Too $hort Explains How Cash Demand From The Pack’s Friends Led To Signing

Too $hort said The Pack’s friends demanded money for an introduction without the group knowing.

In his new Pitchfork interview, he recalled hearing their mixtape and meeting the friends at a hamburger stand. After calls revealed one member was his friend’s son, he reached out and signed them.

“We sitting in front of a hamburger stand and they like, ‘We ain’t the Pack, but the Pack is our homies, but you can’t get to the Pack unless you go through us ‘… they was just talking about how much money they gonna be getting from me. That was so unprofessional. I did my due diligence and called around and found out one of the dudes in the Pack was my homeboy’s son…That was their homies; they intercepted the call to try to get something out of it. The Pack didn’t even know,” Too $hort revealed.

The deal worked out well. According to $hort, he took them on the road, and the group was popular everywhere they went. The group also introduced him to MySpace.

His interest in the group fit a wider push for young Bay Area acts. In a 2006 San Francisco Chronicle interview, he said he wanted hyphy to create jobs and major-label deals.

He helped The Pack reach Jive while leaving their music in their hands. He said he didn’t make their beats or choose their song titles. His role was to spot talent and give it a shot.

That support also showed up on his own label’s releases. The Pack joined the lineup of I Love The Bay, a compilation released July 17, 2007. It put the group on a project with E-40, Keak Da Sneak, Messy Marv, Yukmouth and San Quinn, among others.

The album also included Zion I, The Team and a posthumous appearance by Mac Dre. Its track list paired The Pack with Mistah FAB on “Yes Sir.” The first singles were “Lose It,” featuring Mistah FAB and “Video Vixen,” featuring Dem Hoodstarz.

“I always wanted to represent the entire Bay Area,” Short said in AllHipHop’s coverage of the compilation. The release gave that aim a concrete form, with younger acts and established names sharing the same album.

The Pack’s own business moved on from Short’s label.

As AllHipHop reported in 2010, the Berkeley group included Lil Uno, Stunnaman, Lil B and producer Young L. They had been signed to his Up All Nite imprint, with distribution through Jive Records.

Their 2006 single “Vans” had sold more than 300,000 copies by May 19, 2010, when SMC Recordings announced a deal with them. The plan called for an album titled Wolfpack Party, with The Cataracs among its guests.

SMC’s interest had started before that deal. Will Bronson, then the company’s chief operating officer, said he tried to sign The Pack when “Vans” broke, but competing with Too $hort got in the way.

Too $hort told Pitchfork that he is still cool with the group and that he brings them out on stage to perform “Vans” to this day.