Shock G
Encyclopedia
Gregory E. Jacobs known by the stage name
s Shock G and Humpty Hump, is an American
musician and rapper, known as the lead vocalist for the hip hop
group Digital Underground
. He is also an accomplished pianist, visual artist, and music producer, responsible for D.U.'s "The Humpty Dance
", Tupac Shakur
's breakthrough single "I Get Around
", and co-producer of 2Pac's debut album 2Pacalypse Now
.
with his family, eventually settling in Tampa, Florida
. As a drummer he won the 1978 "Most Talented" trophy at Greco Junior High School, but after relocating to Queens, New York (as a result of his parents' divorce), he traded his drums in for a set of turntables upon discovering and marveling over hip hop
while the art form was still in an underground developmental stage. He was mentored in the craft by his cousin Rene Negron (a.k.a. DJ-Stretch), and their close friend Shawn Trone (a.k.a. MC Shah-T of the parody
-rap group No Face) who suggested Greg use the name "Shah-G". Jacobs liked the idea, but mistakenly thought his friend said "Shock-G", and began using that name instead.
Less than two years later, after returning to Tampa, he dropped out of Chamberlain High School to form the Master Blasters, a mobile deejay crew which featured three DJs and four emcees at its height. They performed at parties, and also for the crowds at Riverfront Park's outdoor Sunday gatherings, eventually capturing the interest of Tony Stone, a program director at WTMP radio, which was the city's primary R&B station. Tony offered Jacobs, who was sixteen at the time, a job deejaying on the air, and for a short while, as "Gregory Racker", he was the youngest radio personality
in central Florida with a regular time slot.
After being fired for playing the fifteen-minute-long album version of "(Not Just) Knee Deep
" by Funkadelic
in a five-minute time slot, and also after tensions with his father escalated, Jacobs found himself backpacking the United States for a few years, drifting through odd jobs and petty criminal adventures. It was during this excursion that his focus switched from deejaying to keyboard playing, and while utilizing piano practice-rooms at music stores and colleges around the country, he effectively taught himself to play the piano.
Deciding to pursue music seriously, he returned home, quickly obtained a diploma
, and began attending Hillsborough Community College
, where he studied music theory
under Jim Burge and piano under Patricia J. Trice. It was there at HCC that he met and formed a bond with Kenneth Waters, and the two began performing together under various names including The Chill Factor, and also The Four Horsemen, which included MC Skoobie-D, and the MD Dazzlin Doc-P who had recently moved to Tampa from the Bronx, hip hop's birthplace. Then in 1985, after two years of producing local artists for hire, playing solo piano gigs around town, performing with Kenny, and being a keyboardist in Warren Allen Brooks' band, Greg and his aspiring-actress girlfriend (Davita Watts) set their sights beyond Tampa, and eloped to Los Angeles in search of greater opportunity. There he played keyboards in Kenny McCloud's pop
-funk
band "Onyx" before leaving LA and finally arriving in the San Francisco bay area where he found work in an Oakland music store, and where Digital Underground would happen a few years later.
i and half-East Indian
(Hindu
); his maternal grandfather is half-Jewish
and half-Puerto Rican
; his paternal grandfather is of half-African American
(specifically assumed to be Haiti
an) and half-Trini (Trinidad
ian) descent; while his paternal grandmother is of half African American
(specifically West Africa
n) and half-Irish
descent. In one of Shock G's posts on his own website, he states that he is actually 1/8 Guyanese
, as opposed to the 1/8 solely West African heritage claimed in the above source, which, if true, adds still more variety to his bloodline as Guyanese people
are made up of six main ethnic groups: Amerindians
, Africans
, Indians
, Europeans
, Portuguese
, and Chinese
and Pakistanis. In his song, "Who's Clean", he describes himself as an "Afroricaneuroasiac".
