Shock G
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| Shock G | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Gregory E. Jacobs | |
| Born | August 25, 1963 | |
| Origin | Oakland, California | |
| Genre(s) | Hip hop | |
| Years active | 1987— | |
Shock-G is the stage name of Gregory E. Jacobs (born August 25, 1963), an American musician and rapper, perhaps most known as the head vocalist for Digital Underground, a rap group most popular in the early 1990s.
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[edit] Before stardom
Jacobs spent most of his childhood moving around the East Coast with his family, eventually settling in the Bay Area of California. He dropped out of high school in the late 1970s and spent several years pursuing a life of crime before eventually finishing his degree and attending college, where he studied music.
[edit] Digital Underground
Along with Chopmaster J, Jacobs formed Digital Underground in 1987, and the duo released a single, "Underwater Rimes", which went to #1 in the Netherlands. In 1989, the group signed with Tommy Boy Records, and that summer "Doowutchyalike" became an underground hit. By that time, Digital Underground had expanded significantly, with DJ Fuze, Money-B, and Schmoovy-Schmoov joining the group.
Sex Packets, the group's debut album, was released in the spring of 1990 and "The Humpty Dance", which was rapped by Shock-G's alter ego Humpty Hump, climbed all the way to #11 on the pop charts, peaking at #7 on the R&B charts. With its P-Funk samples, jazzy interludes, and innovative amalgam of samples and live instrumentation, Sex Packets received positive reviews and went platinum by the end of the year.
[edit] Solo work
In addition to his work with Digital Underground, Shock G has found moderate success as a solo artist.
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 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 Dan Aykroyd and Demi Moore film Nothing But Trouble. Shock also co-produced Tupac's debut album 2Pacalypse Now.
In 2004, Shock released a solo CD, Fear of a Mixed Planet.
In July 2005, Shock G announced that he was retiring from studio work, citing the fact that too many people were asking him to work for free. He will continue to write and tour, and he has also expressed interest in acting and playing with other music acts—as long as it's not for free. "I did the super-generous, available to everyone, free thing for many years, I'm ready ta try to earn a few bucks now". [citation needed]
Shock-G has toured and performed on stage with George Clinton & P-Funk including a guest performance with Clinton at Woodstock 1999.
Under the alias "Piano Man", Shock contributed the piano, synthesizer, and organ work heard on all five 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.
Shock-G's production credits include several gold and platinum Digital Underground and 2Pac releases, as well as songs for Prince ("Love Sign" from the Crystal Ball LP), Bobby Brown, Saafir, and others.
There is a very under-the radar music video for a song called "Risky Business" by MURS featuring Shock G as well as Humpty Hump. In late 2005 and early 2006, MURS performed this song at the Paid Dues festival, and Shock G and Humpty Hump performed this song with him live.
In 2005, Shock G appeared as Humpty Hump on a Fatlip song called Freaky Pumps as well as on the song "Career Finders" by The Perceptionists on the album Black Dialogue. In 2006 he appeared on the song California Girls Dipped in Chocolate by Slapbak on the album The Key.
