Life Is... Too Short

Life Is... Too Short
Life Is... Too Short
Studio album by Too Short
Released	1988 or January 1989
Genre	Hip hop
Length	54:52
Label	Dangerous Music; Jive; RCA;
Producer	Too Short; R. Austin; T. Bohanon; Al Eaton;
Too Short chronology

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 or early 1989 via Dangerous Music and Jive Records.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] 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.

Background

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

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide	^[5]
RapReviews	7.5/10^[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[4]
The Village Voice	B+^[7]

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.^[8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Todd Shaw, except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
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"	Shaw Al Eaton	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"	Shaw Eaton	5:31
9.	"Pimp the Ho"		5:54
10.	"Outro"		0:59

Personnel

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

Weekly charts

Chart (1989)	Peak position
US Billboard 200^[9]	37
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[10]	9

Year-end charts

Chart (1989)	Position
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[11]	16

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)^[12]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ ^a ^b
Contrary to the 1988 copyright date on the album, the following sources refer to January 1989 as the official release date for Life Is... Too Short:
- "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved February 25, 2025.
- "Life is ... Too Short /T. Shaw. Detailed Record View". publicrecords.copyright.gov. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Alex Henderson. "Life Is...Too Short Too $hort". AllMusic. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
^ "Too $hort". Trouser Press. Retrieved February 26, 2025.
^ ^a ^b The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 711.
^ ^a ^b MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. pp. 568–569.
^ "Too $hort Life is... Too $hort". RapReviews. May 2, 2003. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
^ Christgau, Robert (June 27, 1989). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
^ "The 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. June 7, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
^ "Too Short Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
^ "Too Short Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1989". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 6, 2015. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
^ "American album certifications – Too Short – Life Is ... Too Short". Recording Industry Association of America.

[releasedate-1] Contrary to the 1988 copyright date on the album, the following sources refer to January 1989 as the official release date for Life Is... Too Short:
"Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved February 25, 2025.

"Life is ... Too Short /T. Shaw. Detailed Record View". publicrecords.copyright.gov. Retrieved August 3, 2025.

[2] "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved February 25, 2025.

[3] "Life is ... Too Short /T. Shaw. Detailed Record View". publicrecords.copyright.gov. Retrieved August 3, 2025.

[AllMusic-2] Alex Henderson. "Life Is...Too Short Too $hort". AllMusic. Retrieved July 25, 2015.

[3] "Too $hort". Trouser Press. Retrieved February 26, 2025.

[RS-4] The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 711.

[MH-5] MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. pp. 568–569.

[6] "Too $hort Life is... Too $hort". RapReviews. May 2, 2003. Retrieved July 25, 2015.

[7] Christgau, Robert (June 27, 1989). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved May 6, 2016.

[8] "The 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. June 7, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022.

[ac_Billboard200_Too_Short-9] "Too Short Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 23, 2014.

[ac_BillboardRandBHipHop_Too_Short-10] "Too Short Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 23, 2014.

[11] "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1989". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 6, 2015. Retrieved November 15, 2021.

[United_StatesToo_ShortLife_Is_..._Too_ShortalbumCertRef-12] "American album certifications – Too Short – Life Is ... Too Short". Recording Industry Association of America.

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v t e Too Short
Discography
Albums	Don't Stop Rappin' Players Raw, Uncut and X-Rated Born to Mack Life Is... Too Short Short Dog's in the House Shorty the Pimp Get in Where You Fit In Cocktails Gettin' It (Album Number Ten) Can't Stay Away You Nasty Chase the Cat What's My Favorite Word? Married to the Game Blow the Whistle Get off the Stage Still Blowin' No Trespassing The Pimp Tape The Vault
EPs	Respect the Pimpin'
Collaboration albums	History: Function Music History: Mob Music Snoop Cube 40 $hort
Compilation albums	Greatest Hits, Vol. 1: The Player Years, 1983–1988 Nationwide: Independence Day Bible of a Pimp
Singles	"The Ghetto" "Short But Funky" "I'm a Player" "Money in the Ghetto" "Cocktales" "Gettin' It" "Call Me" "Invasion of the Flat Booty Bitches" "Shake That Monkey" "Blow the Whistle"
Featured singles	"Rapper's Ball" "Bia' Bia'" "Bossy" "Life of da Party" "Bitch" "On My Level" "First Date" "Girls" "Loyal" "Or Nah"
Related articles	The Dangerous Crew

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