This was an easy choice for Song of the Week (probably a little obvious) while also being a sad choice. Leader of the Oakland-based Hip-Hop group Digital Underground, Shock G, was found dead in Tampa, Florida on April 22, 2021. While Shock G’s greatest contribution to Hip-Hop is probably putting on a young Tupac Shakur, his greatest musical contribution is probably as his alter ego Humpty Hump and the song “The Humpty Dance”.
I don’t think people realize how dumb kids were without the internet. All Shock G did was put on glasses, a fake nose, and change his voice and all the kids that I knew believed he was another whole person. People even said that Humpty Hump was born without a nose and that’s why he wore the fake nose. With all the old Looney Tunes cartoons playing on TV at the time, we had no idea who the hell Groucho Marx was.
I’ll give Shock G some more credit though when he made appearances on shows like Yo! MTV Raps, camera tricks were used to keep up the gimmick. The same goes for concerts where they would have a stand-in so both Shock G and Humpty Hump could be on stage during performances. You have to appreciate the dedication.
Plus, “The Humpty Dance” still goes off.
R.I.P. Humpty Hump. R.I.P. Shock G.
*pours out all the Hennessy I got on my shelf*
