Digital Underground was an American

alternative hip hop Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising " hip hop groups that refuse to confor ...

group from

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. Their personnel changed and rotated with each album and tour. Digital Underground's leader and mainstay was Gregory "

Shock G Gregory Edward Jacobs (August 25, 1963 – April 22, 2021), known professionally as Shock G and by his alter ego Humpty Hump, was an American rapper and musician who was best known as the lead vocalist of the hip hop group Digital Underground. ...

" Jacobs (also known as Humpty Hump). Shock G formed the group in 1987 with Jimi "Chopmaster J" Dright of

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

, and

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

hip-hop radio deejay Kenneth "Kenny-K" Waters. Heavily influenced by the various

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

bands of the 1970s, Digital Underground sampled such music frequently, which became a defining element of West Coast rap. As "Rackadelic", Jacobs designed album covers and cartoon-laced liner notes, in

homage Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to: History *Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance *Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts *Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...

Parliament-Funkadelic Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. Their distinctive fu ...

album designs. Digital Underground is also notable for launching the career of member

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...

, as well as spinning off side projects and solo acts including

Raw Fusion Raw Fusion was an American spin-off project from Digital Underground emcee Money-B, with DJ talent provided by DU contributor DJ Fuze. Their albums contained cameos by many of the Digital Underground crew, including Shock G (as himself, Humpty Hum ...

Saafir Reggie Gibson (born August 23, 1970), better known as Saafir, is an emcee, producer and actor from Oakland, California. He is also a member of the rap group "Golden State Project" (formerly known as Golden State Warriors) with Ras Kass and Xzibi ...

, and singer Mystic. Following the release of their " Doowutchyalike" single and video in the summer of 1989, the band gained popularity with their song "

The Humpty Dance "The Humpty Dance" is a song by the American rap group Digital Underground from their debut album '' Sex Packets''. Released as the second single from the album in January 1990, it reached No. 11 on the pop chart, No. 7 on the R&B chart, and No. ...

" in 1990. Digital Underground toured nearly every year until 2008; this consisted of live shows in Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia, and the U.S. While the group's origins lay mostly in Oakland and Berkeley, California, various characters and voices from around the U.S and U.K. appeared on the band's albums. Shock G and Money-B were the only individuals to appear on every album. Other recurring key contributors were David "DJ Fuze" Elliot, and deejay/producer Jeremy "J-Beats" Jackson, who both assisted Jacobs in developing the sound. After approximately 20 years of touring, Shock G announced that the group would officially disband in 2008. Shortly after that announcement was made, the group also confirmed that their May 2008 album '' ..Cuz a D.U. Party Don't Stop!'' would be their last studio effort.

History

Formation

Jacobs spent most of his youth in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Founded in 1987, the group's image was originally more militant, and was intended to be a tribute to social activists

The Black Panthers The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Califo ...

. However, when groups like

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe p ...

and

N.W.A N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip hop group whose members were among the earliest and most significant popularizers and controversial figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, and the group is widely considered ...

rose to prominence, Jacobs chose to take the image in a more whimsical and upbeat direction.

''Sex Packets''

Sex Packets Sex is the phenotypic trait, trait that determines whether a sexual reproduction, sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while ...

'', the group's debut album, was released in the spring of 1990 following the success of its two lead off singles. First came " Doowutchyalike," a moderate club hit, followed by the more successful song "

", a humorous dance number that reached #11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, #7 on the R&B charts, and #1 on the Billboard Rap Singles chart. It was rapped by Shock G's

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I", " doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differen ...

Humpty Hump, and featured a drum track with over 50 confirmed usages in other songs. ''Sex Packets'' features

P-Funk Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. Their distinctive ...

samples, jazz-influenced interludes, and a combination of samples and live instrumentation, earning it positive reviews and

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

sales.

''This Is an EP Release''

'' This Is an EP Release'' is the RIAA Gold certified second Digital Underground release, from which two songs, "Tie the Knot" and " Same Song" were featured in the film '' Nothing But Trouble'' starring

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer. He was an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1979). During his tenure on ''SNL'' ...

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...

Demi Moore Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After making her film debut in 1981, Moore appeared on the soap opera ''General Hospital'' (1982–1984) and subsequently gained recognition as a member of the Bra ...

