by Heavy on the Grind Entertainment and EMI. The album was released in two pairs: History: Mob Music and History: Function Music. The album features guest appearances from Tyga, Travis Porter, Turf Talk, Wiz Khalifa, Suga Free, Jeremih, and Ice Cube among others.
"I'm a Player" is a song by American rapper Too Short, released as the lead single from his eighth studio album Get in Where You Fit In (1993). The song was produced by the Dangerous Crew and samples "Hollywood Squares" by Bootsy Collins.
