Digital Underground

Digital Underground
Digital Underground in 1992
Background information
Origin	Oakland, California, U.S.
Genres	Alternative hip-hop funk
Years active	1987–present
Labels	TNT Tommy Boy Warner Bros. Critique/Radikal Interscope Universal
Members	Money-B Young Hump
Past members	Shock G Kenny K Chopmaster J Pee-Wee Bigg Money Odis DJ Fuze Saafir J-Beats 2Pac Young Mass Esinchill Element

Digital Underground is an American alternative hip-hop group from Oakland, California.

Digital Underground's leader and mainstay was Gregory "Shock G" Jacobs. Shock G formed the group in 1987 with Tampa hip-hop radio deejay Kenneth "Kenny-K" Waters and Jimi "Chopmaster J" Dright of Berkeley, California.^[1]

Heavily influenced by the various funk bands of the 1970s, Digital Underground sampled such music frequently. As "Rackadelic", Jacobs designed album covers and cartoon-laced liner notes, in homage to Parliament-Funkadelic album designs. Digital Underground is also notable for launching the career of member Tupac Shakur, as well as spinning off side projects and solo acts including Raw Fusion, Saafir, Gold Money (Pee-Wee & Bigg Money Odis) and singer Mystic.^[2]

Following the release of their "Doowutchyalike" single and video in the summer of 1989, the band gained popularity with their song "The Humpty Dance" 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 UK 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.^[2]

Shock G died in 2021, but Digital Underground continues to tour.

In 2025, Jeff Mezydlo of Yardbarker included the band in his list of "20 underrated bands from the 1990s who are worth rediscovering".^[3]

Jacobs spent most of his youth in Tampa, Florida and New York City. Founded in 1987, the group's image was originally more militant, and was intended to be a tribute to social activists The Black Panthers. However, when groups like N.W.A and Public Enemy rose to prominence, Jacobs chose to take the image in a more whimsical and upbeat direction.

Sex Packets, the group's debut album, was released in early 1990 following the success of their two previous singles, which were included on the album. "Doowutchyalike," a moderate club hit, debuted the previous year, followed in January by the more successful song "The Humpty Dance", a humorous dance number that reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 7 on the R&B chart, and No. 1 on the Billboard Rap Singles chart. It was rapped by Shock G's alter ego Humpty Hump, and featured a drum track with over 50 confirmed usages in other songs. Sex Packets features P-Funk samples, jazz-influenced interludes, and a combination of samples and live instrumentation, earning it positive reviews and platinum sales.

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, Chevy Chase, Demi Moore, and John Candy. "Tie The Knot," features jazzy piano tracks and a comedic interpretation of "Bridal Chorus". "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. Tupac Shakur 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".

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's Sign of the Times/Love Sexy band.^[4] 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.^[5] It has been mistakenly reported that "Kiss You Back" was co-written and co-performed by George Clinton,^[6] 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,^[7] which is preceded only by Kurtis Blow's "Magilla Gorilla" released in 1986.^{[8][circular reference]} Both the album and the "Kiss You Back" single were each certified Gold by the RIAA.

The group surprised the audience at a 1991 episode of Showtime at the Apollo, pretending to be a group called "the Unknown Rappers" from Beaumont, Texas. The trio wore paper bags over their heads and began a rap, which led to boos, before revealing who they truly were, and began their hit "Kiss You Back".^[9]

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 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 guitarist Michael Hampton, 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 Saafir and Clee were added to the band's lineup. 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, 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: "Food Fight", featuring Del tha Funkee Homosapien, and "We Got More" with Luniz. 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."^[10]

In 1998, eight years after the group's first album, Digital Underground released Who Got the Gravy?, which reached No. 91 on the Top 200 R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The album intentionally featured several East Coast rappers at a time when the East vs. West rivalry was active, in an attempt to downplay and ridicule it. The guests included New York City natives Big Pun, Biz Markie and KRS-One.

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 took an indefinite hiatus. Money-B has stated that Shock G expressed interest in writing a book and exploring music unfit for the Digital Underground name.^[11]

On May 18, 2010, The Greenlight EP was released, which features some previously unreleased Digital Underground tracks.^[12]

• Sex Packets (1990) US No. 24, R&B No. 8; UK No. 59
• Sons of the P (1991) US No. 44, R&B No. 23
• The Body-Hat Syndrome (1993) US No. 79, R&B No. 16
• Future Rhythm (1996) US No. 113, R&B No. 26
• Who Got the Gravy? (1998) R&B No. 91
• ..Cuz a D.U. Party Don't Stop! (2008)

• This Is an EP Release a.k.a. Same Song (1991) US No. 29, R&B No. 7, UK No. 52
• The Greenlight EP (2010)

• Nothing But Trouble (1991)
• Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996)
• Tupac: Resurrection (2003)

• Yo! Rap Hits (1991)
• Oakland Soul: The Bay Area Soundtrack (1997)
• The Lost Files (1999)
• No Nose Job: The Legend of Digital Underground (2001)
• 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)

Year	Single	Peak position								Album
		US [13]	US R&B [14]	US Dance [15]	US Radio [16]	AUS [17][18]	NZ [19]	NL [20]	UK [21]
1988	"Underwater Rimes"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Sex Packets
1989	"Doowutchyalike"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	79
1990	"The Humpty Dance"	11	7	20	—	—	—	—	80
	"Doowutchyalike (Remix) / Packet Man"	—	29	—	—	139	—	—	—
	"Packet Man (The C.J. Mackintosh Remixes)" (Europe only)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"Freaks of the Industry" (US promo only)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1991	"Same Song"	—	—	15	61	—	—	—	52	This Is An E.P. Release
	"Nuttin' Nis Funky" (US only)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"Kiss You Back"	40	13	—	50	97	31	—	—	Sons Of The P
1992	"No Nose Job"	—	28	—	—	—	—	42	—
1993	"The Return of the Crazy One"	—	77	—	—	—	—	—	—	The "Body-Hat" Syndrome
1994	"Wussup Wit The Luv"	—	99	—	—	—	—	—	—
1996	"Oregano Flow"	—	75	—	—	—	—	—	—	Future Rhythm
	"Walk Real Kool" (US only)	—	95	—	—	—	—	—	—
1998	"Wind Me Up" (US promo only)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Who Got The Gravy
	"The Mission" (US promo only)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

• "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)
• "Wassup Wit the Luv" (1994)
• "Oregano Flow" (1996)
• "Walk Real Kool" (1996)
• "Wind Me Up" (1998)

• 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)

• Money-B and Young Hump of Digital Underground on YouTube