along with Chopmaster J (a.k.a. Jimi Dright), and the late Kenneth Waters (a.k.a. Kenny-K). After fifteen months or so of unsuccessful negotiations with various small record companies, the trio's first release emerged in 1988 in the form of a 12-inch single
on Macola Records which featured "Your Life's a Cartoon" as the A-side and "Underwater Rimes" as the B-side. Due to Kenny-K visiting family in Tampa during the first recording sessions, and to Chopmaster-J being a jazz drummer who was in the process of learning hip hop, both songs were penned, produced, and performed by Jacobs, who also sketched the cartoonish cover illustrations. In addition to Macola's logo, the record displayed the TNT logo which was the start-up label for Digital Underground and Tupac Shakur's management CEO Atron Gregory. In 1989, the group signed with Tommy Boy Records
and released "Doowutchyalike," which only received a small amount of radio airplay but became an underground hit, as well as a video hit with MTV
, reaching number 40 on the station's top 100 videos of the year. The success of "Doowutchyalike" paved the way for Digital Underground's debut album Sex Packets
and the highest charting song of their career "The Humpty Dance
" both released in early 1990, and both achieving platinum sales certifications by the RIAA. The latter was rapped by "Humpty Hump," the most flamboyant of Shock G's several alter ego
s. 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.
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 altered his voice to become "Humpty Hump", an iconic character with an overexagerrated buffoon persona, colorful clothes, Groucho glasses
& nose disguise. He used a nasal voice for the character Humpty, and 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 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 performs as other characters including MC Blowfish, Icey-Michael Boston, The Computer Woman, ButtaFly, and Peanut Hakeem.
in 1992, several Arsenio Hall Show performances between 1990 and '94, and also several live MTV performances, including MTV Spring Break 1990 in Daytona Beach, Yo MTV Raps (Live w/Ed Lover & Doctor Dré) in 1991, Club MTV Live (w/Downtown Julie Brown) in 1992, and MTV Jams in 1994. Most of these consisted of music performances with either Digital Underground or 2Pac, however, on an episode of the 1991 sitcom Drexell's Class
Jacobs played a small acting role as a furnace repairman. Within the show's story, the title character, Otis Drexell, insists that the furnace repairman looks exactly like Humpty Hump, but both himself and his coworker (Jason Priestly), have never heard of any such hip-hop artist, especially not one with such a ridiculous name. The episode ends with a live performance of digital underground's "No Nose Job" on a cruise ship full of Sports Illustrated swimsuit models, which is presented as a scene from one of Mr. Drexell's dreams.
With his Digital Underground band members, Jacobs appeared in the Dan Aykroyd
directed comedy Nothing but Trouble appearing as both Shock-G and Humpty Hump. The group makes a cameo music performance, as well as play a small character role in the film as themselves. Since then, Jacobs has appeared in a handful of music documentaries, including "Thug Angel: Life of an Outlaw" (2000) about Tupac Shakur, and "PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC: One Nation Under a Groove" (1996) about George Clinton & P-Funk, both of which received heavy TV rotation, and both of which relied heavily on Jacobs' commentary.
On June 24th, 2011, Shock G was featured on an episode of podcast "You Had To Be There" with comedians Nikki Glaser and Sarah Schaeffer.
'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 multi-platinum 1995 album Me Against the World
. Tupac's first published work was while still a member of Digital Underground when he appeared on the 1991 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
. 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 1996 the Wayans brothers' film "Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood
" featured the Shock-G song "We Got More." The song, which also featured Oakland rappers "Luniz," was used for three different scenes in the film, and is featured in two different places on the soundtrack, making it the only song to appear twice on one soundtrack. In 1998, Prince
included the Shock G produced "Love Sign" on his triple-CD Crystal Ball album. Shock-G has also toured and performed on stage with George Clinton
& P-Funk
including a guest performance with Clinton at Woodstock 1999
.
In 2003, Shock G produced the single "Risky Business" for Los Angeles underground artist Murs, and also appeared in the video, as himself and as Humpty Hump. MURS performed this song live with Shock at the Paid Dues festival, and also featured him as his stage DJ/music conductor on a 2-month extensive Definitive Jux label U.S. & Canada tour. In 2005 Shock-G appeared in the song Life Ain't Easy with Rawsun on the album Rated R
. 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
.
As Featured Artist:
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
s Shock G and Humpty Hump, is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician and rapper, known as the lead vocalist for the hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
group Digital Underground
Digital Underground
Digital Underground was an alternative hip hop group from Oakland, California. It could have been considered a music "family" rather than a group, as its personnel changed and rotated with each album and tour....
. He is also an accomplished pianist, visual artist, and music producer, responsible for D.U.'s "The Humpty Dance
The Humpty Dance
"The Humpty Dance" is a 1990 hip hop song by Digital Underground, which was featured on their debut album Sex Packets. The single climbed all the way to #11 on the pop charts, #7 on the R&B charts, and #1 on the Billboard Rap Singles chart...
