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Shock G

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Shock G

Gregory E. Jacobs (born August 25, 1963), known by the stage names Shock G and Humpty Hump, is an American musician and rapper best known as the lead vocalist for the hip hop group Digital Underground. He also is an accomplished pianist, visual artist, and music producer, responsible for Tupac Shakur's breakthrough single, and co-producer of his debut album 2Pacalypse NowCite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page)..

Early life

Jacobs spent most of his childhood moving around the East Coast with his family, eventually settling in Tampa, Florida. After winning the "Most Talented" trophy in 1978 at Grecco Jr-High, he dropped out of C. Leon King High School in Tampa, FL in the late 1970s before eventually finishing his degree and attending college, where he studied music theory. He is of African, Pakistani, Jewish, Irish and Native American ancestry [1].

Digital Underground

Along with Chopmaster J (a.k.a. Jimi Dright), and Kenny-K (a.k.a. Kenneth Waters), Jacobs formed Digital Underground in 1987, and the trio released an indie single on TNT/Macola Records, "Underwater Rimes." In 1989, the group signed with Tommy Boy Records, and that summer "Doowutchyalike" became an underground hit. By that time, Digital Underground (D.U.) had expanded significantly, with DJ Fuze, Money-B, and Schmoovy-Schmoov joining the group, and with Ramone "Pee Wee" Gooden and Tupac Shakur joining by 1991.
___________________________________________- Tupac and Shock G where the same person.

Multiple Identities

As D.U. emerged during the late 1980s, a lingering general belief existed amongst music fans that rappers were less authentic ("less Hip-Hop") if they played a traditional music instrument or showed any formal artistic abilities. In a strategy to overcome this, Jacobs opted to keep his accomplishments a secret, and created aliases to disguise his many roles within the group, resulting in characters that were maintained with such reality, they were believed to be actual living people by music fans as well as industry insiders.
As "Rackadelic" he illustrated album covers and provided art direction; as the "Piano Man" he contributed keyboard tracks and music production. His main persona "Shock G" utilized a more natural voice, while he threw his voice to become "Humpty Hump", an iconic character with an overexagerrated buffoon persona, colorful clothes, and a Groucho glasses & nose disguise. At most public appearances, Jacobs would show up as one person or the other, but at live shows & video shoots he would use a stand-in and/or camera tricks to maintain the illusion. A fictional biography was constructed for Humpty, the story being that Edward Ellington Humphrey III, former lead singer of "Smooth Eddie and the Humpers," had become a rapper after burning his nose in a kitchen accident with a deep-fryer. Jacobs also sometimes performed as a character by the name of MC Blowfish. [2].

D.U. Albums

Sex Packets, the group's debut album, was released in the spring of 1990 and "The Humpty Dance", which was rapped by Shock G's alter ego Humpty-Hump, climbed all the way to #11 on the pop charts, peaking at #7 on the R&B charts. With its P-Funk samples, jazzy interludes, and innovative amalgam of samples and live instrumentation, Sex Packets received positive reviews and went platinum by the end of the year.

This is an EP Release is the RIAA Gold certified second Digital Underground release, from which two songs were featured in the film "Nothin But Trouble" starring Dan Akroyd, Chevy Chase, Demi Moore, and John Candy. This is also a Hip Hop landmark for rap star, Tupac Shakur, who made his debut on the mid-tempo dance number "Same Song." The track also showcased an extensive organ solo, and featured the organ freely throughout the entire song, making it one of the first hip-hop singles to successfully integrate live instrumentation with samples.

D.U.'s third album Sons of the P featured two hit singles, "Kiss You Back" (which was co-written by George Clinton) and "No Nose Job". The album also marked the first studio guest appearance by Clinton on a Hip Hop release with his co-lead vocals on the title track. Both the album and the single "Kiss You Back" were each certified Gold by the RIAA.

Rebounding, in the charts anyway, from the relative downturn of "Sons..", the fourth album The Body-Hat Syndrome found the group continuing to cultivate its own brand of P-Funk culture, stuffing what had been the group's first year of silence with a fresh batch of funk-infused rap. With the edgy grind of the leading single, "The Return of the Crazy One," and its accompanying X-rated video (reworked for public consumption) boosting the band back into the spotlight, the rest of the album 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 an inspired solo from Funkadelic guitarist Michael Hampton, as well as a verse and video appearance from Tupac Shakur. Swept away by mega-stardom, this would be the last time Tupac appeared on any Digital Underground release.

