Digital Underground

小簡介
大多數(shù)人知道Digital Underground是因為Tupac的關系,他曾經(jīng)是Digital Underground的一名候補饒舌歌手和舞者,并參與制做了他們的This Is an EP Release,之后Tupac便單飛,開始書寫他自己的傳奇.
大多數(shù)人往往了解的也就這么多,其實拋開Tupac的名氣不說,Digital Underground也是West Coast的一個偉大的團體.這個來自Oakland, CA的團體深受George Clinton的影響,因此從他門的音樂里可以明顯的看到P-Funk的影子.團隊的首腦Shock-G風趣幽默,他那標志性的大太陽鏡和清微的口吃讓人常常忍俊不禁.但就是他這樣的風格卻成就了一首經(jīng)典The Humpty Dance.Shock-G的童年是在Bay Area, CA渡過的,他很早就在學校中開始學習音樂,并因此結識了希望成為一名RAPPER的Chopmaster J,兩人在1987年建立了Digital Underground,不久就在地下發(fā)行了他們的第一支單曲Underwater Rimes,贏得了一致得了好評.在1989年他們正式與主流廠牌Tommy Boy簽約.隨著DJ Fuze,Jeremy "Jay-Z" Jackson,Money-B,PeeWee,Schmoovy-Schmoov等人的陸續(xù)加入,Digital Underground的力量不斷壯大.
終于在1990年發(fā)行了首張專輯Sex Packets,專輯大獲成功,并取得了白金銷量.他們馬上又在1991年發(fā)行了This Is an EP Release(Tupac參與其中).這張EP的大賣也為第二張專輯Sons of the P很好的預熱,Sons of the P又成為一張經(jīng)典,但很可惜沒有超越更經(jīng)典的Sex Packets.1993年他們又發(fā)行了The Body-Hat Syndrome,不過此時以Dr. Dre為代表的gangsta rap和G-funk已經(jīng)成為HIP HOP圈的主流,The Body-Hat Syndrome銷量極不理想,Digital Underground也因此短暫的沉寂.3年之后Digital Underground攜Future Rhythm回歸,但也只在榜單上停留了三周.1998年他們又發(fā)行了Who Got the Gravy? ,以往的光輝早就不在.但Digital Underground絕對是HIP HOP歷史中值得銘記的名字.
by Stephen Thomas ErlewineWhile hip-hop was consumed by the hardcore, noisy political rap of Public Enemy and the gangsta rap of N.W.A., Digital Underground sneaked out of Oakland with their bizarre, funky homage to Parliament-Funkadelic. Digital Underground built most of their music from P-Funk samples and developed a similarly weird sense of style and humor, highlighted by Shock-Gs outrageous costumes and the whole bands parade of alter egos. Of all these alter egos, Shock-Gs Humpty Hump — a ridiculous comical figure with a Groucho Marx nose and glasses and a goofy, stuttering voice — was the most famous, especially since he was immortalized on their breakthrough single, The Humpty Dance. Over the course of their career, Digital Underground have featured a numerous members, but throughout it all, Shock-G has remained at their core, developing the bands sound and style, which they had from the outset, as their 1990 debut, Sex Packets, proved. Sex Packets was an instant hit, thanks the loopy single The Humpty Dance, and while they never scaled such commercial heights ever again, their role in popularizing George Clintons elastic funk made them one of the most important hip-hop groups of their era.Shock-G (born Gregory E. Jacobs, August 25, 1963) 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 70s and spent several years pursuing a life of crime before eventually finishing his degree and going to college to study music. Along with Chopmaster J, Shock-G formed Digital Underground in 1987, and the duo released a single, Underwater Rimes, that year, which went to number one in the Netherlands. In 1989, the group signed with Tommy Boy, and that summer Doowutchyalike became an underground hit. By that time, Digital Underground had expanded significantly, featuring DJ Fuze, Money-B (born Ron Brooks), and Schmoovy-Schmoov (born Earl Cook). Sex Packets, the groups debut album, was released in the spring of 1990, and The Humpty Dance, which was rapped by Shock-Gs alter ego Humpty Hump, climbed all the way to number 11 on the pop charts, peaking at number seven 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.Digital Underground followed Sex Packets in early 1991 with This Is an EP Release, their first recording to feature rapper Tupac Shakur. The EP went gold and set the stage for their second album, Sons of the P, which was released that fall. On the strength of the gold single Kiss You Back, Sons of the P also went gold, but it received criticism for its similarity to Sex Packets. By the time Digital Underground delivered their third album, The Body-Hat Syndrome in late 1993, hip-hop had become dominated by gangsta rap, particularly the drawling G-funk of Dr. Dre, which ironically was heavily indebted to Clinton. Consequently, their fan base diminished significantly, and The Body-Hat Syndrome disappeared shortly after its release. Nearly three years later, Digital Underground returned with Future Rhythm, which spent a mere three weeks on the charts. Who Got the Gravy? followed in 1998.