Shock G

Shock G

Gregory E. Jacobs (born August 25, 1963), known by the stage names Shock G and Humpty Hump, is an American musician and rapper best 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.

Early life

Jacobs spent most of his childhood moving around the East Coast 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.

Digital Underground

Shock G performing with Digital Underground at X-Fest in Modesto California, July 22, 2007.

Shock G performing with Digital Underground at X-Fest in Modesto California, July 22, 2007.

Soon after relocating to Oakland California, Shock G (Jacobs) formed Digital Underground 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. 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.

Multiple Identities

File:ShkWiki7.jpg

Shock G performing as "Humpty Hump" at Les Deux in Hollywood in 2008.

As the '80s came to an end, a lingering general belief existed amongst music fans that rappers were less authentic if they played a traditional music instrument or showed any formal artistic abilities. In a strategy to overcome this, Jacobs opted to keep his accomplishments a secret, and created aliases to disguise his many roles within the group, 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 threw his voice to become "Humpty Hump", an iconic character with an overexagerrated buffoon persona, colorful clothes, and a Groucho glasses & nose disguise. 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 and/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 performed as a character by the name of MC Blowfish.

Albums

• Fear of a Mixed Planet
• with Digital Underground:
  Main article: Digital Underground § Albums

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 Shakur'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 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.

• 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 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 2004, the barely circulated but critically acclaimed Shock G solo album, Fear of a Mixed Planet was released by 33rd Street, a small label that was owned by Tower Records. The album was re-released as a "Bonus Edition" with new material in 2008 by Seattle-based indie label Jake Records.

• Under the alias "Piano Man", Shock G contributed the piano, synthesizer, and organ work heard on all seven Digital Underground albums, as well as the live keys on his many Tupac productions.

• Under the alias "Rackadelic" (his graffiti tag as a youth), Shock is responsible for the Digital Underground album cover illustrations & CD booklet cartoons and comic strips.

• 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 addition to several gold and platinum Digital Underground and 2Pac releases, Shock-G has also produced material for Bobby Brown, KRS-One, Saafir, and others.

• 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.

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)

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)

1996, We Got More, Shock-G feat Luniz, (song)

1996, Future Rhythm, digital underground, (album)

1995, Don't Ring My Bell, Luniz, (song)

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)

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)

Digital Underground Videos

• "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)
• "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: Resurrection (2003)
• Digital Underground: Raw and Uncut (2004)
• One Nation Under a Groove (2005)

External links

• Official website
• Shock-G Official MySpace Page
• Shock G discography at Discogs
• Denver Post Article
• Ferrari Sheppard Interview
• Shock G's green article