Todd Shaw was born on April 28, 1966 in Los Angeles and moved to Oakland at the age of 14. He started his rap career in early 80's rapping custom made tapes which were sold on the streets. Too Short released his first album in 1985 on local 75 Girls label and in 1987 signed to Jive Records. In 1996 Short moved to live in Atlanta; he has since returned to Northern California. He has released 15 full length albums and is still active in the music industry.