digital underground
Rock the Art House: Our 1989 Digital Underground Feature
This article originally appeared in the November 1989 issue of SPIN. In light of Shock G’s death, we’re republishing it here. “Say it loud, I’m arty and I’m proud,” because 1989 is the year of the boho homeboy. Back in the “who’s bigger and deffer” days, hip hop was fiercely competitive, more akin to sport than art; these days beyond def is the place to be. Unabashed experimental creativity—heavily influenced by George Clinton’s mid-70s costume funk revues—is making a big comeback. The Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, and Queens’ A Tribe Called Quest set the tone, but Oakland, California’s Digital Underground are now carrying the hip hop arthouse swing. “Digital refers to the fact that we lean towards the techno end of hip hop,” says DU’s chief polemicist Shock G. “Underground ...
Shock G of Hip Hop Pioneers Digital Underground Dies at 57
Shock G of the pioneering hip-hop group Digital Underground has died at the age of 57 according to an Instagram post by fellow Digital Underground co-founder Chopmaster J. His father, Edward Racker, also confirmed the news to TMZ. Born Gregory Jacobs in Brooklyn, Shock G found success in the hip-hop world after moving to Oakland and forming Digital Underground in 1987. As the leader of the collective that featured dozens of rappers and producers, including 2Pac, Money-B, DJ Fuze, and Stretch, Jacobs became a powerful and influential figure within California’s growing rap scene throughout the late ’80s and early ’90s. On the group’s debut album, 1990’s Sex Packets, Jacobs donned his alter ego of Humpty Hump to perform the timeless classic of “The Humpty Dance.” A year later, he co-prod...
