Remembering Shock G: 5 Facts About The Oakland Hip Hop Icon
Born Gregory Edward Jacobs, the reported overdose of beloved Oakland rap icon, Shock G was a massive loss for hip hop earlier this year in April, he was 57.
The Digital Underground artist was one of the producers who ruled the “golden era” of hip hop, infusing funk and hip hop to produce and break records for artists like Prince, Monie Love, Dr. Dre, Money B, Raw Fusion, Luniz, Mac Mall, Murs, KRS-One, and more.
Honored by his hometown earlier this year, it would only be right for us to revisit some of his career and life highlights before the 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards.
Launched Career of Tupac Shakur
When Shock G founded the legendary rap group Digital Underground with Chopmaster J and Kenny-K in the 1980s with a roster of talent that including Mystic, DJ Fuze, and others, it’s unclear whether he knew one of his pupils, in 2Pac, would blossom to become the force that he ended up being.
When Pac debuted in Digital Underground's “Same Song” from the 1991 film Nothing but Trouble, however, his trajectory was inevitable. The group would go on to co-produced several of 2Pac's albums and In 1993, his breakthrough platinum single, “I Get Around.”
Other important 2Pac records DU produced include, “Trapped,” and “So Many Tears"
Shock G's Other Identities
While largely known for his 1990 classic “The Humpty Dance” and his Humpty persona that went along with it, Shock had many other aliases, including Rackadelic, Piano Man, which all would come out in different ways.
For example, in “Doowutchyalike,”Shock transforms into his Piano Man persona and takes over for a live-not-sampled piano solo from Al B.
Is A Master of Funk
The reasoning behind Shock G’s different personas was so fans could focus primarily on music — to zero in on the funk.
So much so, he asked all members to wear only black with black shades when in public in an effort to keep an air of mystery around the group.
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