Line #25 Music/DigitalUnderground


1	[[quoteright:400:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/digital_underground_pinterest.jpg]]
2
3	->''"Hey, yo, fat girl, come here--are you ticklish?"''
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5	An AlternativeHipHop group from Oakland, California, Digital Underground began in 1987 as a PoliticalRap group, with an image intended to pay tribute to the Black Panthers. One year later, Music/PublicEnemy released their second album, ''Music/ItTakesANationOfMillionsToHoldUsBack'', to a huge amount of critical acclaim and commercial success, which led Digital Underground to abandon its original political ambitions and become a humor-laden [[Music/GeorgeClinton Parliament/Funkadelic]]-inspired group, with leader Shock G often seen with novelty [[Creator/MarxBrothers Groucho Marx]] glasses.
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7	Digital Underground is best known for "The Humpty Dance", performed by Shock G's [[AlterEgoActing alter-ego]], Humpty Hump (a LoveableSexManiac who looks like a cross between a pimp and Groucho Marx), in which Humpty [[DirtyRap raps about having sex in a Burger King bathroom]][[note]]the "Burger King" part is usually bleeped out in music video versions of the song, [[CensoredForComedy making it sound like he originally said "I once got busy in a motherfuckin' bathroom."]][[/note]], [[ChubbyChaser flirts with a fat girl]], and says that he looks like Music/MCHammer on crack. Digital Underground is also recognized for their OneSceneWonder appearance in Creator/DanAykroyd's movie ''Film/NothingButTrouble''. The movie, Aykroyd's music video for the group's tune "Same Song" and the EP ''This Is an EP Release'', featured a then-unknown Music/TupacShakur as a member of the group; Tupac would later go on to become one of the most successful GangstaRap artists in history, and a defining artist of the 1990s.
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9	Digital Underground disbanded in 2008, after 21 years of touring and releases. The group remains a cult favorite among AlternativeHipHop fans for their whimsical, lighthearted approach and {{Funk}}y sound. Any hopes of a reunion someday were put to rest in April 2021, when Shock G suddenly passed away at 57.
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11	"The Humpty Dance" has been sampled (frequently, without credit of any kind) by numerous musicians, including Music/PublicEnemy, Music/IceCube (in "Jackin' for Beats"), Music/LLCoolJ, Music/SpiceGirls (yes, really) and [[Creator/MarkWahlberg Marky Mark]]. It was also covered by the rap group Wolfpac, and became a BlackSheepHit for that group, because it was the only track on Wolfpac's album that wasn't grotesque {{Horrorcore}}. Because so many people sampled "The Humpty Dance", Digital Underground released a song called "The Humpty Dance Awards" (on their fourth album, ''The Body Hat Syndrome'') as a way to thank many of the artists who sampled it.
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13	'''Albums'''
14	* ''Sex Packets'' (1990)
15	* ''This Is An EP Release'' (1991)
16	* ''Sons Of The P'' (1991)
17	* ''The Body-Hat Syndrome'' (1993)
18	* ''Future Rhythm'' (1996)
19	* ''Who Got The Gravy?'' (1998)
20	* ''The Lost Files'' (1999)
21	* ''..Cuz A D.U. Party Don't Stop!!'' (2008)
22	* ''The Greenlight EP'' (2010)
23
24	----
25	!!Tropehowyalike:
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27	* ConceptAlbum: ''Sex Packets''
28	* TheCasino: "Hip Hop Doll" is centered around a guy who meets a girl at a casino and she helps him win at a craps table.
29	* DanceSensation: Do the Humpty Hump, everybody do the Humpty Hump! "It's real easy to do, check it out..."
30	-->First I limp to the side like my leg was broken, shakin' and twitchin' kinda like I was smokin' \
31	Crazy, wack, funky / People say "You look like [[TakeThat MC Hammer on crack]], Humpty!" \
32	That's alright, cuz my body's in motion / It's supposed to look like a fit or a convulsion
33	* DrugsAreBad: "The Danger Zone".
34	* EpicRocking: A good number of their songs hit or exceed the six-minute mark, including "The Humpty Dance", which comes in at about six and a half minutes long on the CD of ''Sex Packets''. "Doowutchyalike" is even longer, approaching nine minutes on the same release. A complete list of examples would get quite long, particularly given the many different mixes some of these songs have appeared in.
35	* FakeOutFadeOut: Subverted on "Doowutchyalike". The mid-song fade-out is actually announced.
36	-->Radio stations may begin your fade here. For those that would like help, we will start your fade for you.
37	* GagNose: Humpty Hump, of course, leading to ''Sons of the P'''s "No Nose Job".
38	* IntercourseWithYou: Many offerings; "Freaks Of The Industry" is the best example.
39	* LoonyFan: "Brand Nu Swetta" was about members of the group dealing with clingy groupies.
40	* ManOfAThousandVoices: Shock G, who also plays Humpty Hump and a lesser-known character called MC Blowfish.
41	* APartyAlsoKnownAsAnOrgy: The overall mood of "Doowutchyalike," especially in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAeFlGTWhsE music video]].
42	** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2tcy6qndy4 video]] for "Return of the Crazy One" also counts.
43	* PerfectlyCromulentWord: "I'll use a word that don't mean nothin', like '''looptid'''."
44	* SoundEffectBleep: Zigzagged all over the "Humpty Dance" video. "Burger King" in the line "I once got busy in a Burger King bathroom" was bleeped out with a standard bleep used in many a TV show whenever someone says something obscene or of a delicate nature. However, lines like "I'm still gettin' in the girls' pants" had "girls' pants" replaced with a car horn honking twice (which went nicely with the visual of Humpty Hump grabbing a woman's butt), "In a 69, my Humpty nose will tickle your rear," had "69" replaced with a record scratch and "rear" replaced with a woman's scream, and "I get laid by the ladies," had "laid" bleeped out with a [[ScreechingStop tires screeching sound effect]].
45	** One radio edit of "Freaks Of The Industry" inserts different sound effects in place of the more sexually explicit lyrics.
46	* SubvertedRhymeEveryOccasion: From "Doowutchyalike":
47	-->Homegirls, for once, forget you got class\
48	See a guy you like? Just grab him in the [[UnusualEuphemism biscuits!]]
49	** Earlier on in the song:
50	-->If you're hungry, get yourself something to eat\
51	And if you're dirty, then go take a bath\
52	Messed up the line? [[LampshadeHanging No, sometimes I don't rhyme]]

Context Music / DigitalUnderground