Thoughts on Shock G... Digital Underground was like the Wu-Tang Clan before the Wu-Tang Clan. I remember hearing that the only one signed to Tommy Boy was Shock, but that also came with his aliases, Rackadelic (on art), Piano Man (on keys) & of course, Humpty Hump (on the nose.)

This allowed the other members of the group to set up their own deals, such as Raw Fusion (Money B + DJ Fuse), 2Pac, Gold Money, and the Saucee Nomad Saafir, who was introduced on the Body Hat Syndrome album. I bought all of these albums and played them religiously. Wu before Wu.

But Shock was like a one man show that wrote, performed, produced, played on, and even did the cover art for his albums. He was the whole package.

And severely underrated. As a kids (pre-internet) we had fierce debates on whether or not Hump and Shock were the same person, thanks to camera tricks on Rap City and his little brother who would sometimes double as Shock on stage.

Further, the concepts that DU introduced and built albums around were *wild*. "Sex Packets" were a drug that would take you on an erotic dream, "Body Hats" were full body condoms that would protect one from absolutely everything, pre-COVID. This man was ahead. Peep the art:

What Shock also did was turn an entire generation on to the music of George Clinton/Parliament/Funkadelic. They were quite liberal with their usage of the catalog, but had George's blessing and the two collaborated later.

Same for Prince. Shock sampled "She's Always in My Hair" for the titular "Sex Packets". Shock later remixed "Love Sign" for Prince, amazingly, where he sampled Prince's "D.M.S.R.". His own track!

Only saw Digital Underground once, alongside @MURS in Vegas. A one man show, Shock played the keys & transformed to Hump by just throwing the glasses& nose on. A completely skeletal performance, long after the pop heyday of the "Humpty Dance", yet still killing it. A true talent.

And speaking of "The Humpty Dance" - a pop hit during an era when rappers were encouraged to keep the crossover, EVERYONE bit that damn snare. So much that Shock later did a sketch called "The Humpty Dance Awards", a ceremony for all the songs that jacked his drums. Brilliant.

So with Shock's passing, we are left with still the following mysteries unsolved:

1) will we ever get Sex Packets on glow in the dark turquoise double vinyl with the three extra tracks that were only on the cassette (and can I help) @TommyBoyRecords?

2) Will "The Lost Files ever get a proper release on wax?

3) Finally, and most importantly, what was the fate of Humpty at the end of the "No Nose Job" video with the "To Be Continued" cliffhanger ending? Heads demand answers.

Thank you and rest peacefully, Shock G. There's a party in the sky where you can doowutchyalike.

One other great point I forgot to mention: MC Blowfish. Pre-Humpty, Shock's first character was a fish that rapped like James Cagney. Digital Underground first debuted independently with the "Underwater Times" 12" & non-album b-side "Your Life's a Cartoon". Cover art by Shock.

Shock pioneered the rap alias/character way before a lot of other people did it, only preceded by Kool Keith's Rhythm X in 88.

There is one other severely overlooked collab. "The Mission" with DU and Big Pun from the 1998 "Who's Got the Gravy" album. The song utilized the Barry White "Playing Your Game, Baby" sampled that Black Moon used on "I Got Cha Opin (Remix)". So smoove.

One other fact and then I'll stop. Fatboy Slim remixed "The Humpty Dance" under his Norman Cook moniker for the UK Remixes 12". Cover art by Shock, 1nce again.

("Rimes" not "times", damn you autocorrect.)