Digital Underground: C/D?

dj harvey opened w/ some awesome house mix of 'doowatchulike' last nite lol

http://mp3skyline.com/rid-0x1bac2-house-arrest_-_version-1.0--ha001--mp3-download.html
this mayb

Reason I'm asking is I came across a torrent of it today and it piqued my curiosity, here are the notes.

- Sex Packets Pro Cassette Transfer Version -

"There is only one version of this classic - the cassette version.
For this I bought an unopened tape and sent it to a pro transfer and mastering service to record it to cd. If they aren't gonna release it, I'm gonna give it away. This IS the version you memorized back in 1990 (if you're my age) if not do your homework son because this is the shit."

maybe it has the og 'freaks of the industry' or something? the freaks 12" i have has both the cd one & one that heavily samples the first part of 'love hangover'

Dropping this off the CD was criminal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pw5OdbMuwU

I assume it was for running time. Could you put 80 minutes on a cd in 1989? Shame it hasn't been rectified, but deluxe remasters are still rare in hip hop.

The other dropped cuts are "Sound of the Underground" and "Tribute to the Early Days"

Yep Yep, appears to have 3 extra tracks and and unedited version of 'Gutfest 89'

From an Amazon review:

This CD does not contain all of the songs from the original album.

Another reviewer mentioned that the original casette of Sex Packets had three extra songs and a full version of "Gutfest." Well, if you just want "The Humpty Dance" then this CD is fine. But know that if you're getting this current version of Sex Packets, you aren't getting the real thing. Some of the songs missing are fantastic and superior to some of the tracks which do remain on the CD. Also, the missing complete 8 minute version of "Gutfest" explains more about its concept in fuller scope and allows the groove to set in better - it was a funky highlight on the cassette issue, but here it seems irrelevant and awkward.

If I'd realized the CD was missing the original songs and sequencing, I wouldn't have paid for it, I would have just downloaded the tracks. I advise you to do the same, and wait for someone to acquire Tommy Boy=(now defunt)'s original version to reissue as the whole album in its entirety.

That said, "Humpty Dance" is one of the funniest, wittiest songs ever, as well as extremely funky. "Dowutchalike" is equally funky.

The "Sex Packets" theme of the rest of the album is okay, a kind of juvenile attempt at creating a George Clinton-like concept, but overall it's just sort of silly, unexceptional joke and nothing more. And not until the bouncy "Packet Man," built around a Fred Wesley sample, does the concept really do anything musically entertaining, making it all worthwhile.

Several songs are missing from the mix, as I've said. I remember one called "Hip Hop Doll" and my one of personal favorites "Tribute to the Early Days."

As it stands, 4 stars. But the complete version of the original cassette tape, if you ever can find it, is worth 5.

yeah, the LP didn't have all the cassette tracks either (or even a short version of Gutfest), I didn't hear them until a few years ago off some mp3 blog. bless you, some mp3 blog

Excellent synopsis of The Humpty Dance here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humpty_Dance

The classic Regulate synopsis was taken down last autumn, inspiring this excellent retort: "Active banana is a humorless idiot and should stop ruining funny, informative articles in non-serious subjects. Getting laid/smoking marijuana might also ease his anal-retentive tendencies." Wikipedia got beef.

http://www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?boardid=77&threadid=82861

Despite the fact Mr. Hump is by most standards not a very attractive man he still manages to find himself in situations where women allow him to rummage around in their trousers

sex packets (cassette version) has finished downloading

very happy that control + F yielded no "dud"

Shock G passed away.

Fucking fuck THIS.

Yeah I’m shaken up. I’ve long admired him.

Owned Sex Packets on cassette in 1990, haven't listened to it in more than 25 years...but "The Humpty Dance" still pops into my head first thing in the morning once a week at least. These guys really were like no one else out there — Shock G's influences were obvious, but he was a for-real visionary.

Just that first album alone is all over the place in the best way. I mean, MC Blowfish

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru7RVQs3P6o

Sons of the P is one of my favorite albums ever. This is devastating news.

If this is still there it should become a shrine.

https://oaklandnorth.net/2012/08/31/giant-head-prop-from-digital-underground-tour-stored-in-east-oakland-parking-garage/

RISOTP

RIP what a talent

r-h-y-m-i-n on the funk forever

spoke to my people & the words are: Greg wouldn’t want us crying for him. he would want us to toast & have joy. Greg was in pain he is now in that better place. my words are: but we were all kids together. so i’m crying for him. crying for all of it #SHOCKG rest in peace 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/jKEDBklehC

— Danyel Smith (@danamo) April 23, 2021

great to remember MC Blowfish, what an amazing weirdo

i don't think it can be overstated how good 'sex packets' sounds, the bass on that record is fucking seismic

yeah listening to freaks of the industry rn, so huge

RIP, was hoping this wasn't true

kudos again to Aaron for finding & writing about the head

Blasting this in the garage. Neighbors gonna hear it and get to humpin’.

