Digital Underground

Digital Underground is an alternative hip-hop group that calls Oakland, California home. The band came together in 1987 under the leadership of Gregory "Shock G" Jacobs, who brought in Tampa radio DJ Kenneth "Kenny-K" Waters and Jimi "Chopmaster J" Dright from Berkeley. The group drew heavy inspiration from 1970s funk bands, regularly sampling that music. Jacobs, working under the name "Rackadelic," created album covers and cartoon-filled liner notes that paid tribute to the look of Parliament-Funkadelic records. The group is known for giving Tupac Shakur his start, and for spinning off side projects like Raw Fusion, Saafir, Gold Money (made up of Pee-Wee and Bigg Money Odis), and singer Mystic.

After their 1989 single and video "Doowutchyalike," the group broke through with "The Humpty Dance" in 1990. They toured almost every year through 2008, playing shows in Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia, and the United States. Though the group's roots were mainly in Oakland and Berkeley, voices and characters from across the US and UK appeared on their albums. Shock G and Money-B were the only members to appear on every album. Other regular contributors included David "DJ Fuze" Elliot and DJ/producer Jeremy "J-Beats" Jackson, who helped Jacobs shape the sound.

Shock G passed away in 2021, but Digital Underground continues to tour. Saafir died in 2024, and Cleetis Mack died in 2026. In 2025, Jeff Mezydlo of Yardbarker included the band on his list of "20 underrated bands from the 1990s who are worth rediscovering."

Jacobs spent most of his childhood in Tampa, Florida, and New York City. When the group formed in 1987, its image was originally more militant, meant as a tribute to the Black Panthers. But as groups like N.W.A and Public Enemy gained prominence, Jacobs shifted the image toward something more playful and upbeat.

The debut album, *Sex Packets*, came out in early 1990 after the success of two earlier singles that were included on it. "Doowutchyalike" had been a modest club hit in 1989, followed in January 1990 by the much bigger "The Humpty Dance," a humorous dance track that hit No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 7 on the R&B chart, and No. 1 on the Billboard Rap Singles chart. Shock G rapped it as his alter ego Humpty Hump, and the drum track has been used in over 50 other songs. The album mixed P-Funk samples, jazz-influenced interludes, and both samples and live instruments, earning positive reviews and platinum sales.

The next release, *This Is an EP Release*, went gold. Two songs from it, "Tie the Knot" and "Same Song," appeared in the film *Nothing But Trouble* starring Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Demi Moore, and John Candy. "Tie the Knot" featured jazzy piano and a comedic take on the "Bridal Chorus." "Same Song" included an organ solo and improvised organ bits, making it one of hip-hop's first singles to successfully blend live instruments with samples. Tupac Shakur made his debut on that track and played an African king in the video. He also joked around on the remix of "The Way We Swing" as a background vocalist, adding humorous ad-libs between verses. Tupac first appeared on stage with the group as a dancer and hype man.

The second full album, *Sons of the P*, had two singles: "No Nose Job" and "Kiss You Back." The latter featured multi-layered choruses and background vocals from Boni Boyer, who had just worked with Prince's band. Though the video showed a choir, Boyer sang all the female parts in the studio. It has been wrongly reported that George Clinton co-wrote and co-performed "Kiss You Back," but his name appears in the credits only because the song samples Funkadelic's "(Not Just) Knee Deep." He did, however, help write and record the title track "Sons of the P," contributing vocals—one of the earliest studio guest appearances by Clinton on a hip-hop release, preceded only by Kurtis Blow's 1986 track "Magilla Gorilla." Both the album and the "Kiss You Back" single went gold.

During a 1991 episode of *Showtime at the Apollo*, the group surprised the audience by pretending to be a trio called "the Unknown Rappers" from Beaumont, Texas. They wore paper bags over their heads and started rapping, getting booed, before revealing themselves and launching into "Kiss You Back."

The next album, *The Body-Hat Syndrome*, led with the single "The Return of the Crazy One" and its X-rated video, which was reworked for public release and got positive feedback. The rest of the album didn't achieve the same crossover commercial success. The second single, "Wussup Wit the Luv," an anti-racism song, featured a guitar solo from Funkadelic's Michael Hampton and a verse and video appearance from Tupac Shakur—his last on any Digital Underground release. New rappers Saafir and Clee joined the lineup. The album also included "The Humpty Dance Awards," a humorous shout-out to artists who had sampled that song before 1993.

*Future Rhythm*, the group's fourth full album, was their first independent release. It included two songs that were featured...