, and

John Candy John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian actor and comedian known mainly for his work in Hollywood films. Candy rose to fame in the 1970s as a member of the Toronto branch of the Second City and its '' SCTV'' ser ...

. "Tie The Knot," features jazzy piano tracks and a comedic interpretation of "

Bridal Chorus The "Bridal Chorus" () from the 1850 opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a col ...

". "Same Song" has an organ solo and improvised organ bits throughout the song, making it one of hip hop's first singles to successfully integrate live instrumentation with

music samples Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

made his debut on the latter song and portrayed an African king in the video. Tupac also can be heard joking around on the remixed version of "The Way We Swing" as a background vocalist, adding humorous ad-libs between the verses. Tupac first began to appear on stage with the group as one of its dancers and "hype men".

''Sons of the P''

The group's second full album featured two singles, "No Nose Job" and "Kiss You Back", the latter of which featured multi-layered choruses and background vocals sung by Boni Boyer, who briefly worked with Digital Underground shortly after her stint with

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

's Sign of the Times/Love Sexy band. Despite the fact that a choir of singers were portrayed in the video, the actual studio singing was exclusively Boni on all tracks, excluding the male voices. It has been mistakenly reported that "Kiss You Back" was co-written and co-performed by George Clinton, but his name appears in the writers credit due to a sample of "(Not Just) Knee Deep" by Funkadelic being used. He did, however, actively participate in the writing and recording of the title track "Sons of the P", which he also contributed vocals to, and which marked one of the earliest studio guest appearances by Clinton on a Hip Hop release, which is preceded only by

Kurtis Blow Kurtis Walker (born August 9, 1959), professionally known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record/film producer, b-boy, DJ, public speaker and minister. He is the first commercially successful rapper ...

's "Magilla Gorilla" released in 1986. Both the album and the "Kiss You Back" single were each certified Gold by the RIAA.

''The Body-Hat Syndrome''

With the leading single "The Return of the Crazy One," and its accompanying X-rated video, which was reworked for public consumption, gaining positive feedback, the rest of ''

The Body-Hat Syndrome ''The Body-Hat Syndrome'' is the third album from the rap group Digital Underground. The album's second single, an anti-racism cultural awareness politico called "Wussup Wit the Luv," features a solo from the Funkadelic guitarist Michael Hampton, ...

'' unfurled to less than outstanding crossover commercial acclaim. The album's second single, an anti-racism cultural awareness politico called "Wussup Wit the Luv," featured a solo from

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. Funkadeli ...

guitarist

Michael Hampton Michael Hampton (born November 15, 1956) is an American funk/rock guitarist. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. Career Hampton was born in Cleveland, Ohio, a ...

, as well as a verse and video appearance from Tupac Shakur. This would be the last time Tupac appeared on any Digital Underground release, while lead rappers

and Clee were added to the band's line-up. This album also features "The Humpty Dance Awards", the group's humorous shout-out to the artists who sampled the Humpty Dance prior to 1993.

''Future Rhythm''

Future Rhythm ''Future Rhythm'' is the fourth album by the American rap group Digital Underground, released in 1996. It was their first independent release. Two songs from the album were included on the soundtrack to the Wayans brother's film ''Don't Be a Mena ...

'', the group's fourth full album, would be their first independent release, including two songs that were featured in the Wayans brothers' film ''

Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood ''Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood'' (or simply ''Don't Be a Menace'') is a 1996 American black comedy film directed by Paris Barclay in his feature film directorial debut, and produced by Keenen Ivory Way ...

'': "Food Fight", featuring

Del tha Funkee Homosapien Teren Delvon Jones (born August 12, 1972), better known by his stage name Del the Funky Homosapien (sometimes stylized as Del tha Funkee Homosapien) or Sir DZL, is an American rapper. Music career 1988–1997: Early life and beginnings Born in O ...

, and "We Got More" with

Luniz Luniz (formerly the LuniTunes) is an American hip hop duo from Oakland, California, formed by Yukmouth and Numskull. They were signed to Virgin Records, Noo Trybe Records, and C-Note Records. They were the flagship act for C-Note Records. The g ...

