Blow the Whistle
Too Short
Snoop Dogg, Will.i.am, Rick Ross, Jazze Pha
Producer: Lil Jon
Jive Records (USA), 2006
1 CD
Catalogue #: 83501
EAN: 0828768350126
UPC: 828768350126
You save: 20%
Personnel include: Too $hort (rap vocals); David Banner, Jazze Pha, Pimp C, Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg, Will.i.am, Bun B (rap vocals).
Recording information: 2006.
Too Short is arguably the first gangsta rapper: he was releasing explicit tales of sex, violence, and street life as early as 1983. That claim alone, not to mention his string of gold and platinum albums, gives him serious clout, and 2006's BLOW THE WHISTLE sustains it. With help from hot producers Lil Jon and Jazze Pha, and a cadre of guests including Snoop Dogg and will.i.am, BLOW THE WHISTLE sounds remarkably au courant, with ample doses of crunk and hyphy beats. But Too Short manages keeps it old-school with his tried-and-true style, delivering plenty of hardened braggadocio and X-rated exploits to accompany the head-nodding beats.
Tracklist
Too Short
Oakland, California's original hip-hop export, Too Short was also one of the very first West Coast MCs, having started self-releasing records as early as 1983. Too Short is very much a prototype of the hustla/pimp/playa figure that has virtually come to define commercial rap in the new millennium. His career spanned more than three decades, and while he never achieved the enormous crossover success of heavyweights like 50 Cent and Snoop Dog, Too Short--who is an extremely respected rapper amongst students of the game--most certainly got paid. He released his 16th album, BLOW THE WHISTLE, in 2006.
Snoop Dogg
Snoop Doggy Dogg ensured his place in rap history by providing the perfect vocal complement to Dr. Dre's mellow, ominous, West Coast G-funk sound. His distinctively lazy singsong and soft-spoken drawl was first heard on Dre's title cut from the DEEP COVER soundtrack in 1991. Snoop's appearances on Dre's solo album THE CHRONIC shortly thereafter propelled him to almost overnight stardom, and his albums DOGGYSTYLE and the DOGGFATHER both hit the top of the charts. Despite a much-publicized murder trial, and a falling out with Death Row Record's CEO Suge Knight, Snoop Dogg ascended to the highest echelon of rap royalty, and through shrewd marketing, brilliant collaborations, and his smooth pimp persona, he has kept his crown well into the 21st century.
Rick Ross
Named after one of America's most notorious cocaine dealers, Miami-based MC Rick Ross unsurprisingly spits rhymes steeped in the graphic details of the drug trade. His debut album, PORT OF MIAMI, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and featured the explosive single "Hustlin'." The album quickly established Ross as a major player in hip-hop, and though he deals with some less-than-radio-friendly subject matter, he has collaborated with the biggest names in hip-hop and R&B (including Jay-Z and R. Kelly, among others) and helped forge a distribution deal with Def Jam for the local Miami label Slip-N-Slide.
