Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 12, 2026

Life Is... Too Short

Life Is... Too Short is the fifth album by American rapper Too Short. It was released in 1988 or early 1989 via Dangerous Music and Jive Records. It appeared as a Dangerous Music/RCA Records release until Jive Records issued the album on October 25, 1990, after it became successful. It is currently Too Short's highest-selling album, having been certified double Platinum by the RIAA for sales of over 2 million copies.

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Jun 12, 2026
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Life Is... Too Short
Studio album by
Too Short
Released1988 or January 198912
GenreHip-hop2
Length54:52
Label
Producer
Too Short chronology
Born to Mack
(1987) 		Life Is... Too Short
(1988) 		Short Dog's in the House
(1990)

Life Is... Too Short (stylized as Life Is... Too $hort) is the fifth album by American rapper Too Short. It was released in 1988 or early 1989 via Dangerous Music and Jive Records.12345 It appeared as a Dangerous Music/RCA Records release until Jive Records issued the album on October 25, 1990, after it became successful. It is currently Too Short's highest-selling album, having been 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
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStarStar2
MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album GuideStarStarStarStar5
RapReviews7.5/106
The Rolling Stone Album GuideStarStarHalf star4
The Village VoiceB+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.TitleWriter(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"
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

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)12 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

References

  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:
  2. Alex Henderson. "Life Is...Too Short Too $hort". AllMusic. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  3. "Too $hort". Trouser Press. Retrieved February 26, 2025.
  4. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 711.
  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.
  9. "Too Short Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  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.
  12. "American album certifications – Too Short – Life Is ... Too Short". Recording Industry Association of America.