Life Is... Too Short (stylized as Life Is... Too $hort) is the fifth studio album by American rapper Too Short. It was released in 1988 via Dangerous Music and re-released in 1989[1] through Jive Records. It appeared as a Dangerous Music/RCA Records release until Jive Records logos appeared on the release on October 25, 1990, after it became successful. It is currently his highest-selling album to date, being certified double platinum by the RIAA for sales of over 2 million copies.

Life Is... Too Short
Studio album by
Released1988
Genre
Length54:52
Label
Producer
Too Short chronology
Born to Mack
(1987)
Life Is... Too Short
(1988)
Short Dog's in the House
(1990)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
RapReviews7.5/10[2]
The Village VoiceB+[3]

Background

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"Don't Fight the Feelin'" samples the 1982 One Way song of the same name.

Critical reception

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In 2022, Rolling Stone included Life Is... Too Short on their list of "The 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time", at No. 186.[4]

Track listing

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No.TitleLength
1."Life Is... Too Short"4:34
2."Rhymes"4:17
3."I Ain't Trippin'"6:41
4."Nobody Does It Better"6:15
5."Oakland"4:41
6."Don't Fight the Feelin'" (featuring Danger Zone and Rappin' 4-Tay)8:18
7."CussWords"7:44
8."City of Dope"5:31
9."Pimp the Ho"5:54
10."Outro"0:59

Personnel

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  • T. Bohanon - Producer
  • Al Eaton - Guitar, Keyboards, Producer, Mixing
  • Victor Hall - Photography
  • Helen Kim - Vocals (background)
  • Mr. Z - Clothing/Wardrobe
  • Todd Shaw - Keyboards, Programming, Producer, Drum Programming, Mixing
  • Janna Thomas - Vocals (background)
  • Mark Wholey - Artwork
  • Jeanette Wright - Vocals (background)
  • Rappin' 4-Tay - Performer

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[8] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b Alex Henderson. "Life Is...Too Short - Too $hort | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  2. ^ "Too $hort :: Life is... Too $hort :: Jive/Zomba". Rapreviews.com. May 2, 2003. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert (June 27, 1989). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  4. ^ "The 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. June 7, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  5. ^ "Too Short Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  6. ^ "Too Short Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  7. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1989". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 6, 2015. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  8. ^ "American album certifications – Too Short – Life Is ... Too Short". Recording Industry Association of America.