", Tupac Shakur
Tupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...
's breakthrough single "I Get Around
I Get Around (2Pac song)
"I Get Around" is the second single from 2Pac's second album Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., and features Shock G and Money-B of Digital Underground, the group that introduced him...
", and co-producer of 2Pac's debut album 2Pacalypse Now
2Pacalypse Now
- Unused Tracks :* "Crooked Nigga Too" * "Tears Of A Clown" * "Scared Straight '91"...
.
Early life
Jacobs spent most of his childhood moving around the East CoastEast Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
with his family, eventually settling in Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
. As a drummer he won the 1978 "Most Talented" trophy at Greco Junior High School, but after relocating to Queens, New York (as a result of his parents' divorce), he traded his drums in for a set of turntables upon discovering and marveling over hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
while the art form was still in an underground developmental stage. He was mentored in the craft by his cousin Rene Negron (a.k.a. DJ-Stretch), and their close friend Shawn Trone (a.k.a. MC Shah-T of the parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
-rap group No Face) who suggested Greg use the name "Shah-G". Jacobs liked the idea, but mistakenly thought his friend said "Shock-G", and began using that name instead.
Less than two years later, after returning to Tampa, he dropped out of Chamberlain High School to form the Master Blasters, a mobile deejay crew which featured three DJs and four emcees at its height. They performed at parties, and also for the crowds at Riverfront Park's outdoor Sunday gatherings, eventually capturing the interest of Tony Stone, a program director at WTMP radio, which was the city's primary R&B station. Tony offered Jacobs, who was sixteen at the time, a job deejaying on the air, and for a short while, as "Gregory Racker", he was the youngest radio personality
Radio personality
A radio personality is a person with an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality can be someone who introduces and discusses various genres of music, hosts a talk radio show that may take calls from listeners, or someone whose primary responsibility is to give news, weather,...
in central Florida with a regular time slot.
After being fired for playing the fifteen-minute-long album version of "(Not Just) Knee Deep
(Not Just) Knee Deep
" Knee Deep" is a funk song running 15 minutes, 21 seconds on side 1 of Funkadelic's 1979 album Uncle Jam Wants You.-Song information:...
" by Funkadelic
Funkadelic
Funkadelic was an American band most prominent during the 1970s. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...
in a five-minute time slot, and also after tensions with his father escalated, Jacobs found himself backpacking the United States for a few years, drifting through odd jobs and petty criminal adventures. It was during this excursion that his focus switched from deejaying to keyboard playing, and while utilizing piano practice-rooms at music stores and colleges around the country, he effectively taught himself to play the piano.
Deciding to pursue music seriously, he returned home, quickly obtained a diploma
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
, and began attending Hillsborough Community College
Hillsborough Community College
Hillsborough Community College is a two-year community college, located in Hillsborough County, Florida. The college has six campuses located throughout the county. Locations include: Brandon, Dale Mabry, Plant City, Ybor City, MacDill AFB, and South Shore...
, where he studied music theory
Music theory
Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
under Jim Burge and piano under Patricia J. Trice. It was there at HCC that he met and formed a bond with Kenneth Waters, and the two began performing together under various names including The Chill Factor, and also The Four Horsemen, which included MC Skoobie-D, and the MD Dazzlin Doc-P who had recently moved to Tampa from the Bronx, hip hop's birthplace. Then in 1985, after two years of producing local artists for hire, playing solo piano gigs around town, performing with Kenny, and being a keyboardist in Warren Allen Brooks' band, Greg and his aspiring-actress girlfriend (Davita Watts) set their sights beyond Tampa, and eloped to Los Angeles in search of greater opportunity. There he played keyboards in Kenny McCloud's pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
-funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
band "Onyx" before leaving LA and finally arriving in the San Francisco bay area where he found work in an Oakland music store, and where Digital Underground would happen a few years later.
