Too $ hort & Warren G w/ Xperience, High Five, Future Heroes, Diamond Boiz, Money Maleman & Jairon
Event on 2013-12-13 21:00:00
Too $ hort (born Todd Shaw) is as much a myth as he is a man. The godfather of Bay Area hip-hop, the creator of pimp rap, the originator of the independent hustle, the controversial youth advocate and the Hugh Hefner of urban America, $ hort Dog is a pioneer and a legend. His revered status is backed by an incredible track record that spans over thirty years in the entertainment industry and includes 19 albums—10 of which have earned gold and/or platinum plaques.
Short’s story is well documented. Born in LA, he moved to Oakland at the age of 14, where he met early collaborator Freddie B and began one of the most storied careers in hip-hop history. By 1981, the two had turned their rap hobby into a thriving independent enterprise by selling cassettes of Too $ hort’s raps for five bucks a pop in the streets of East Oakland. He even had the ingenious idea of recording personalized rap tapes for those wiling to pony up some extra cash. Then, fresh out of high school, he signed to the local label 75 Girls, before founding his own label, Dangerous Music. By the time Born to Mack was released in 1986 and Jive Records came calling, he was already an underground west coast music fixture.
After over twenty years with Jive Records, $ hort has come full circle and is back on the independent grind that first put him on the map. The difference this time around is that he’s selling mp3s and not cassettes and CD’s. The technology may be new, but he’s had his head buried in tech magazines for years, itching for the day he could set up shop again.
With Too $ hort’s resume and list of accolades most would retire, but he’s far from finished. The freaky, over-the-top Vegas musical review era of his life is forthcoming he assures, but he’s not ready to step out of the booth yet. He had the biggest record of his career at the age of 40, in “Blow The Whistle,” so why not another classic at the age of 45 or 50?
Too $ hort has always been a lot more intelligent and dynamic than the misogynistic stereotypes that confine him. One conversation with him makes this clear. Don’t get it twisted though; Todd Shaw is indeed a player and purveyor of East Oakland pimp culture. He even makes sure that the men in his live audiences know that their women might choose up on the next man, because real bona fide players show up to Too $ hort shows. His raunchy freaky tales and signature refrain, “Biaaatch!” run the risk of ruffling feathers, but such vulgarity often comes off as endearing when paired with his candor, humor and iconic status. It’s important to remember that at least three generations have grown up on Too $ hort’s music. 30 years into his music career, his catalogue isn’t often critiqued, as it’s woven into the very fabric of the Bay Area and hip-hop.
On $ hort’s upcoming release, No Trespassing, his player’s anthems are sonically more diverse than they have been in recent years. He’s recently made a lot of fun up-tempo music, but his fans kept coming to him asking for the old school, mellowed out $ hort Dog sound they grew up on. Lyrically that means that “bitch, suck my dick” anthems are balanced out by reflections on relationships, life and Harley Davidsons. Sonically that means that No Trespassing sounds smooth, mobbish and funky, but also more melodic than the sparse, bottom-heavy g-funk of his early work, or the raucous hyphy sound of his more recent work.
Songs like “Porno Bitch” and “Money on The Floor” with E-40 will get the club going, but the album really shines when it slows down and smoothes out on some real player shit. “Respect The Pimpin’” is a laid back anti-tricking tribute to the oldest profession featuring Snoop Dogg, and “Trying To Come Up” talks about hood aspirations and lessons learned over feel good electric guitar strums. Think of it as the 2012 version of “Gettin’ It.”
No Trespassing features collaborations with stars like Snoop, 50 Cent, Devin The Dude, Richie Rich and Twista with up-and-comers Dom Kennedy and Wallpaper along with young Oakland rappers Rico Tha Kidd and Beeda Weeda, but it’s San Francisco crooner Martin Luther who steals the show with his bluesy hook on “I Got Caught.” Luther sings, “I got caught making love to another man’s woman,” as $ hort fills in the play-by-play like only he can. The sound is full, musical and refreshing, and is a great example of his return to the live instrumentation, story telling and old school flavor that made his name and music the stuff of legend.
No Trespassing is Todd Shaw’s best record in years and that is just the tip of the iceberg for what will be an exciting year for the Oakland, CA artist. He is also working on an iconic collaborative album with E-40 called The History Channel, writing a book comprised of anecdotes and stories from his life and times in Oakland, and also an Oakland-based movie on the horizon as well. That type of multi-medium ambition might intimidate emcees half his age, but it hardly phases $ horty The Pimp. If anything, he’s determined to show the world how dope he still is on his own terms. And that hustler’s spirit is exactly why $ hort won’t stop rappin’…
Warren Griffin III (born November 10, 1970 in Long Beach, California) more commonly known as Warren G, is an American West Coast rapper and hip hop producer. His biggest hit was the single "Regulate" with Nate Dogg released in 1994. The single was a g-funk track like most of Warren G's productions. He is the step-brother of successful record producer Dr. Dre. According to Hit Music he sold 1,080,000 copies in the UK between January 1990 – January 1999 so he was ranked 92nd amongst the top selling artists of the decade.
