Shock G

Shock G
Birth name	Gregory Edward Jacobs
Also known as	Humpty Hump, The Piano Man, Rackadelic, M.C. Blowfish, Peanut Hakeem, Shockalock
Born	(1963-08-25)August 25, 1963 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Origin	Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Died	April 22, 2021(2021-04-22) (aged 57) Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Genre	Hip hop
Occupation	Rapper, singer, record producer, pianist, visual artist
Years active	1985-2021
Record label	33rd Street Records (2004)
Associated acts	2Pac, Digital Underground, Luniz, Raw Fusion, Saafir

Gregory Edward Jacobs (August 25, 1963 - April 22, 2021), better known by his stage name Shock G, was an American musician and rapper. He was best known for being the frontman of the hip hop group Digital Underground. He is responsible for Digital Underground's "The Humpty Dance", 2Pac's breakthrough single "I Get Around", and starting the careers of several hip hop musicians.

Born in Brooklyn, Jacobs was raised in New York and Tampa, Florida. He worked as a disc jockey (DJ) in Tampa until his relocation to Oakland, California. Jacobs formed Digital Underground in 1987 and functioned within the group as its main rapper, producer and graphic artist. He performed these roles under a variety of aliases: most notably Humpty Hump, The Piano Man and Rackadelic. Digital Underground released six studio albums from 1990 until its dissolution in 2008.

Jacobs released his only solo album, Fear of a Mixed Planet, in 2004. He died from an accidental drug overdose in a Tampa hotel room on April 22, 2021.

Early life

Jacobs was born in Brooklyn, New York. For most of his childhood, he lived in Tampa, Florida, but moved back to New York with his mother in 1975. It was during this stint that he first discovered hip hop music while it was still in its underground developmental stage. He bought himself a set of turntables and was mentored in the craft by his cousin Rene Negron and their close friend Shah-T of the Queens parody rap group No-Face. Shah-T suggested that Jacobs should use the moniker "Shah-G". Jacobs liked the idea but mistakenly thought that he had said "Shock G", and began using that name instead. In 1978, after getting into too much trouble in Queens, Jacobs was sent back to Tampa to live with his father.

He dropped out of Chamberlain High School to form the Master Blasters, a mobile deejay crew that featured three DJs and four emcees at its height. The group would perform at parties, and eventually caught the attention of WTMP-FM program director Tony Stone. Stone offered Jacobs, who was sixteen-years-old at the time, a job deejaying on the station, which Jacobs accepted. Under the moniker Gregory Racker, he was the youngest radio personality in central Florida with a regular time slot. After being fired for playing the fifteen-minute-long album version of Funkadelic's "(Not Just) Knee Deep" in a five-minute time slot, and also after tensions with his father escalated, Jacobs found himself backpacking through the United States for a few years, drifting through various jobs and participating in petty criminal adventures. It was during this journey that Jacobs' focus shifted from deejaying to keyboard playing, and effectively taught himself to play the piano by utilizing piano practice rooms at music stores and colleges around the country.

Deciding to pursue music seriously, he returned home, obtained a diploma, and began attending Hillsborough Community College in Hillsborough County, where he studied music theory.

Years later, Jacobs decided to settle in the Bay Area, moving to Oakland and working at a local musical equipment store. It was while working here that he formed his group Digital Underground with close friends James "Chopmaster J" Dright and Kenneth "Kenny K" Waters.

On April 22, 2021, Jacobs was found unresponsive in a Tampa, Florida, hotel room by a worker. Revival was unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead. Celebrities pay tribute to the news when it was announced.

Discography

Studio albums

• 2004: Fear of a Mixed Planet

Shock G
Studio albums	Fear of a Mixed Planet
Featured singles	"Money" • "I Get Around" • "Freaky Note" • "Freaks II"
Related articles	Digital Underground