| "The Humpty Dance" | |
|---|---|
 Single by Digital Underground from the album Sex Packets' | |
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Released |
20 January 1990 |
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Recorded |
1989 at Starlight Sound (Richmond, CA) |
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Genre |
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Length |
6:30 |
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Writer(s) |
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Producer |
Atron Gregory (exec.), Shock G |
"The Humpty Dance" is a song by American hip hop Digital Underground. It was released as a single in 1990, the same year it was featured on the group's debut album Sex Packets. The song is performed by Shock G's alter ego Humpty Hump, and is a biographical track about his sexual prowess despite his ridiculous appearance. In the song's final verse, Humpty Hump describes the Humpty Dance and invites people of all races to join in. The song is the second appearance of Humpty Hump; the first was on "Doowutchyalike", which Hump refers to with the line "I sang on "Doowutchyalike, and if you missed it / I'm the one who said, "Just grab 'em in the biscuits"". Shock G additionally produced the beat, which had its bassline sampled on multiple songs and led to the fictional "The Humpty Dance Awards" skit on the group's 1993 album The Body-Hat Syndrome.
The single reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100, #7 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Tracks, and #1 on the Rap Singles charts. It served as Digital Underground's breakthrough song, and served as the primary reason for the success of the group's album Sex Packets. In 2008, "The Humpty Dance" was ranked #30 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop. The song's music video was nominated for Best Rap Video at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards, but lost to "U Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer.