Fools are quick to throw around adjectives like "swag," "journalist," "playboy," "MC" and "legend." 

However, one of the few performers who embodies all of the adjectives and can simultaneously wear the adjectives as titles is one Sir Too $hort, also known as Todd Shaw.

The Oakland by-way-of South Central Los Angeles MC has been rapping on the microphone and recording as a pioneer in hip-hop since the early '80s, spitting rhymes your parents would have never allowed you to listen to in that era - although Too $hort's work in the '80s was unique at the time, and contemporary rap borrows a lot from his heyday. Sometimes referred to as a misogynistic, womanizing, sinful lifestyle glorifying artist, Too $hort is much more. ...

Having influenced - at the very least - the entire West Coast's hip-hop scene, and having survived the onslaught of cheap shots hurled at him in the '90s by groups like the Luniz (Yukmouth and Numb Skull), Too $hort is one of the last men standing and still in the spotlight from his era on the West Coast. You can count them - Ice-T, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Shock G., Andre Nickatina, Brotha Lynch Hung. There are just a handful. Too $hort "retired" in 1996 only to return and drop a dope album two years later, continuing his campaign of hip-hop conquest. Too $hort did this in his mid-30s, an age by which most rappers in the first generation of hip-hop had stopped rapping.  Too $hort can't stop rappin'. 

Admired, respected and adored by his peers and fans alike, maybe the most significant thing about Too $hort is he tells the truth. He's an artist that stands upright, with character and integrity. His body of work (nearly 20 albums - all certified gold and some platinum) speak to these truths. Too $hort foretold the tale of crack cocaine's wicked campaign on the people of The Bay. On wax, he told tales of sex, money, murder and pimpin' - with an unmatched honesty that would make movie-goers cringe. 

He never had to (and still doesn't have to) say he has "swag." Too $hort defines the word.  As cool as he is intelligent, it's a privilege to see, visit with and/or watch Too $hort on stage. 

"Too $hort is a legend, and no one can take that from him," says Tacoma's own Mr. D.O.G., who will perform Friday with Too $hort at The Vault Nightclub in Olympia along with Neema, Sec, Props, Hammond and Seattle's Goldie Stac.

Along with his status, what no one can take away from Too $hort is his longevity and ability to stay relevant across generational lines.  I was in elementary school in the '80s, dancing to his then hit single, "Life Is...". With his last hit single, 2006's"Blow The Whistle" - there were again elementary students dancing in his video. 

Too $hort

with Mr. D.O.G., Neema, Sec, Props, Hammond, Goldie Stac
Friday, Aug. 13, 9 p.m., $20
The Vault Nightclub, 425 Franklin St. SE, Olympia
360.357.4721

Hit Jose up here.