ARTISTdirect chat with Too $hort

August 16, 2000

Rapper Too $hort answers your questions about rap music, being in the recording studio and the upcoming release of his newest cd.

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ArtistDirect: Hey everybody, today we're got the man who put West Coast rap on the map, Too $hort! We're going to be talking about his amazing career and his latest joint "You Nasty," so come on in. The opinions expressed here are that of Too $hort and not those of Talk City, Inc. or Artist Direct.

Sternchen: When did you all first decide you wanted to be a rapper?

Too $hort: I was just playing around one night. I think it would have to have been late 1980.

LiL2ShOrT4LiFe: Hey $hort, what's gonna be the first single of your new album?

Too $hort: The first single is already out. It's called "Two Bitches," and it's already out and selling very well and there is virtually no radio play. But the record is already hot, in Too $hort X-rated fashion. So it's getting a lot of support. And the second single is called "You Nasty" and the second single should be hitting stores any day. And the new album will be hitting September 12th.

Da-numba1-stunna-gue: Hey Too $hort, when's your next album comin out?

Too $hort: September 12th! That's my twelfth album, and I'm working on number 13 tonight. I'm in the studio.

Bloomers: What's the craziest thing a fan has done to get your attention? Sorry I'm so unoriginal !

Too $hort: Probably anything from offering outlandish sexual favors to doing something that really grabs your attention to make sure I get a copy of their demo. People only get one opportunity maybe and at that point, it might just be a cross. I might be walking through a hotel lobby and you've got your demo and you've only got one chance. People have done some crazy things to get their point across.

Flipalot: Who is your all time favorite band/singer to jam with?

Too $hort: I would have to say Parliment Funkadelic, the funk band. That's what I grew up on. I play like that.

TupacLivesOn: Sup Dawg? What do you think is the best song on any of your albums?

Too $hort: Probably the best song, I would have to say, is "The Ghetto," to me. But my favorite song--two different things-- is "More Freaky Tales."

Kheyala1: Who has been the one person that has most influenced your music?

Too $hort: The one person who has most influenced my music.let me think about that. One person.hmm. I couldn't really say it was one person. It's a mixture of two different things--the 70s funk music that I grew up on, groups like George Clinton, Cameo and the Ohio Players; and the early, early rap, which would be 1980-1982 from Sugar Hill Records. Just a mixture of that. What was going on in rap when it first came out commercially, and what I had been growing up with as a child in the 70s. I am a music sponge. I am a listener. So I just listen to music, ya know?

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