It’s a lesson rap has never forgotten — and only one among many it learned, in large part, from this rapper. To understand Too Short’s influence, it’s useful to consider that he found national success at a moment when rap still seemed like it might head in a very different direction. As his records crept across the country, another Oakland rapper took off like a rocket. MC Hammer was Too Short’s opposite: glitzy, energetic and so family-friendly that he had his own Saturday-morning cartoon. This failure didn’t bother Too Short: “I understand why they didn’t get it,” he says of New Yorkers.

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Persons: ”, “, Snoop Dogg, P’s, Young Jeezy, Gucci Mane’s, Hammer, wouldn’t, tourmates, Dre, 2Pac, —, ” Weiss, Wu, Tang Organizations: Oakland, East Coast, Yorkers Locations: UGK, Oakland, York, Coast