1985

In October of '85, Too Short released his debut project Don't Stop Rappin'. If it had been released a decade later the six song project (technically five songs, there's an instrumental of the title track) would have been considered an EP (extended play), but in '85 the full length rap album had not yet evolved into the expanded listening experience that it would in just a few years. Most full length rap projects at the time contained six songs, and most times two or more of those songs were previously released, making rap albums more like compilations containing a few new songs than themed projects.

Short, who has credited the storytelling exploits of Spoonie Gee as an early influence, displayed his storytelling prowess prominently on the EP. For context, the landscape of rap recordings was still very much New York dominated in 1985. RUN DMC, The Fat Boys, WHODINI, UTFO and LL COOL J were the highest selling and most popular acts in the genre, and a full length project from an artist outside of New York was rare if not non existent at the time.

It was so early in the game that official parental warning labels did not yet exist, and although Short's album contained a warning, you'd have to really listen closely to the project to hear profanity. Even his signature "biiiiiatch" was not yet a reality. On the song "Girl (Cocaine)" Short speaks of "baseheads" [a precursor to crack] but doesn't mention crack, although the epidemic had hit urban streets a year or so earlier. Short was a true first at this time, as there was no defined Bay Area sound, no such thing as "gangsta rap" and N.W.A was a few years away.

Don't Stop Rappin'

Sonically, the music on Don't Stop Rappin' is simply a Linn Drum programmed by Oakland musician Dean Hodges and synthesizers played by Greg Levias, who also worked with R&B giants Richard 'Dimples" Fields, Martha Reeves, Rick James, Angela Bofill and ConFunkShun.

On "Playboy Short," Short Dogg spits braggadocious anecdotes about his skills on the mic, his sexual prowess, and his '85 drop top Benz - typical '85 subject matter for a Rap artist. "Don't Stop Rappin'" finds Short boasting mostly about his MC skills with a short story thrown in about meeting a girl named Jenny who he took to dinner without having to pay.

He spits: "I met a freak named Jenny/took her on a date and spent one penny/she bought me dinner, I bought her gum
took her to my house to have some fun/ I said Jenny, your so fresh/you look so fine with your big big breasts/I spit my game to her so tough/Sir Too Short was coming up/ I did just what I wanted to/but when I finished what did I do
I took her home real real fast/ I charged her up for wasted gas". Again his storytelling here is rated G compared to his later signature "Freaky Tales."

"Girl," which is a street slang for cocaine, is also the name of one of $hort's more introspective songs on Don't Stop Rappin'. Instead of bragging about selling the drug, which was once seen as a recreational drug for the rich, $hort uses the song as a cautionary tale. Stories of drug dealers who snort as much cocaine as they sell, and girls who get strung out "smokin' that glass pipe" are contained in the song with the hook that chants "don't do it."

The mid-tempo "Female Funk" with its bouncy beat sees $hort telling stories of pulling girls and his love of the opposite sex. The storytelling here is a glimpse into where $hort would go lyrically, minus the explicit lyrics.

Don't Stop Rappin' is a strong debut that is considered a collectible in its original pressings. The project shows $hort's versatility, and ability to take what was viewed as a New York art form and transform it to fit his region. The DNA of Too $hort and what would become the Bay Area sound can be found on this project.