Future Rhythm, the groups fifth album, spawned two songs that were featured in the Wayans brother's film "Don't be a Menace While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood"; "Food Fight", which featured Humpty Hump and Del tha Funkee Homosapien trading verses, and "We Got More" featuring the Luniz, which was also featured twice on the films' soundtrack. The album also showcases the debut performance from rapper Sly Boogy while still a member of the Black Spooks, who appeared coincidentally on a song called "Future Rhythm", the album's title-track.

In 1999, ten years after the groups first release, they released Who Got The Gravy? and despite having no singles, it reached #91 on the Top 200 R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. The album intentionally featured several east coast rappers at a time when the east vs. west rivalry was at an all-time high, in an attempt to both ignore and ridicule it. The guests included Big Pun, Biz Markie, and KRS One, all well known New York City natives, and introduced west coast bay area newcomers Esinchill and female emcee Mystic.

Digital Underground's final studio album was released on May 20, 2008, Cuz a D.U. Party Don't Stop!!, although a substantial portion of it was recorded at a live show from 2005. Shortly before its release the group disbanded as Shock expressed interest in "moving on to explore other ventures."

Production, Solo Work, and Miscellaneous

In addition to his work with Digital Underground, Shock G has found moderate success as a solo artist:

  • In 1993, Shock-G produced Tupac Shakur's breakthrough platinum single "I Get Around" as well as guest starred on the single and music video, and went on to produce Tupac's "So Many Tears" from his album Me Against the World. Tupac's first published work was while still a member of Digital Underground when he appeared on the song and video "Same Song", which also appeared in the Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd and Demi Moore film Nothing But Trouble. Shock also co-produced Tupac's debut album 2Pacalypse Now.
  • In 1998 Prince included the Shock G produced "Love Sign" on his triple-CD Crystal Ball album.

In 2004, the barely circulated but critically acclaimed Shock G solo album, Fear of a Mixed Planet was released by 33rd Street, a small label that was owned by Tower Records. The album was re-released as a "Bonus Edition" with new material in 2008 by Seattle-based indie label Jake Records

  • In July 2005, Shock G announced that he was retiring from studio work, citing the fact that too many people were asking him to work for free. He will continue to write and tour, and he has also expressed interest in acting and playing with other music acts—as long as it's not for free:

- "I did the super-generous, available to everyone, free thing for many years, I'm ready to try to earn a few bucks now". ThugLifeArmy.com July 2005 -

  • Under the alias "Piano Man", Shock G contributed the piano, synthesizer, and organ work heard on all seven Digital Underground albums, as well as the live keys on his many Tupac productions.
  • Under the alias "Rackadelic" (his graffiti tag as a youth), Shock is responsible for the Digital Underground album cover illustrations & CD booklet cartoons and comic strips.
  • Shock G also appeared as a producer and guest artist on fellow Oakland-based rap group The Luniz platinum debut release Operation Stackola in 1995, also appearing as a guest emcee in the "I Got 5 on It" Bay Ballers Remix and video.
  • In addition to several gold and platinum Digital Underground and 2Pac releases, Shock-G has also produced material for Bobby Brown, KRS-One, Saafir, and others.
  • There is a very under-the radar music video for a song called "Risky Business" by MURS featuring Shock G as well as Humpty Hump. MURS performed this song live with Shock G and Humpty Hump at the Paid Dues festival, and also featured Shock as his music conductor on a 2-month extensive Definitive Jux label U.S. & Canada tour.[citation needed]
  • On January 20, 2009, Shock G's single "Cherry Flava'd Email" was renamed and released as a special edition called "Cherry Flava'd Election" to commemorate the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

Discography

year, title, artist, (description)

As Producer:

1988, Your Life's a Cartoon, digital underground, (song)

1989, Underwater Rimes, digital underground, (song)

1989, Doowutchyalike, digital underground, (song)

1990, Sex Packets, digital underground, (album)

1990, Don't Funk wid the Mo (remix), Monie Love, (song)

1990, What I Won't do for Love, 2Pac, (song)

1991, This is an EP Release, digital underground, (EP)

1991, Sons of the P, digital underground, (album)

1991, Rockin to the PM, Raw Fusion, (song)

