Too $hort Life Is…

On his major-label debut, Too $hort serves his signature Oakland sound to the nation. The loose, sun-dappled basslines nod towards the ghetto funk of Zapp & Roger, while $hort’s tales of drop-top hedonism in a “city of players” would make a sphinx blush. Few rappers have been as successful at projecting apathy as power, but the rapper’s breezily nihilistic worldview—where the drama “really ain't worth my time”—has always been his charm. But no matter how cavalier or offensive he gets, the album is undeniably a monument to West Coast rap culture.