Biography
Who is Too Short?
Early life and beginnings
Todd Anthony Shaw was born in Los Angeles on April 28, 1966. In 1980, he relocated with his family to Oakland, California. During his time at Fremont High School, he participated in the school band as a drummer. These formative years in the Bay Area influenced his future music career.
Before launching his solo career, he worked with high school friend Freddy B to create custom songs on cassette tapes. These recordings were sold locally to people throughout Oakland and the surrounding Bay Area.
Career beginnings
He officially began his solo career in 1985 with the release of the album Don't Stop Rappin' on the 75 Girls Records And Tapes label. This early project used basic drum machine beats from a LinnDrum. In 1983, he co-founded the label Dangerous Music with Freddie B to distribute his work regionally. He also formed a rap collective known as The Dangerous Crew.
By the late 1980s, Too Short became a pioneer of the West Coast hip-hop genre. His fourth album, Born to Mack, released in 1987, sold approximately 50,000 units directly from his car trunk. Jive Records later re-issued this project commercially.
Chart success and style
His fifth album, Life Is... Too Short, achieved double platinum certification from the RIAA and marked his first appearance on the Billboard 200 chart. The 1990 follow-up, Short Dog's In The House, produced the single The Ghetto, which remains his highest-charting entry on the Billboard Hot 100.
Throughout the 1990s, he maintained a consistent output with albums such as Shorty the Pimp, Get in Where You Fit In, and Cocktails. Each of these projects reached the top ten of the Billboard 200 and earned platinum status. His lyrical content frequently explored themes of street survival, pimping, and promiscuity.
Collaborations and later projects
Throughout his career, he has collaborated with artists including Tupac Shakur, Notorious B.I.G., Scarface, and Pimp C. In 2020, he joined Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, and E-40 to form the hip-hop group Mount Westmore. He also released collaborative albums with E-40, including History: Mob Music and History: Function Music.
His discography continued into the late 2010s with the release of The Pimp Tape in 2018 and The Vault in 2019. In 2006, he founded the record label Up All Nite Records, through which he signed the hyphy group the Pack.
Community and other interests
Outside of music, he has been a mentor since 2006 for Youth UpRising, an Oakland non-profit organization supporting at-risk youth. In 2022, the City of Oakland honored him by declaring a section of Foothill Boulevard as Too $hort Way and establishing December 10, 2022, as Too $hort Day.
In 2025, he became a part-owner of the Oakland Ballers, an independent baseball team in the Pioneer League. He also appeared in various films, such as Menace II Society, where he played the role of Lew-Loc, and the 2003 film Get In Where You Fit In.
Birthday and age
Too Short was born on April 28, 1966, which makes Too 60 years old today. That birthday falls under the Taurus sign. Too shares the date with 64 other famous people.
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