| Short Dog's in the House | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Too Short |
| Cover: | Too Short - Short Dog's in the House.jpg |
| Released: | September 11, 1990 |
| Recorded: | 1989–90 |
| Studio: | One Little Indian Recording, El Cerrito, CAEcho Sound, Los Angeles, California[1] |
| Genre: | West Coast hip hop, G-funk, funk[2] |
| 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 |
| Prev Title: | Life Is...Too Short |
| Prev Year: | 1988 |
| Next Title: | Shorty the Pimp |
| Next Year: | 1992 |
Short Dog's in the House is the sixth studio album by American rapper Too Short. The album was released on September 11, 1990, via Jive Records. 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. The album's cover was an influence for the cover art for Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle, just as Too Short's drawl-heavy delivery had influenced Snoop Dogg's vocal style.[3] Upon release, the album received a number of positive reviews, which helped it reach the highest position on the U.S. R&B charts, of any of Too Short's albums, at the time.[4]
The album featured a guest appearance by Ice Cube, and was the first time major rap artists from both 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 also received production from two of Ice Cube's producers, Sir Jinx and DJ Pooh. The edited version 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 other songs as well.
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 reached #7 on Billboards 200 Hot Rap Singles, while the album itself peaked at #37 on the Billboard 200.
Prior to the release of the album, there were a number of rumors that Too Short was killed in a crackhouse while smoking cocaine. Too Short released this album partly as a response to those rumors,[5] 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 1990s were the peak of the crack epidemic, and Oakland was one of the hardest-hit cities. The back cover for the album sponsored the Stop the Violence Movement.[6] Too Short released "The Ghetto" as a response to the plight of the inner cities, and the song would go on to receive heavy radio airplay across the United States. Donnie Hathaway's friend Roberta Flack thanked Too Short for honoring Hathaway's single of the same name.[7]
| Chart (1990) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[8] | 92 | |
| Chart (1991) | Position | |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[9] | 34 |
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