Ethnicity
Shock G's ethnicity is made up of eight different backgrounds, with each of his great-grandparents being of a different origin. His maternal grandmother is half-PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i and half-East Indian
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
(Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
); his maternal grandfather is half-Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
and half-Puerto Rican
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
; his paternal grandfather is of half-African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
(specifically assumed to be Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
an) and half-Trini (Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
ian) descent; while his paternal grandmother is of half African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
(specifically West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
n) and half-Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
descent. In one of Shock G's posts on his own website, he states that he is actually 1/8 Guyanese
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
, as opposed to the 1/8 solely West African heritage claimed in the above source, which, if true, adds still more variety to his bloodline as Guyanese people
Guyanese people
Guyanese people are people originating in the South American nation of Guyana. Geographically Guyana is not an island in the Caribbean but a nearby mainland land mass associated with the English Caribbean through history and culture first as a Dutch, then British colony, and as a founding member of...
are made up of six main ethnic groups: Amerindians
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
, Africans
African people
African people refers to natives, inhabitants, or citizen of Africa and to people of African descent.-Etymology:Many etymological hypotheses that have been postulated for the ancient name "Africa":...
, Indians
Non-resident Indian and Person of Indian Origin
A Non-Resident Indian is an Indian citizen who has migrated to another country, a person of Indian origin who is born outside India, or a person of Indian origin who resides permanently outside India. Other terms with the same meaning are overseas Indian and expatriate Indian...
, Europeans
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
, Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
, and Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
and Pakistanis. In his song, "Who's Clean", he describes himself as an "Afroricaneuroasiac".
Digital Underground
Soon after relocating to Oakland California, Shock G (Jacobs) formed Digital UndergroundDigital Underground
Digital Underground was an alternative hip hop group from Oakland, California. It could have been considered a music "family" rather than a group, as its personnel changed and rotated with each album and tour....
along with Chopmaster J (a.k.a. Jimi Dright), and the late Kenneth Waters (a.k.a. Kenny-K). After fifteen months or so of unsuccessful negotiations with various small record companies, the trio's first release emerged in 1988 in the form of a 12-inch single
12-inch single
The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality...
on Macola Records which featured "Your Life's a Cartoon" as the A-side and "Underwater Rimes" as the B-side. Due to Kenny-K visiting family in Tampa during the first recording sessions, and to Chopmaster-J being a jazz drummer who was in the process of learning hip hop, both songs were penned, produced, and performed by Jacobs, who also sketched the cartoonish cover illustrations. In addition to Macola's logo, the record displayed the TNT logo which was the start-up label for Digital Underground and Tupac Shakur's management CEO Atron Gregory. In 1989, the group signed with Tommy Boy Records
Tommy Boy Records
Tommy Boy Entertainment is an independent record label started in 1981 by Tom Silverman.-History:...
and released "Doowutchyalike," which only received a small amount of radio airplay but became an underground hit, as well as a video hit with MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, reaching number 40 on the station's top 100 videos of the year. The success of "Doowutchyalike" paved the way for Digital Underground's debut album Sex Packets
Sex Packets
- LP :-Cassette:The cassette version of the album has 3 extra tracks, plus an extended version of "Gutfest '89"...
and the highest charting song of their career "The Humpty Dance
The Humpty Dance
"The Humpty Dance" is a 1990 hip hop song by Digital Underground, which was featured on their debut album Sex Packets. The single climbed all the way to #11 on the pop charts, #7 on the R&B charts, and #1 on the Billboard Rap Singles chart...
" both released in early 1990, and both achieving platinum sales certifications by the RIAA. The latter was rapped by "Humpty Hump," the most flamboyant of Shock G's several alter ego
Alter ego
An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
s. By that time, Digital Underground (D.U.) had expanded significantly, with DJ Fuze
DJ Fuze
DJ FUZE, born David Elliot in New York, is an American Hip-Hop DJ and Record producer, who is most known for his work in the 1990s with the multi-platinum, P-Funk inspired rap group, Digital Underground.-Digital Underground:...
, Money-B
Money-B
Ron Brooks better known by his stage name Money-B, is an American rapper, best known for being a member of the funk and rap group Digital Underground. He is a member of Raw Fusion with DJ Fuze whom they had two albums, Live From the Styleetron and Hoochified Funk.He had a solo album named Talkin'...
, and Schmoovy-Schmoov joining the group, and with Ramone "Pee Wee" Gooden and Tupac Shakur joining by 1991.
Other Identities
Throughout Shock G's rapping career, he created several aliases, 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 altered his voice to become "Humpty Hump", an iconic character with an overexagerrated buffoon persona, colorful clothes, Groucho glasses
Groucho glasses
Groucho glasses, often called funny glasses or beaglepuss, are a novelty disguise that caricature Groucho Marx. Typically consisting of black horn-rimmed glasses with attached eyebrows, large plastic nose, and bushy moustache, Groucho glasses were marketed as early as the 1940s. Groucho glasses...
& nose disguise. He used a nasal voice for the character Humpty, and 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 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 performs as other characters including MC Blowfish, Icey-Michael Boston, The Computer Woman, ButtaFly, and Peanut Hakeem.
Television & Film Work
Shock-G's TV appearances include Showtime at the ApolloShowtime at the Apollo
Showtime at the Apollo is a syndicated music television show, first broadcast on September 12, 1987 to May 24, 2008 with 1093 episodes, and is produced by the Apollo Theater...
in 1992, several Arsenio Hall Show performances between 1990 and '94, and also several live MTV performances, including MTV Spring Break 1990 in Daytona Beach, Yo MTV Raps (Live w/Ed Lover & Doctor Dré) in 1991, Club MTV Live (w/Downtown Julie Brown) in 1992, and MTV Jams in 1994. Most of these consisted of music performances with either Digital Underground or 2Pac, however, on an episode of the 1991 sitcom Drexell's Class
Drexell's Class
Drexell's Class is an American sitcom aired by Fox as part of its 1991-92 lineup. The show was created by Andrew Nicholls and Darrell Vickers.-Synopsis:...
Jacobs played a small acting role as a furnace repairman. Within the show's story, the title character, Otis Drexell, insists that the furnace repairman looks exactly like Humpty Hump, but both himself and his coworker (Jason Priestly), have never heard of any such hip-hop artist, especially not one with such a ridiculous name. The episode ends with a live performance of digital underground's "No Nose Job" on a cruise ship full of Sports Illustrated swimsuit models, which is presented as a scene from one of Mr. Drexell's dreams.
With his Digital Underground band members, Jacobs appeared in the Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
directed comedy Nothing but Trouble appearing as both Shock-G and Humpty Hump. The group makes a cameo music performance, as well as play a small character role in the film as themselves. Since then, Jacobs has appeared in a handful of music documentaries, including "Thug Angel: Life of an Outlaw" (2000) about Tupac Shakur, and "PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC: One Nation Under a Groove" (1996) about George Clinton & P-Funk, both of which received heavy TV rotation, and both of which relied heavily on Jacobs' commentary.
On June 24th, 2011, Shock G was featured on an episode of podcast "You Had To Be There" with comedians Nikki Glaser and Sarah Schaeffer.
Albums
- Fear of a Mixed Planet (2004 33rd Street Records)
- Fear of a Mixed Planet; Bonus Edition (2008 Jake Records)
- with Digital Underground:
Production, Solo Work, and Miscellaneous
In addition to his work with Digital Underground, Shock G has found moderate success as a solo artist and music producer. In 1993, Shock-G produced Tupac ShakurTupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...
'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 multi-platinum 1995 album Me Against the World
Me Against the World
Me Against the World is the third studio album by American hip hop artist Tupac Shakur. It was released March 14, 1995 on the Interscope Records label. The album was composed of un-used tracks from the Thug Life era, and from other studio sessions from 1993 to 1994...
. Tupac's first published work was while still a member of Digital Underground when he appeared on the 1991 song and video "Same Song", which also appeared in the Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
, Dan Aykroyd and Demi Moore
Demi Moore
Demi Guynes Kutcher , known professionally as Demi Moore, is an American actress. After minor roles in film and a role in the soap opera General Hospital, Moore established her career in films such as St...
film Nothing but Trouble. Shock also co-produced Tupac's debut album 2Pacalypse Now
2Pacalypse Now
- Unused Tracks :* "Crooked Nigga Too" * "Tears Of A Clown" * "Scared Straight '91"...
. Shock G also appeared as a producer and guest artist on fellow Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
-based rap group The Luniz
The Luniz
The Luniz were an American platinum-selling rap duo from Oakland, California, formed by the rappers Yukmouth and Numskull. They released an internationally successful hit in 1995 entitled "I Got 5 on It", two versions of which appeared on their album Operation Stackola...
platinum debut release Operation Stackola
Operation Stackola
Operation Stackola is the debut album by hip hop duo Luniz, released on July 4, 1995. The album was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of over one million records. It features their most famous song to date "I Got 5 on It"...
in 1995, also appearing as a guest emcee in the "I Got 5 on It" Bay Ballers Remix and video.
