Released September 11, 1990 Length 70:36 Artist Too Short Label Jive Records | Recorded 1989–1990 Short Dog's in the House
(1990) Shorty the Pimp
(1992) Release date 11 September 1990 | |
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Producer Too Short
Sir Jinx
Pierre "The Beat Fixer" James
Keenan "The Maestro" Foster
Al Eaton
DJ Pooh Genres Hip hop music, West Coast hip hop, Gangsta rap, G-funk Similar Too Short albums, West Coast hip hop albums | ||
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 (which Shaw himself dubbed "dope fiend beats") would be a major influence in hip hop years later (and would help cement Too Short's legacy as a pioneer of West coast hip hop), and the album was key in the development of West Coast born G-funk that dominated the charts for the next few years. In fact, the album's cover (as well as Short's drawl-heavy delivery) was an influence for the cover art for Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle. Upon release, the album received a number of positive reviews, making it one of Too Short's more well known albums.
Contents
The album featured a guest appearance by Ice Cube, and was the first time 2 major rap artists from Northern and Southern California collaborated on a song. The production of the album was handled mostly by a number of local Oakland-based producers (including Al Eaton, who was also known for his later work with Queen Latifah), but received production from two of Ice Cube's producers, Sir Jinx and DJ Pooh. The edited removes two songs and adds the song "What Rap?" On the edited version, "Ain't Nothin' but a Word to Me" was censored with bleep sound effects. Swearing is removed from others as well.
Too hort 01 hort dog s in the house
Background and Conception
Too Short had received critical acclaim with his release of Life Is... Too Short, which had transformed the Oakland emcee from an underground rapper to one of the West Coast's most notable faces. The album spawned an album-titled single, which had reached #7 on Billboard 200 Hot Rap Singles. The album itself peaked at 37 on the Billboard 200.
After the release of the album, there were a number of rumors that Too Short was killed in a crackhouse while smoking cocaine, and Too Short released this album partly as a response to those rumors, and the rumors would later be addressed on the song "Dead or Alive".
Part of the direction of the album was influenced by Too Short's real surroundings in Oakland. The early 90s were the peak of the crack epidemic, and Oakland was one of the hardest hit cities. The back cover for the album also sponsored the Stop the Violence Movement. Too Short released "The Ghetto" as a response to the plight of the inner cities, and the song would go on to receive a lot of radio airplay. Donnie Hathaway's friend Roberta Flack actually thanked Too Short for honoring Hathaway's single of the same name.
Track listing
Songs
1#9202a8c04000641f8000000046c8548a6:02
2It's Your Life4:47
3The Ghetto5:02