Digital Underground

hip hop

United States • 1987-01-01 – 2008-01-01

Biography

Digital Underground is an American alternative hip-hop group from Oakland, California. The group was formed in 1987 by Digital Underground's leader and mainstay Gregory "Shock G" Jacobs, alongside Tampa hip-hop radio deejay Kenneth "Kenny-K" Waters and Jimi "Chopmaster J" Dright of Berkeley, California. Heavily influenced by the various funk bands of the 1970s, Digital Underground sampled such music frequently. As "Rackadelic", Jacobs designed album covers and cartoon-laced liner notes, in homage to Parliament-Funkadelic album designs. Digital Underground is also notable for launching the career of member Tupac Shakur, as well as spinning off side projects and solo acts including Raw Fusion, Saafir, Gold Money (Pee-Wee & Bigg Money Odis) and singer Mystic. Following the release of their "Doowutchyalike" single and video in the summer of 1989, the band gained popularity with their song "The Humpty Dance" in 1990. Digital Underground toured nearly every year until 2008; this consisted of live shows in Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia, and the U.S. While the group's origins lay mostly in Oakland and Berkeley, California, various characters and voices from around the U.S and UK appeared on the band's albums. Shock G and Money-B were the only individuals to appear on every album. Other recurring key contributors were David "DJ Fuze" Elliot, and deejay/producer Jeremy "J-Beats" Jackson, who both assisted Jacobs in developing the sound. Shock G died in 2021, but Digital Underground continues to tour. In 2025, Jeff Mezydlo of Yardbarker included the band in his list of "20 underrated bands from the 1990s who are worth rediscovering".

Bio from Wikipedia