Too $hort and E-40 suffer from the senseless violence that plagues rap, a genre they both love so much. A pair of West Coast OGs used their platform to write a powerful article and hope to make a difference. Atlantic.
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$hort and 40 are calling for intervention in Hip Hop, and they believe that social media is the main cause of violence in the culture.
"The inner city is like an MMA octagon—it's a cage, a trap," they wrote. “A lot of the violence is going down, but it's still home to a lot of hip-hop artists. And there's still plenty of hope, hunger and love on the streets. We just need to find better ways to support each other. This is the responsibility of our generation and young MKs.
"One of the reasons for the increase in violence is social networks. Rappers are trying to be flexible online, compromising their security. These guys are making money faster than us. We went to a strip club, when the rapper walls sat with money, for example walls: Each pile was three feet high.
"How can you throw away so much money in one night?" We have no idea. These are some of the artists Spend thousands on clothes, millions on jewelry, and then jump in a Bugatti or whatever and show off so much money that you can barely hold your hand for an Instagram photo.”
E-40 and Too $hort aren't pointing the finger at any particular party, but believe all aspects of the industry need to join forces and find a better solution than what's happening now.
"The industry needs change," they said. "Artists must move carefully and strategically. Labels and music executives need to invest more in educational resources to protect the artists they work with. Managers should hire qualified security teams who can effectively defuse tense situations. "Rappers should reduce their social media activity and be vigilant when they go out."
Too $hort has first-hand experience with losing in hip-hop. Too $hort saw 2Pac the night he filmed it in Las Vegas, which he reminisced about during a 2021 episode of the YouTube series. Short Stories.
"I saw 2Pac the night he was shot in Vegas," he said. "It was maybe a couple of hours before this incident happened. I went to a fight and it was one of Mike Tyson's classic fights. He knocked him out in 90 seconds. I was in Luxor and we were going to the hotel, 2Pac, Suge and the little ones, they were leaving.
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"We stopped and talked for about a minute and he said, 'We're going to change suits and go to Club 662.' It's going to be an open mic and everybody gets on the mic.' I said coolly, 'We'll be there.' It never happened."