. The album also contains an early performance from rapper Sly Boogy, while he was still a member of the Black Spooks, who appeared on the song "Fool Get a Clue."

''Who Got the Gravy?''

In 1998, eight years after the group's first album, Digital Underground released ''

Who Got the Gravy? ''Who Got the Gravy?'' is the fifth full-length studio album by American hip hop group Digital Underground. It was released on September 8, 1998 via Jake Records. Production was handled by Digital Underground inner production team, the D-Flow Prod ...

'', which reached #91 on the Top 200 R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. Digital Underground being a West Coast act, the album intentionally featured several East Coast rappers at a time when the East vs. West rivalry was active, in an attempt to both ignore and ridicule it. The guests included New York City natives

Big Pun Christopher Lee Rios (November 10, 1971 – February 7, 2000), better known by his stage name Big Pun (short for Big Punisher), was an American rapper. Emerging from the underground hip hop scene in the Bronx borough of New York City in the ea ...

Biz Markie Marcel Theo Hall (April 8, 1964 – July 16, 2021), known professionally as Biz Markie, was an American rapper, singer, songwriter, DJ, and record producer. Markie was best known for his 1989 single "Just a Friend", which became a Top 40 hit in ...

and

KRS-One Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...

, and introduced Whuteva and Stylez, while also introducing west coast bay area newcomers Esinchill and female emcee Mystic.

''..Cuz A D.U. Party Don't Stop!''

Digital Underground's final studio album, '' ..Cuz a D.U. Party Don't Stop!'', was released on May 20, 2008, although a substantial portion of it was recorded at a live show from 2005. Shortly before its release, the group embarked on an indefinite hiatus. Money-B has stated that Shock G expressed interest in writing a book and exploring music that the latter would deem unfit for the Digital Underground name. On May 18, 2010, The Greenlight EP was released, which features some previously unreleased Digital Underground tracks.Digital Underground – The Greenlight EP features previously unreleased tracks, and releases May 18th
mvremix.com. 2010-04-23. Retrieved on 2011-01-16.

Discography

Albums

* ''

'' (1990) US #24, R&B #8; UK # 59 * '' Sons of the P'' (1991) US #44, R&B #23 * ''

'' (1993) US #79, R&B #16 * ''

'' (1996) US #113, R&B #26 * ''

'' (1998) R&B #91 * '' ..Cuz a D.U. Party Don't Stop!'' (2008)

EPs

* '' This Is an EP Release a.k.a. Same Song'' (1991) US #29, R&B #7, UK #52 * ''The Greenlight EP'' (2010)

Soundtracks

* '' Nothing But Trouble'' (1991) * ''

'' (1996) * '' Tupac: Resurrection'' (2003)

Compilations

* ''Yo! Rap Hits'' (1991) * ''Oakland Soul: The Bay Area Soundtrack' (1997) * '' No Nose Job: The Legend of Digital Underground'' (2002) * '' The Lost Files'' (1999) * ''Outrageous Rap'' (2002) * '' Playwutchyalike: The Best of Digital Underground'' (2003) * ''Rhino Hi-Five: Digital Underground'' (2005) * ''Songs You Know: Ol' Skool Hip Hop'' (2007) * ''Westside Bugg Presents... The Best of the West'' (2008)

Singles

Videos

*"Doowutchyalike" (1989) *"The Humpty Dance" (1990) *"Doowutchyalike" (video remix) (1990) *"Same Song" (1991) *"Kiss You Back" (1991) *"No Nose Job" (1992) *"Wussup Wit the Luv" (1993) *"Return of the Crazy One" (1994) *"Oregano Flow" (1996) *"Walk Real Kool" (1996) *"Wind Me Up" (1998)

DVDs

* Tupac Shakur: Thug Angel: The Life of an Outlaw (2000) * Tupac: Resurrection (2003) * Digital Underground: Raw and Uncut (2004) * One Nation Under a Groove (2005)

References

External links

{{Authority control 1987 establishments in California 2008 disestablishments in California Tupac Shakur Musical groups from Oakland, California African-American musical groups Musical groups established in 1987 Musical groups disestablished in 2008 Hip hop groups from California Tommy Boy Records artists Bands with fictional stage personas Alternative hip hop groups Hip hop collectives