Sometimes you need to revisit your roots. And when it comes to the Bay Area’s rap scene, Too $hort is the godfather. Matter of fact, if you’re an independent rapper of any sort, you owe some homage to Todd Shaw. The game may have gone viral, but at it’s inception indy hip-hop was peddled hand-to-hand. Whether slanging on the bus, in front of Rasputins or “In The Trunk,” the hustle was much more involved than tweets and facebook ‘Likes.’ Now emcees can dispense free mp3s from the safety and anonymity of the internet, but back in the day you had to earn respect face-to-face, AND get folks to put money in your pocket! In his younger days, $hort would actually record custom raps for drug dealers and other local folks with the bread to pay $hort to memorialize them on tape.
Many hate on Uncle $hort’s slow and metered misogyny, but as the intro to “In The Trunk” intimates, all the long-winded wordplay is just window dressing… “He can steal a broad’s mind man in 3 or 4 minutes / It’s not how long you talk though, it’s what you put in it.” Word to The Mack.
And, just in case you were wondering what $hort’s been up to, check him out cruising around in a beater ass limo with a snow bunny, a gat and a sense of humor.
