Too Short: New York Rap Was the Blueprint on What Not to Do

Too Short: New York Rap Was the Blueprint on What Not to Do

When Too Short first stepped into the rap game, he didn’t look to New York for inspiration — he used it as the example of what not to do. In his own words, whatever NYC was doing, he was going the other way. That mindset helped birth a West Coast attitude, flow, and sound that wasn’t trying to imitate the East — it was intentionally rejecting it. This episode digs into the early mentality of Too Short, why he set that rule, what he saw in New York’s rap scene that pushed him in another direction, and how that single decision helped shape Oakland’s sonic identity and, ultimately, West Coast hip-hop as a whole. We’ll explore the philosophies, the culture clash, the regional tension, and how a young rapper from Oakland created a lane by breaking the rules instead of following them. My website dwannb.com Website shop dwannb.com/shop To book readings breakthroughcards.com Twitter x.com/dwannb Instagram instagram.com/dwannb patreon.com/dwannb

Dwann B