Shock G was a multi-styled, flexible rapper w/ a butter-smooth voice, and a fantastic, funky, distinctively creative producer. Humpty Hump was the greatest comedy sidekick in hip-hop, ever. The Piano Man one of the best keyboard players in rap. Gregory Jacobs wrote inventive, hilarious, joyous songs. Rackadelic's art conveyed the oft-goofy nature of the music inside, and echoed the spirit of reggae sleeves, P-Funk and Schoolly D. Celebratory dances to all 5, and pour one in for MC Blowfish.

otm

Damn. Was just listening to sex packets the other day while vacuuming. He was a really talented guy, but just a natural heir to p-funk (more so than dr dre actually), he wasnt even trying. Also, shock g helped put saafir on so for that he deserves credit. Strangely one of the recent mentions of DU i heard was in a Louis theroux interview with riz Ahmed. This is just really weird tbh. He wasnt even old.

The guy who made underwater rhymes and gave so much joy deserves longer on this planet.

He wasnt even old.

DMX was 50, Black Rob was 52, Shock 57, all gone in one week. Burn police stations until universal healthcare results.

Never mind wanting to be prince or bootsy, dre3000 wanted to be shock g.

Aw man.

aw that sucks

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/ED04/production/_118167606_gettyimages-152563894-clinton.jpg

Sex Packets was MASSIVE for me - that (and the Groove is In The Heart video) got 15 year old me obsessed with trying to track down and actually hear George Clinton and Bootsy Collins records which was next to impossible in my super white middle-of-nowhere town in 1990. Underwater Rimes was a classic 'get stoned with my cousin and listen to music' track, and Humpty Dance is easily a top ten hip-hop track for me. I'll never see a Burger King and not immediately get it stuck in my head.

One of my favorite bits was a documentary on copyright and sampling that was on PBS a while ago - Steve Albini was in it bitching about sampling being lazy and not being art or music and how people who can't play music do it to steal from actual musicians, then they cut to a clip of Shock G playing the keyboards and talking about how shitty it is when painters think photographers aren't artists.

finally listened to sex packets and sons of p last year when i was listening to a lot of tupac.... really amazing records. this sucks

This sucks. "Kiss You Back" was one of the first songs I ever taped off the radio. Somebody needs to release "Nothing But Trouble" on Blu-Ray ASAP.

I got cassettes of Sex Packets and Public Enemy's Fear of a Black Planet in the same batch of 13 (or whatever it was) cassettes from columbia house when I was 12-13. I listened to those two albums over and over again. They were my first musical obsession.

Yeah same. Digital Underground were my favourite group when I was 10/11. I used to tape songs off the radio and turn them into mixtapes... "Same Song" and "Do You Really Want Me?" were mainstays

I love the use of Herbie Hancock here. Tupac on fire too imo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6mx3feZLF8

Was seeing twitter praise for his contributions to Tupac record. I need to dig into that.

He produced the best 2pac song: so many tears

and the other best 2pac song "fuck the world"

just kidding

it is pretty good beyond that first verse tho

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgMRgu7BpbY

Latter one is definitely and unmistakably Pac, btw.

The cassette of Sex Packets had a couple of exclusive (and a couple more exclusive-ish) tracks, including this one by Fuze & Money alone - absolutely sounds in the same style as that demo tape, right down to ending the song by just shouting out other members of Digital Underground for ages.

Great obit, with illuminating biographical details:

https://www.vulture.com/article/obituary-shock-g-digital-underground.html

Bootsy gave a memorial statement to Rolling Stone, which they excerpted and interjected:

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/bootsy-collins-digital-underground-shock-g-tribute-1160570/

That vulture piece is excellent.
Played by 12" of humpty dance yesterday and was shocked at how huge that bass is.

my buddy treblefree located a copy of and uploaded the "ultragroove" remix of 'no nose job' for your listening pleasures.

Looks like there’s Shock G solo piano on the way:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4WOOUd1Msg

Cool read:

https://www.powmag.net/p/prince-cleared-the-samples-for-free

It's about Sex Packets as a whole but to go into the headline hook:

Q. There are a few Prince samples on Sex Packets. Prince wasn’t clearing samples for anyone back then, but he was a big fan of you guys and even had Digital Underground play at his club. That must have been a trip, right?

Atron (Gregory, DU manager): Shock G was a big Prince fan. I got him to write Prince a hand-written letter, which the publicist Karen Lee then gave to Prince. The next day Prince cleared all the samples for free. The Digital Underground would play at Prince’s club the Grand Slam in L.A. The ultimate compliment was when Prince got Shock G to produce a remix of “Love Sign.” I know that was a big moment for Shock G, as Prince didn’t let many rappers come into his world.

Weird because one of the two songs that didn't make the reissue has a Madhouse sample that I assumed was holding it up

only one of the four cassette-only tracks is on the reissue

they might have just lost the masters, rather than Prince refusing to clear it for full release this time, for whatever inscrutable reasons of his own

Two of them are on there iirc

Yeah, "A Tribute to the Early Days" and the full "Gutfest '89" are on Disc 2. Very annoying that we can't get the other two on CDQ. I've been waffling on buying this version for this very reason