1991, Rebel of the Underground, 2Pac, (song)

1991, Words of Wisdom, 2Pac, (song)

1991, Revenge of the Lunatic, 2Pac, (song)

1993, The Body Hat Syndrome, digital underground, (album)

1993, I Get Around, 2Pac, (song)

1993, Get Away (remix), Bobby Brown, (song)

1993, Top of the World, Kenya Gruv, (song, co-producer)

1994, Dirty Drawls, Raw Fusion, (song)

1994, Do Your Homework, Raw Fusion, (song)

1995, Fuck the World, 2Pac, (song)

1995, So Many Tears, 2Pac, (song)

1995, Broke Hos, Luniz, (song)

1995, 5150, Luniz, (song)

1995, No Brothas Allowed, No Face, (song)

1995, Smashin Fruit, No Face, (song)

1995, Nothing Has Changed, No Face feat digital underground, (song)

1996, We Got More, Shock-G feat Luniz, (song)

1996, Future Rhythm, digital underground, (album)

1995, Don't Ring My Bell, Luniz, (song)

1996, People Over the Stairs, Shock-G, (song)

1996, Gloomy Sunday, Mystic, (song)

1997, True Playas, Whoridas, (song)

1997, Come N' Bounce, Shay, (song)

1997, Cause I Had To, 2Pac & P-90, (song)

1998, Broad Minded, Saafir, (song)

1998, Sendin' u a Signal, Saafir, (song)

1998, Love Sign, Prince, (song)

1998, Who Got the Gravy, digital underground (album)

1999, Crawl Before You Ball, Saafir, (song)

1999, Liquid Ho Magnet, Saafir, (song)

1999, Running Man, Saafir, (song)

1999, Lost Files, digital underground (album)

2000, Do What Ya Want, Rhythm & Green, (song)

2000, Let the Beat Breathe, Esinchill, (song)

2001, Chassy, Mac Mall, (song)

2001, Intro, Mystic, (album intro)

2002, Risky Business, Murs, (song)

2004, Smilin' Faces, KRS-One (song)

2004, Fear of a Mixed Planet, Shock-G, (album)

As Featured Artist:

1990, We're All in the Same Gang, Westcoast Allstars, (song & video)

1990, Time for Peace, Davey-D feat d.u., Paris, Tech & Sway, (song)

1991, Trapped, 2Pac, (song & video)

1991, Throw Your Hands in the Air, Raw Fusion, (video)

1992, Money, Gold Money, (song & video)

1993, I Get Around, 2Pac feat digital underground, (song & video)

1993, Rhythm & Rhyme, George Clinton, (song)

1994, Freaky Note, Raw Fusion, (song & video)

1995, I Got 5 on it (remix), Luniz, (song & video)

1995, Funk Session, Too Short, (song)

1996, Knee Deep (Midnight Mix), George Clinton, (song)

1999, Glayz Donutt Face, C-Funk, (song)

1999, Miss Bartender, Money-B, (song)

2000, No DNA, Clee & Drank-a-Lot, (song)

2002, Wuz Crackulatin', 2wice, (song)

2002, Risky Business, Murs, (song & video)

2003, Way of Life, Stylophonic, (song)

2004, Hurry Up Run, Shock-G, (song)

2004, Snake and the Apple, Stucky, (song)

2004, At the Next Show, Sir Mix-a-lot, (song)

2005, Career Finders, Perceptionists, (song)

2005, Say What You Say, Soma Rasa, (song)

2005, And 2morrow, various artists, (song)

2005, California Girls Dipped in Chocolate, Slapbak, (song)

2005, Freaky Pumps, Fat Lip, (song)

2006, The Wizard, Mr. Rakafela, (song)

2006, If You're True, Inersha, (song)

2006, Pain and Misery (remix), InershA, (song)

2007, California Dreamin, San Quinn, Assassin, (song)

2007, Plainfield, Bernie Worrell, (song)

2007, Smack Dat Ass, Ditch, (song)

2008, "..Cuz a d.u. Party Don't Stop!", digital underground, (album)

2008, Crazy, Maddie Lauer, (song & video)

Digital Underground videos

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

DVDs

Contributions

References

  1. ^ http://www.nndb.com/people/729/000113390/
  2. ^ http://www.rapartists.com/artists/digitalunderground/biography
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