| "The Humpty Dance" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Digital Underground | |
| from the album Sex Packets | |
| Released | March 14, 1990 |
| Format | Single |
| Recorded | 1989-1990 |
| Genre | Hip Hop |
| Length | 6:30 (Original), 5:42 (Short Edit) |
| Label | Tommy Boy |
| Writer(s) | Humpty Hump |
| Certification | Platinum (RIAA).[1] |
"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. The single is sung by Shock G's alter ego, "Humpty Hump", marking the character's second musical appearance; the first being Digital Underground's "Doowutchyalike," a pre-album video-single released in the spring of 1989. The Humpty Dance features a hypnotically-pulsating bassline and a particularly potent drumtrack that has been sampled by many different artists and producers. (see list below) In the song's video, a young Tupac Shakur is visible in the background.
In 2008, "The Humpty Dance" was ranked number 30 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop and number 65 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s in 2007. The song was selected as one of many songs to hear and download in the musical reference book, 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die: And 10,001 You Must Download. The song was nominated for Best Rap Video at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards, but lost to "U Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer. Canadian television channel MuchMoreMusic's series Back In... rated the song's video as one of the worst of 1990.
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Of the five raw elements that make up the Humpty Dance drum track, one is a sample from "Sing a Simple Song" by Sly & The Family Stone, in the form of a one-measure-long drum loop. Digital underground incorporated the Family Stone drum loop with four other raw elements; a deep tonal kick drum that alternated between two bass notes, a handclap snare (also a sample, taken from "Theme From the Black Hole" by Parliament), drum-machine hi-hats running continuously throughout which were programmed to 8th-notes, and a guitar hit happening once every bar, all assembled into the now-familiar pattern that forms the Humpty Dance drum track. The vocal sample that happens in the song's chorus sections is from Parliament's "Let's Play House" from their 1980 album, Trombipulation.[2]
The Humpty Dance is a tribute to Humpty's sexual prowess despite his ridiculous appearance.[3] Humpty introduces the appearance theme with the opening line, "I'm about to ruin the image and the style that you're used to," a protest against the uniformity among successful rappers of the time.[4]
"The Humpty Dance" is Shock G's second song to feature his alter ego, "Humpty Hump" who first debuted on "Doowutchyalike" which was Digital Underground's first video release in 1989. The character, which sports a buffoon persona, colorful clothes, and Groucho glasses, is sung by Shock G using a nasally voice. 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. Because of the "accident", the character is seen wearing a large nose disguise.[5]
The song was featured in the VH1 series I Love the 90's, and also on the MTV show America's Best Dance Crew, where it was included in a dance routine performed by Super Cr3w. The song was also featured in the 2000 film Charlie's Angels. The song is also available for play in the 2004 karaoke video game Get On Da Mic for Playstation 2. It was sampled by Justin Timberlake, Jimmy Fallon on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon and by the Spice Girls on their debut album "Spice" as the track "If U Can't Dance".[6] A performance of the song was featured in the movie "Nothing But Trouble"
The song was also featured in films The Wood and The Green Hornet (2011 film).
| End of year chart (1990) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[7] | 11 |
| US Rap Chart | 1 |
The Humpty Dance is one of the most sampled songs recorded by a hip hop/rap artist, boasting over 40 usages in other songs. By 1993, less than three years after its release, it had already been sampled in over 20 popular songs, most of them utilizing its drum track. In fact, it was sampled so much that Digital Underground humorously devoted the song "The Humpty Dance Awards" from their album The Body-Hat Syndrome to the many recording artists who sampled the track. Since then, dozens more artists have jumped on the bandwagon, from Ice Cube to Public Enemy.
NOTE: Songs that didn't directly sample "The Humpty Dance" are not included in this list.
title, artist, (description of use)
Humpty Dance copyright references: http://www.faqs.org/copyright/i-made-love-4-da-very-first-time-musical-composition/