Paying tribute to Digital Underground’s “This is an EP Release” for its 30th anniversary
Digital Underground’s Sex Packets took music by storm back in spring 1990. The Bay Area-based collective, led by Gregory “Shock G” Jacobs, brought a madcap, funk-filled energy to hip-hop that resonated with fans from across the globe. Influenced just as much by Parliament Funkadelic as they were by Public Enemy, Digit Underground were a bonafide hip-hop circus, creating such memorable jams as “Doowhuchalike” and the ubiquitous “Humpty Dance.” Both Sex Packets and the “Humpty Dance” single caught on like wildfire, and each went Platinum before the year’s end.
Digital Underground and their label, Tommy Boy Records, decided to capitalize on their hot streak by releasing This Is An EP Release less than a year later, while the group worked on their proper follow-up album. Released 30 years ago, the solid six-song EP features three new songs and three remixes/re-workings of tracks from their debut album. At the time, hip-hop acts didn’t frequently release EPs, but in this case, the shorter format serves the group well, even if they songs themselves tend to run long. They provide some red meat for the audience, as well as experiment a bit. The newer songs are definitely the project’s strength, as Digital Underground excavates a deep well of musical creativity.
The EP also served the purpose to support the group’s appearance in Dan Ackroyd’s directorial debut, Nothing But Trouble, which entered theaters a few weeks later. The prominent SNL alum had been looking for a musical group to appear in the film and approached Tommy Boy about enlisting De La Soul. Since De La was touring Europe at the time, the label hipped Ackroyd to other artists on their roster. The actor showed up backstage at a Digital Underground concert in Los Angeles, smoked a doobie with the group, and pitched them on appearing in the film. Shock G promptly agreed.
According to Shock, Ackroyd told him on a subsequent phone call that them the group would appear in the movie as themselves, and perform a song or two. Hence, they would need to record some new material. In particular, Ackroyd requested a new song featuring an organ, and sounding similar to “Humpty Dance.” “Just keep that same song, just keep that same song you got,” he apparently told Shock.
Nothing But Trouble was awful, but Digital Underground’s presence, particularly their performance of “Same Song,” is the film’s highlight. And no matter what Ackroyd may have requested, “Same Song” is not a rehash of “Humpty Dance.” Instead, Shock took the “same song” phrase as the inspiration for the track’s subject matter. Re-interpreting vocals from Parliament’s “Theme From the Black Hole,” they change the refrain from “All around the world for the funk” to “All around the world, the same song,” explaining how they haven’t let their new-found fame change the way the work, party, or live.
Though Shock, Humpty Hump, and Ron “Money B” Brooks, all have dope verses, “Same Song” is best known for the first appearance of Tupac Shakur. The future icon had been rolling with DU since 1990, eventually working as a roadie and Humpty Dancer for the group while they toured. While on the road, he proved his rap skills to the group’s members over countless post-performance freestyle sessions. Here he contributes the song’s final verse, making the most of his 8-bar appearance by exuding the confidence and skills that would eventually make him a superstar. “Get some fame, people change, wanna live their life high,” he raps. “Same song, can’t go wrong, if I play the nice guy.”
“Same Song” does indeed feature extensive work on the organ by “The Piano Man” (another Shock G alias). Besides continuously improvising throughout the track, he performs a lengthy solo that takes up nearly half of the song six-minute length. Shock doubtlessly draws inspiration from P-Funk centerpiece Bernie Worrell, particularly his work on Funkadelic’s “Atmosphere.”
The other contribution to Nothing But Trouble isn’t nearly as good as “Same Song,” but it’s pretty interesting. The wedding-themed “Tie the Knot” was also performed in the film and exists mostly as a vehicle for The Piano Man to again tickle the 88 keys. The man sure does know how to add flourishes to Wagner’s “Treulich Geführt” (aka the Bridal Chorus), nimbly dancing across the keys to the beat of the “Substitution” drum break. The grandiosity of the music distracts from the inherent goofiness of the undertaking.
The third and final piece of new material on This Is An EP Release is “Nuttin’ Nis Funky,” a behemoth of a track that clocks in at nearly 10 minutes in length. The song samples liberally from Miles Davis’ “Fat Time,” the opening track from his The Man With Horn (1981) comeback album. It unfolds slowly over a deeply funky groove, featuring long instrumental stretches, occasionally featuring either vocals by Earl “Schmoovy Schmoov” Cook or brief and precise scratches by DU’s DJ, David “Fuze” Elliot.
For the first half of the song, Shock trades verses with “Big Money” Odis Brackens, another new member of the Digital Underground family. With his deep voice and laid-back delivery, Odis brought an interesting style to group, proving himself to be deceptively dexterous behind the mic. “You can’t compete ’cause you’re incomplete and need to be completed,” he raps. “Your style is weak you’re obsolete and need to be deleted / Short on the things that you needed / So what? You got a top ten song, ’cause you cheated.”
Meanwhile, Shock has rarely seemed as lackadaisically cool as he is on “Nuttin…” He boasts of the group’s stage show ability to both leaving “emcees standing still with their mouths hanging open” and “the next act scratching his head like a monkey.” He then morphs into Humpty to close things out, proclaiming that “my mouth’s on the mic like a finger on a trigger, n***a.”
The re-worked material from Sex Packets is mostly solid, though none of it really improve on what they’d already released. The group re-records their vocals for the “The Way We Swing” remix, but song isn’t really appreciably different than the original version. British electronic DJ/producer CJ Mackintosh remixes “Packet Man,” turning the low-key track into an up-tempo number with the use of a horn-heavy sample from Rodney Franklin’s “Windy City.”
“Arguin’ On the Funk” features a conversation/argument between Shock G and Humpty Hump of the instrumental to the group’s “Rhymin’ On the Funk.” Shock chides his alter ego for not knowing his music history as well as failure to fully appreciate the importance of the “Funk Mob.” (“What the hell is the Funk Mob? A bunch of brothas who don’t take baths?” Humpty jokes). Shock then educates Humpy on the important members of the Parliament Funkadelic collective and their impact on hip-hop music, hoping to give them their respect while their still around. Digital Underground would later explore similar themes on “Heartbeat Props” from the forthcoming Sons of the P (1991).
This Is An EP Release did successfully set the table for Sons of the P, which would be released in the fall. In the meantime, the EP is an entertaining segue that would help chart the group’s future, Tupac would continue to progress towards superstardom, Shock G would continue to experiment as a producer and musician, and Humpty Hump would continue to be featured prominently throughout the group’s material. It wasn’t the group heaviest exercise, but they made the most of it.
