Consumer Guide Album

Too Short: Life Is . . . Too Short [Jive, 1988]
Musically, Oakland's finest is a throwback, his repetitive monotone trailing midtempo drum-machine beats embellished by low-tech scratches, simple bass and guitar lines, and other synthesized band noises. Not exactly uplifting, either--though he extols the hard haul that got him his Benz, he accepts "freaks" and "rock cocaine" as viable career alternatives, and in general is as matter-of-factly despairing as anyone who opposes suicide can be. Thing is, despair suits the "City of Dope," the generic urban dystopia that the hards down south half-wittingly glamorize with their fancy samples and staged defiance. And though his dirty mind is in effect, Short's not so cock-proud he'll refuse a blow job from Nancy Reagan or stop the chorus from dissing his dick. B+