In 1991, Warren G formed the group 213 with Nate Dogg and Snoop Dogg. Warren G introduced the group to his step-brother Dr. Dre. Dr. Dre was impressed and signed Snoop Dogg to his and Suge Knight's record company, Death Row Records (2). Thus, 213 broke up before releasing any records, and the three artists pursued separate careers. Even though Death Row Records did not sign Warren G, his career began with some contributions to Dr. Dre's album The Chronic, released 1992. Warren G was a regular contributor to many Death Row albums.
In 1993, Warren G produced the track "Indo Smoke", featuring himself, Nate Dogg, and Mista Grimm.
Warren G's debut album Regulate… G Funk Era was released in 1994 on Violator Records/Rush Associated Labels(Def Jam), featured the hit "Regulate" which samples Michael McDonald's classic hit, "I Keep Forgettin'". Also on that disc was "This DJ", a popular track and hit video on MTV.
He followed up with Take A Look Over Your Shoulder (Reality) in 1997, which took his mellow approach and brought it even further into the mainstream. Scoring a hit with a rap remake of "I Shot The Sheriff", the album was a mid-level commercial success selling gold.
I Want It All, released in 1999, represented a substantive if not commercial comeback for Warren G. Widely regarded as his most consistent record, this offered a jazz-rock fusion style and a host of guests including Mack 10, Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, and Eve (2). The first single, "I Want It All", sampled the song "I Like It" performed by DeBarge, which had a hit video that entered into heavy rotation on MTV and VH1. Warren G fully embraced his less-gangsta image at this time.
The Return Of The Regulator was released in 2001 was voted best west coast album of the year, unfortunately Universal Records did not promote the album and it flopped in sales. In 2003 Warren G, Snoop Dogg, and Nate Dogg reunited 213 and recorded the album The Hard Way with the single "Groupie Luv". The album was released in 2004 and entered at #4 on the Billboard charts.
Warren G released a new album on October 11, 2005, called In The Mid – Nite Hour on an independent label. In December 2005, he signed with UniqueInc LTD (UK) for the UK & Éire, Craze Productions of London is doing the digital distribution and sales on Mobile and online and Hawino Records for the North America release. Warren G is also working on an album with a young producer by the alias of Classic. Warren G stated he will get into this album once he is finish with the show called Celebrity Fit Club
As of 2006, Warren G has joined the cast of the fifth season of VH1's Celebrity Fit Club and also produced the theme song for Ice Cube's TV show, Black. White..
Warren uses the alias "Warren G" as the main artist name on his releases, however he is credited with his full name, "Warren Griffin", for his writing credits.
A collaboration between Xperience and producer MTK, The Revelations [EP] (2013), is a dynamic new sound that XP has been searching for. Blending Hip-Hop, Neo-Soul and Gospel he presents a powerful and healing sound to the genre. A spiritual journey, The Revelations is an analog to XP overcoming his own hardships. He presents himself to the greater good of his community and allows his music to represent his authentic self. A wake-up call from a deep and dark sleep.
XP was able to raise over 00 in less than two weeks through a Kickstarter campaign to fund the video. We are filled with gratitude and joy to see that his fanbase would come through with such immense support.
After touring with with Macklemore X Ryan Lewis for the last two years (2011 & 2012) Xperience has been releasing a stream of new media and is hard at work on several other projects. On their 2012 Heist World Tour they hit 41 cities in 60 days. His recent music video release “New Religion” has gained almost 15,000 hits in its first three days on YouTube.
Xperience was featured on Macklemore’s album Language of My World, and has worked with artists like Casual & A-Plus (Hieroglyphics), Grayskul (RhymeSayers), Grammy Finalist Q Dot, Bizarre (of D12) and Sleep (The chicharones). He’s opened for Macklemore, Snoop Dogg, Kool Keith, KRS-One, Hieroglyphics, Bone Thuggs n-Harmony, Bilal, Brother Ali, Atmosphere and others. He is part of the Northwest Hip-Hop crew Oldominion, working with the likes of Onry Ozzborn & JFK of Grayskul, Smoke and others.
