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| Photo: Kash Gaines (kash@yakfilms.com) |
When Too $hort performs nowadays, it's not your typical night out. The Oaktown OG has been flipping the script lately, although admittedly, while saying most of the same words. The new Short Dog show is no two turntables and a microphone affair, it's a family function. $hort rocks with a full band that includes Frisco Rock n Soul rebel Martin Luther, bad-ass Bay diva Silk-E and band leader/ pianist/ emcee Kev Choice (when he's in town).
When I saw $hort recently in The City, he told us that the evening wouldn't resemble a typical Too $hort show, and then preceded to share top billing with his co-stars on stage. Luther, Silk, and Kev all held it down for a few songs giving the crowd far more variety than they anticipated. Some may have been disappointed that they didn't hear all the chauvinistic hits over distorted bass, but I loved that it was a well-rounded show with quality sound.
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| Photo: Kash Gaines (kash@yakfilms.com) |
The first half of the SF show was hashed out and rehearsed, but the second half was a bit of a free for all. They called it a rehearsal, but others may consider it more of an alcohol and music-fueled kick-it session. Either way it was raucous and hilarious. The biggest surprise was the incident documented below, in which $hort engages with two crazy white boys from The Tenderloin who were in the front row. After talking about how much he loves folks from The Bay regardless of race, he proceeded to bring them up on stage where they commandeered the mic and made an ad-libbed hit record on the spot. It was one of those moments that was amazingly hilarious and that you can't ever replicate.
Lucky for $hort he doesn't have to repeat history. And that's because he is going bigger, funnier and ... whiter? At a recent show at LA's Key Club, comedic actors Michael Cera and Clark Duke took to the stage to perform all three verses of Too $hort's "2 Bitches," a song that even $hort claims he doesn't know all the words to. Whether it was rehearsed or not, it is absolutely hilarious to watch the dorky Duke rap, "I'm fuckin' two bitches at the same time, and neither one of these hoes is mine," much less the always awkward Cera yelling, "Bitch what are you smokin? A big fat dick comin' from East Oakland!" And then just when you think shit could get a little too ridiculous and Hollywood, DJ Quik takes over the mic for a "Life Is Too Short" freestyle. In short, it was kinda perfect.
If this is all part of Uncle Todd's grand plan, I gotta raise my glass to him. The fusion of throwback g-funk, East Oakland slick talk, blistering soul, dope musicianship and disbelieving laughter is an amazing combination for a live show. Granted he may need to lay off a little of the booze and misogyny with so many folks filming, but then again, the man's forthcoming EP is called Respect The Pimpin' and he really isn't leaving us much of a choice.
And as if on cue, he hits us with a new track from called "Bitch, I'm a Pimp."
Nuff said.
DL: Too $hort: "Bitch I'm a Pimp"
Bonus: PyraMid-West Interview with Too $hort
And as if on cue, he hits us with a new track from called "Bitch, I'm a Pimp."
Nuff said.
DL: Too $hort: "Bitch I'm a Pimp"
Bonus: PyraMid-West Interview with Too $hort
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5 comments:
i love Short, too, but every person who listens to a song called "Bitch I'm a Pimp" should also listen to Youth Radio's latest: http://www.youthradio.org/trafficked. because pimps are real and most of them aren't fun like all that.
This is definitely a great piece on human trafficking. It's weird how much pimp music has come to define our region, and yet pimping as a reality and social problem is not often discussed. I am definitely guilty of not reconciling this like I should. There was a time when I didn't like Short's music due to the misogyny embedded in it, but then at some point over the past few years I started accepting it and even liking some of it.
Many folks have a problem with $hort's use of the word "bitch," but he'll be the first to tell you that it's not a gender-specific word. In fact, he did so at the recent SF show, castigating men who act like punks. But upon writing this, I'm realizing that I've only wrestled with his music when it comes to misogyny, and not really marinated with the implications of pimping.
I suppose at some point I began to accept that pimp culture was a core piece of Oakland's social fabric and so it made sense that it was in our music. That said, when I hear "pimp," I don't think about human trafficking, I think of a fly person with a slick mouthpiece. I would guess that many feel similarly. But perhaps we can't so readily separate the myth from the reality. This youth radio/ NPR exposé definitely puts it in perspective for me.
As a man and an educator of young people, I do not condone pimping in any way, but does listening to pimp-influenced music negate my convictions? Or can I, like many educated men and women who believe in gender equality, enjoi Too $hort's music without condoning the human trafficking and prostitution that underlies it?
Thoughts?
When we talk about music, we're in the same boat. Pimp culture has permeated Oakland arts deeply, and the content of the art is a reflection of Oakland, not just the music or the artist. I like Short, too! I say "bitch", I say "pimp". And while I trust you, Luke Brekke-Miesner, to see the nuances in this and stay real about the realities of human trafficking, etc, etc, I think it's important to always juxtapose casual pimps with serious ones--for the people who aren't educators, who aren't interested in social justice, or the people who don't know pimping is real. We should listen to Too Short, we should listen to Youth Radio.
love you!
Speaking of "a fly person with a slick mouthpiece" (and youth radio), if you haven't checked this out yet you may find it interesting. It's Davey D talking about rap music and its relationship to pimp culture: http://www.youthradio.org/news/is-rap-music-blame
And yes I like to listen to Too $hort as well and go hella dumb in the kitchen sometimes...but I don't think that using the term "bitch" to refer to guys "who act like punks" makes the term less problematic. I mean I don't think that the fact that $hort doesn't discriminate, that he applies "bitch" equally to men as he does women, is a good argument to let him off the hook. Right? Because when we refer to guys who act like punks we are normalizing a certain kind of masculinity and stigmatizing others that don't fit into that.
I was going to comment on how funny it was watching dude perform, until I read the comments.
We definitely have to reconcile the resistance and pride that is in our region's "Pimp Music" with the normalizing of oppression that it promotes.
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