Short Dog's in the House

Short Dog's in the House
Studio album by Too Short
Released	August 27, 1990
Recorded	1989–1990
Genre	West Coast hip hop, dirty rap, conscious hip hop, Mobb music
Length	70:36
Label	Jive Records, RCA
Producer	Too Short, Sir Jinx, Pierre "The Beat Fixer" James, Keenan "The Maestro" Foster, Al Eaton, DJ Pooh
Too Short chronology
Life Is...Too Short (1989) Short Dog's in the House (1990) Shorty the Pimp (1992)
Singles from Short Dog's in the House
"Short But Funky" Released: 1990 "The Ghetto" Released: October 8, 1990

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	B−[2]
RapReviews	(8.5/10)[3]
Robert Christgau	[4]
Sputnikmusic	[5]

Short Dog's in the House is the third studio album by Too Short on Jive Records, and his 6th studio album overall. 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.^[6] Upon release, the album received a number of positive reviews, making it one of Too Short's more well known albums.

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.

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,^[7] 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.^[8] 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.^[9]

Track listing

Samples

Dead or Alive

• "Aqua Boogie (A Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop)" by Parliament

Hard on the Boulevard

• "Fopp" by Ohio Players

Short but Funky

• "High" by Skyy

It's Your Life

• "Dr. Funkenstein" by Parliament

Paula & Janet

• "Sister Sanctified" by Stanley Turrentine
• "Take the Money and Run" by Steve Miller Band

The Ghetto

• "The Ghetto" by Donny Hathaway

In Popular Culture

The Ghetto would later be featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. The song It's Your Life was also featured on the soundtrack for Boyz n the Hood.

Chart positions

Singles

Short But Funky

The Ghetto

References