BALLERIFIC INTERVIEW: PIMPIN AIN’T EASY PT. 2: A CONVO WITH TOO SHORT

Too Short will forever be a household name. A brand that has endured the ups & downs of this industry we like to call entertainment. In part two of Pimpin Ain’t Easy we got deep into his career, discussed the digital era of music & how it has helped/hurt the industry. Not too mention, he discusses which song of his entire career really put him on the map as an artist.

Take a peep at part two of the exclusive below:

BA: Given everything has gone digital, how has that effected your career if any?

TS: You know, I don’t think its necessarily hurting it like you think it would. It just has changed the face of the game. The artist that gets bootlegged the most, in regards to pirating, unauthorized copies, what have you, tend to be the ones that sell the most. It seems to be the new awareness, I won’t say that’s the reason artists’ sales are down. It’s just another way of getting your product out there. Put it like this, a fan is a fan & they’re going to support you some kind of way. It’s going to be a trickle down effect from that download-it ain’t just all negative.

if its making people like Soulja Boy famous & so many other artists that have followings that have authenticated with the labels that signed them through the internet, I mean its just a new way to get your stuff out there, you know?

BA: With that being said, where can we get the Still Blowing mixtape?

TS: oh, it’s definitely on Itunes. I’d say its probably available on most websites that sale music, no doubt!

BA: Ok, I’ll be on the lookout for it & let you know what I think of it. Speaking of downloads & such, the industry & anyone for that matter has taken a hit on this recession, what had you been doing to keep money in your pocket when you weren’t recording?

TS: I’ve been doing the same thing I’ve been doing since I was 14 years old, I just worked ALL the time. The more I worked, the more stuff that came to me, you know? Work, Work, Work & never ever stopped. You know its like when you put your irons in the fire, some of them are gonna get hot, while others aren’t. You just got to keep at it.

I’m an everyday hustler, so, the stuff I did, last year & the year before that, I’m just now getting a check for that, so we just keep at it. The secret to my longevity is BANK DEPOSIT. You got to do stuff that allows you to go to the bank & make a deposit. Do anything, I mean you got to make a life off of this, you can’t just sit around & play video games & smoke blunts all day, you know what I mean?

BA: (laughs) I appreciate your honesty, but you’re right. Now Too Short, you have a lengthy catalog, of all your albums & songs, which is your favorite to perform & why?

TS: Umm, its starting to be in different little eras now. In the early days it was always the one-two punch of Freaky Tales & Dope Fiend Beat, just because those two songs came at a time where it launched my career & it just defined what the fuck Too Short’s character was about. Then later on somewhere in the middle up, a song like Gettin it Where the Gettin is Good, it showed the maturing of the artist, it was a collaboration with my favorite artist in the world George Clinton & it was a big hit.

Later on, you know, I like Blow the Whistle-to me it might not be my favorite Too Short song, but at that point of my career, it was the most IMPORTANT Too Short song, like when I look back on the whole thing, not as how the career got started or what defines a career, but this shit was like the bridge to a whole ‘nother career, you know? That shit was like a rap where we should be writing the final chapter & then that drops & it just never goes away. A lot of artist that is their first song, one of their earlier songs or their ONLY songs.

For me, I had a long ass career & made a signature song, twenty years into my career. It’s the one that little kids know & I just think at this point in my career, that is the most important song. So I’m looking at it three different ways, Born To Mack in the back of the day, it was Gettin it While the Gettin is Good when I was supposed to retire, that was my 10th album & there you have Blow the Whistle. Those are the songs where I made a statement saying, “you can’t get rid of me, I’m here”.

BA: Well explained. Now Too Short you have been in the game for twenty some odd years & have been on tour, what has been the CRAZIEST groupie story that you’ve encountered?

TS: (laughs) Ahhh man, we’d have to have a 1,000 page novel to tell those stories. You know I’ve made up a lot of stories for entertainment, I never really told the truth in my music. I think my life is a little bit wilder than what Too Short would be. Too Short is like this pimp, like “bitch suck my dick & give me the money”. I’ve been on the fucking fun side of Too Short’s life, I’ve been enjoying myself. These stories, I don’t know, I’ve been kinda running away from them, it’s just so many of em.

BA: (laughs) I think you should come out with a tell-all book, that seems to be the norm these days.

TS: (laughs) A book. Things are going to come about, it might not be in the form of a book, but we’re working on it. I started the whole Freaky Tales thing for entertainment, so of course, something that is very signature in my career is These Are the Tales, the Freaky Tales. So I might be sitting around as an old man telling stories about when I was a young dude & how I was doing it back in the young days of hip-hop.

BA: (laughs) Sounds good, I’m sure there will be waiting to hear of those tales, too. Too Short this has definitely been an interesting, yet entertaining interview to say in the least, but when its all said & done, what would you most want to be known for when you finally gracefully bow out of this game?

TS: I just want to be known for having such an extensive career. The fact that I’ve done it for so long & they could never get rid of me, you know? Yeah, I made a lot of good music, yeah I talked a lot of shit, yeah I went around saying, bitch, bitch, bitch & all that, but there’s not a lot of people who can say they’ve put down this 20+ years in hip-hop. Somebody influenced me in doing it when I was thinking like at a certain age I got to stop rapping & you know that sounded stupid to someone else. Like people thought that was stupid & asked what you got to stop rapping for? I just want to influence someone else to feel the same way.

BA: I definitely applaud you for staying as relevant as you’ve been. Are there are any parting words you’d like to leave us with & for those young cats who are just getting started in the game?

TS: Just to take a look at these dudes like Lil Wayne, Kanye & to remember that when you get in the game, once you get your foot in the door & you’re in there, that’s when you start working hard; really hard. The norm is to work hard while you’re on the way up & as soon as you make it, you can sit back & enjoy it all. But the truth is to get in the door, work hard & that’s when the shit really starts, that’s when it goes down.