Formed in early 2012, High Five is a unique Denver based Hip Hop collective that finds it's roots and inspiration in the break beats and rhyme styling of Hip Hop's golden era. B Rex, Guidence, Question, and CriMseN provide the lyrics, while D.H. Lawrence and Notes share production duties, and Just Say PLZ handles the responsibilities of the DJ. From the funky loops and dusty samples to the fun loving and often thought provoking rhymes, the movement to bring real Hip Hop to the Mile High City is known as High Five!
Future Heroes are a rap duo based out of Denver who reside in Boulder, CO.
The Calm Before The Storm has passed…
And a whirlwind of experiences followed, starting with The Takeover, a mixtape showing the world that the Diamond Boiz were poised to stand shoulder to shoulder with some of the country's top talent, all handpicked by Eminem's official DJ, Green Lantern.
From their single "The Vista," the Diamond Boiz (Zome, Zé (pronounced "zay") & Dyalekt) were all able to see the path they had started on, and while Dyalekt let people into his mind full of Dreams, Caffeine and Nicotine in May 2010, just to let them get their fix, the three MC's were planning something much bigger…grander…and the time has come.
November 2010 marked the release of three solo projects, which will allow each of the Diamond Boiz to gleam and glimmer individually after having shared the stage with prominent major acts including Clipse, Ice Cube, Wiz Khalifa, Nappy Roots, Likwit Junkies, Blue Print, Akrobatik, Kenan Bell, among others.
Zome, the figurative head of Diamond Boiz, released his second full-length album, Diamond In The Flesh which boasts features from Dyalekt and Zé but also includes Colorado pillars: A.V.I.U.S., Julox, Mane Rok to name a few. Zome's drive to accomplish every goal set forth has found him leading the Diamond Boiz all while making sure every piece of his new full length was on point, knowing that with their previous successes, the Diamond Boiz had already set their own bar high.
Simultaneously, Zé released his first solo endeavor, Advanced Placement. The self-proclaimed "Denver City Kid" is usually seen as the quiet one of the Diamond Boi family, but with Advanced Placement that mind set is sure to change. Trading bars with the likes of F.O.E. of Jewell Tyme and Lil Ceej; Zé made sure to reach out to the upper echelons of Denver City Hip Hop in his quest to "Take the Whole Nine."
And as if all of that wasn't enough, the trifecta for the perfect storm could only be complete with the release of November Hates Me from Dyalekt. Younger brother to Zome, Dyalekt has seemingly taken note following in big brother's footsteps in creating masterful landscapes lathered in colorful wordplay, but also enlist the help of Colorado's top producers such as Yonnas Abraham (of The Pirate Signal and BLKHRTS,) to further the landscape he's created for November Hates Me. While Zome has taken the reigns more so as the business head, Dyalekt handles graphic design work for the trio as well. With his amazing visual art gracing the covers of both Zome's previous works, Zé's new album, Diamond Boi affiliate Lil' Ceej's last mixtape along with work on his own Dreams, Caffeine and Nicotine, which gained media attention by making Westwords (Village Voice) Best Albums of 2010, all three Diamond Boi releases promise to help the trio shine. No. Out shine the doubters over looking these diamonds in the rough.
Media–
Westword (Village Voice):
http://www.westword.com/2010-12-23/music/best-denver-music-releases-2010/
http://www.westword.com/2010-11-25/music/diamond-boiz-club-kaliente-lagunas/
The Onion (AV-Club): http://www.avclub.com/denver/articles/dyalekts-rule-the-world-video-calls-for-sanity,48075/
The Denver Post (Reverb):
http://www.heyreverb.com/2010/11/15/steal-this-track-lil-sumn-sumn-and-exclusives-from-the-diamond-boiz/
http://www.heyreverb.com/2010/05/18/steal-this-track-dyalekt-polkanauts-and-jonny-woodrose-the-broken-hearted-woodpeckers/
Money Maleman (Timmale Dotson) also known as Timmy Denver is a prolific up-and-coming artist. His main-focus in music is to relay his wide range of messages through his clever wordplay and cunning lyrics. He also aspires to accomplish this mission through his captivating performances and his overall presence as a person. “I’m here to teach a lesson, well that’s just what I’m guessin’” is one of many quotes to authenticate the overall mission of his creative works. A flamboyant performer and unique lyricist Money Maleman prides himself on giving his supporters an energetic, entertaining, and enlightening experience.
at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom
2637 Welton Street
Denver, United States
Too $hort & Warren G w/ Xperience, High Five, Future Heroes, Diamond Boiz, Money Maleman & Jairon is a post from: Nevada Sunshine