Oakland’s Digital Underground, the funk-influenced hip-hop group, rose to fame thanks to their 1990 single “The Humpty Dance” off their album Sex Packets. The song featured lead man Greg “Shock G” Jacobs as his alter ego Humpty. The persona fooled everyone, including then YO! MTV Raps hosts Dr. Dre and Ed Lover, who during an interview asked Jacobs if he could call Humpty to come by. During a commercial break, Jacobs told the pair that he was actually Humpty, but they didn’t tell their audience and kept the gag running.
“The Humpty Dance” isn’t the only track in their vault, but Sex Packets remains the group’s most notable contribution to hip-hop, capturing Digital Underground’s wacky lyrical stylings with solid, funk-driven beats. Songs like “Freaks of the Industry” are automatic sing-alongs; you can bet that guys will be turning their heads tonight when they catch the girl next to them shouting out lyrics like “You’re lying on your back with your head on the edge of the bed / The booty’s two feet from your head / Should you: A, take the time to find a condom / B, you walk right over and you pound ’em / C, tell her that you want her love / Well the answer is D, all of the above.”
This article appears in May 3-9, 2007.