Personnel includes: Chopmaster J (vocals, drums, drum programming); Shock-G (vocals, drum programming, sampling, sequencing); DJ Fuze (vocals, scratches); Money B, Kenny K, MC Blowfish, C.M.J., Danny Myers, Vinny B, The Underground Speakhowyalike Crew, Marshe Gardner, Earl Cook, The Computer Woman, Mac Mone, Bulldog, Liz Racker "Baby Dope," Sleuth, Bret Davis, Tanisha Spencer, Dazzlin' Doc P, Schmoovy Schmoov, Maverick (vocals); The Piano Man (piano, keyboards, synthesizer); Randy Brooks (synthesizer); Kent Racker (bass); The Claphowyalike Crew (handclaps); Goldfingers (scratches).
Recorded at Starlight Sound, Richmond, California; Alpha Omega, San Francisco, California; Hayes Recording Studio, Tampa Bay, Florida; J-Jam Recording, Oakland Hills, California.
The history of black music exhibits a recurring tendency towards social consciousness, not just in terms of content, but also in a practice characterized by the formation of musical collectives which constitute self-organized utopian movements in their own right. To a partial list of such movements--which might include James Brown and the JBs, the Native Tongues, Fela Kuti and Afrika 70, Arrested Development, Soul II Soul, Sun Ra's Arkestra and Parliament/Funkadelic--we can add the name of Digital Underground.
Although taking explicit cues from the P-Funk aesthetic (even dubbing themselves the Sons Of The P) in theme and sound (the use of multiple identities, and the accompanying comic strip narrative), DU are not simply clones of Dr. Funkenstein. Interludes like "The New Jazz" (DJ Fuze improvising off a groove provided by live drums and piano; a foreshadowing of Bay Area turntablism to come) demonstrate that they inherited the Funkadelic capacity for invention and experimentation along with the low-end. Meanwhile, singles "The Humpty Dance" and "Doowutchyalike;" equal parts party anthem and dada manifesto, combine the Parliament penchant for absurdity with an unmistakable b-boy ethos, perfectly captured in Shock G/Humpty Hump's baritone flow.
Professional Reviews
Spin (7/90) - "..the truest synthesis yet of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll.."
Q (2/91) - Recommended as one of the five best rap albums of 1990. - "..delivered one of the best party singles in the year with "The Humpty Dance.."
