‘Don’t Stop Rapping’ the song that introduced the world to Too $hort
It goes without saying that most first efforts aren’t usually someone’s best work. Not everyone can be like Polo G or Run-D.M.C and have their entry into the music world be received with such praise. Most are never released, consigned to the depths of computer folders titled projectv1_5.7_Final[NOREALLY].
Poring over some first tracks released by artists who have gone on to do bigger and better things, we searched Soundcloud for Too $hort’s ‘Don’t Stop Rappin’, which was released over 40 years ago. This makes him a rapper with one of the longest careers among those who are still active.
A cassette tape released somewhere between 1983 and 1985 (no one can be sure), born out of a region of California which lacked representation in the hip hop space, Too $hort uses smooth, jazz-like bass lines and confident vocals which culminated in a title track that lasted nearly 10 minutes. Sticking to his word, he really didn’t want to stop rapping.
The record was one of the first to come out of the Bay area, and as such was not very profitable for the man also known as Todd Shaw, and his label at the time 75 girls. Still, it was cited as an influential project by Sage the Gemini and E-40.
The rapper who would go on to create a signature of “biiiiiatch”, kept things G-rated when compared to his later work. The lines “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.” That would have been a whole lot more vivid if it featured on his later project Freak Tales.
It’s hard to comprehend the evolution that one would undergo over a 40 year career. Particularly for me, given that’s longer than I have been alive. From ‘Don’t Stop Rappin’’ to his biggest hit ‘Blow the Whistle’, which was released in 2006, a whopping 23 years later, there appears to a shift in style but maybe not the message. This is highlighted by the line “I go on and on / Can’t understand how I last so long / I must have super powers / Rap 225 thousand hours / Get it calculated, do the math / I made 1,000 songs that made you move your ass.”
I guess we just have to wait and see if he stays true to his word and never stops rapping.