Rapper Shock G of Digital Underground has died at 57. The news was confirmed by Digital Underground co-founder Chopmaster J in an Instagram post. Shock G was found dead in a Tampa hotel room on Thursday, but a cause of death has yet to be disclosed.
“34 years ago almost to the day we had a wild idea we can be a hip hop band and take on the world through it all the dream became a reality and the reality became a nightmare for some,” Chopmaster J said in Instagram. “And now he’s awaken from the fame long live shock G Aka Humpty Hump and Rest In Peace my Brotha Greg Jacobs!”
Born Gregory Jacobs in Brooklyn, New York in 1963 before moving with his family to Tampa, Florida and eventually coming back to Queens, New York following his parents' divorce. It was in Queens that he became acquainted with the burgeoning hip-hop genre and started learning turntables under the mentorship of DJ-Stretch and MC Shah-T. It was during this time that he adopted the Shock G moniker.
Shock G would return to Tampa after a couple of years in New York and joined the mobile DJ crew the Master Blasters. At 16-years-old, he became an on-air radio personality at WTMP. Throughout his time in Tampa, he would produce tracks for other local artists and began performing with groups such as The Chill Factor and The Four Horsemen.
In 1987, Shock G moved to Oakland, Calif. where he formed Digital Underground alongside Chopmaster J and Kenny-K. The group would release their debut single “Underwater Rimes” the next year. Shock G and Digital Underground achieved global success with their breakout hit “The Humpty Dance” in 1989 off their debut record Sex Packets, featuring Shock rapping under his alter-ego Humpty Hump. The song reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the US Rap Chart. The song’s music video features a young Tupac Shakur in the background. Sex Packets would later be certified platinum.
Shock G and Shakur would collaborate again, with Shock G co-producing on the young rapper’s debut album 2Pacalypse Now as well as Shakur’s 1993 break-out single "I Get Around.” Throughout his career, Shock G would work with a number of legendary artists, including Dr. Dre, KRS-One, Ice-T, Public Enemy, George Clinton, Prince, and numerous others. Shock G’s final album as a solo artist came 2004’s Fear of a Mixed Planet. Digital Underground released their final album, ..Cuz a D.U. Party Don't Stop!, in 2008.
Shock G’s contributions to hip-hop and pop music are innumerable, undoubtedly with impacts still being felt today. Join us in celebrating Shock G’s life and work by revisiting some of his music and productions below.
