1,608.) Wed Apr. 28, 2021

RIP Shock G (1963-2021)

The Song of the Day is:

Digital Underground – “The Humpty Dance”

From the album Sex Packets (1990)

All right!

Stop whatcha doin’

‘Cause I’m about to ruin

The image and the style that ya used to

I look funny

But yo I’m makin’ money, see

So yo world I hope you’re ready for me

Now gather round

I’m the new fool in town

And my sound’s laid down by the Underground

I drink up all the Hennessey ya got on ya shelf

So just let me introduce myself

My name is Humpty, pronounced with a Umpty

Yo ladies, oh how I like to hump thee

And all the rappers in the top ten–please allow me to bump thee

I’m steppin’ tall, y’all

And just like Humpty Dumpty

You’re gonna fall when the stereos pump me

I like to rhyme

I like my beats funky

I’m spunky. I like my oatmeal lumpy

I’m sick wit dis, straight gangsta mack

Earl Humphrey – Shock G – George Clinton

This is a sad loss, I’ve always enjoyed the Digital Underground and hoped that they could score an unlikely comeback. Last week’s news of the passing of Shock G ended those hopes. Shock G, AKA Gregory Jacobs, AKA Humpty Hump, was one of rap’s greatest jokers and with his de facto theme song, “The Humpty Dance” he used humor to take some of the edge off of the rap genre, thus exposing it to a wider audience. Shock G led the group, though he wasn’t the only voice of the group: he founded it with Chopmaster J, Money-B was likely the second-most vocal rapper of the group, and they discovered and debuted a young rapper by the name of Tupac Shakur. It was Shock G, though, and his Groucho-nosed alter-ego Humpty that garnered the band attention. Before the internet, I used to hear rumors that Humpty was actually Will Smith incognito, though he famously offered an alternate self-referential skewering that he looked like “MC Hammer on crack”. Without the Humpty schtick, he still maintained an infectious humor, and would often Don African garb and dropped the deep-nasally affectation in his voice. The Digital Underground was a fun rap group that was often lewd, but rarely explicit, and armed with an arsenal of Parliament/Funkadelic samples (this song borrows from Parliament’s “Let’s Play House”). History might incorrectly remember them as a one-hit wonder, but “Same Song” and “Kiss You Back” also had decent chart success, and “Doowutchyalike” and the “Sex Packets” extended skit are also notable album tracks. I was also listening to their Stevie Wonder-sampling “No Nose Job” today and found the body-positivity and black pride messages to be quite refreshing, despite how silly the song is. Unfortunately, the group did have a small window of success, as their old school party rap was soon eclipsed by gangsta rap by the likes of Dr. Dre, and the more thoughtful rap of their own defector Tupac Shakur. Shock G wasn’t sour about Shakur leaving the group, he realized the talent he was witnessing, and helped produce his debut album and appeared on the single “I Get Around”. Outside of the Underground, Shock G had a solo career and became friends with his influences George Clinton and Prince. Sadly, he did have troubles with drugs in the past, and the details of his death at age 57 have not been made public. Disappointingly, there are few rap acts who have taken on the style of the Digital Underground – making the genre of rap much less whimsical and comedic.

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