In 1996 the Wayans brothers' film "Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood
Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood
Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood is a 1996 parody film by Shawn and Marlon Wayans. Similarly to I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, the film spoofs a number of black, coming-of-age, 'hood films' such as Juice, Jungle Fever, South Central, Higher Learning, Do the Right...
" featured the Shock-G song "We Got More." The song, which also featured Oakland rappers "Luniz," was used for three different scenes in the film, and is featured in two different places on the soundtrack, making it the only song to appear twice on one soundtrack. In 1998, Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
included the Shock G produced "Love Sign" on his triple-CD Crystal Ball album. Shock-G has also toured and performed on stage with George Clinton
George Clinton (funk musician)
George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...
& P-Funk
P-Funk
P-Funk is a shorthand term for the repertoire and performers associated with George Clinton and the Parliament-Funkadelic collective and the distinctive style of funk music they performed...
including a guest performance with Clinton at Woodstock 1999
Woodstock 1999
Woodstock 1999, also called Woodstock 99, performed July 22–25, 1999, was the second large-scale music festival that attempted to emulate the original Woodstock Festival of 1969. Like the previous Woodstock festivals it was performed in upstate New York, this time in Rome, New York, around 200...
.
In 2003, Shock G produced the single "Risky Business" for Los Angeles underground artist Murs, and also appeared in the video, as himself and as Humpty Hump. MURS performed this song live with Shock at the Paid Dues festival, and also featured him as his stage DJ/music conductor on a 2-month extensive Definitive Jux label U.S. & Canada tour. In 2005 Shock-G appeared in the song Life Ain't Easy with Rawsun on the album Rated R
Rated R
Rated R may refer to:In film:* R rating, a rating of the Canadian Home Video Rating System* R rating, a rating of the Motion Picture Association of America film rating system...
. 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
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
.
Discography
As Producer:- 1988, Your Life's a Cartoon, digital underground, (song)
- 1988, 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)
- 1992, Somethin New For '92 Compton Chills
- 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)
- 1995, Don't Ring My Bell, Luniz, (song)
- 1996, We Got More, Shock-G feat Luniz, (song)
- 1996, Future Rhythm, digital underground, (album)
- 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, (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)
- 2008, Light of Love feat. Lady Alma, Yameen (song, co-produced)
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)
- 2005, City to City, Straw, (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)
- 2009, Cherry Flava'd Election, Shock G, (song)
- 2010, The Greenlight EP, digital underground, (album)
Digital Underground Videos
- "Doowutchyalike" (1989)
- "The Humpty Dance" (1989)
- "Doowutchyalike" (video remix) (1990)
- "Same Song" (1991)
- "Kiss You Back" (1991)
- "No Nose Job" (1992)
- "Return of the Crazy One" (1993)
- "Wussup Wit the Luv" (1994)
- "Oregano Flow" (1996)
- "Walk Real Kool" (1996)
- "Wind Me Up" (1998)
Featured Guest Video Appearances
- "We're All in the Same Gang" (1990) Westcoast Allstars
- "Throw Your Hands in the Air" (1991) Raw Fusion
- "Trapped" (1991) 2Pac
- "Money" (1992) Gold Money
- "Close the Crackhouse" (1992) X-Clan
- "I Get Around" (1993) 2Pac feat digital underground
- "No Brothas Allowed" (1994) No Face
- "I Got 5 on it" (1995) Luniz
- "Temptations" (1995) 2Pac
- "Risky Business" (2003) Murs
- "City to City" (2005) Straw the Vegas Don
- "Crazy" (2008) Maddie Lauer
DVDs
- Thug Angel: The Life of an Outlaw (2000)
- Tupac: ResurrectionTupac: ResurrectionTupac: Resurrection is a 2003 documentary about the life and death of rapper Tupac Shakur. The film, directed by Lauren Lazin and released by Paramount Pictures, is narrated by Tupac Shakur himself. The film was in theaters from November 16, 2003 to December 21, 2003...
(2003) - Digital Underground: Raw and Uncut (2004)
- One Nation Under a Groove (2005)