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"The Humpty Dance" | ||||
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Single by Digital Underground | ||||
from the album Sex Packets | ||||
Released | January 20, 1990 [1] | |||
Recorded | 1989 | |||
Studio | Starlight Sound (Richmond, California) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
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Label | Tommy Boy | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Shock G | |||
Digital Underground singles chronology | ||||
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"The Humpty Dance" is a song by the American hip-hop group Digital Underground from their debut album Sex Packets . Released as the second single from the album in January 1990, it reached No. 11 on the pop chart, No. 7 on the R&B chart, and No. 1 on the Billboard Rap Singles chart. The song is sung by Shock G's alter ego, "Humpty Hump", marking the character's second musical appearance; the first was Digital Underground's "Doowutchyalike," a pre-album video-single released in the spring of 1989. The song has been sampled by many different artists and producers.
In 2008, "The Humpty Dance" was ranked No. 30 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop and No. 65 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s in 2007. The song was selected as one of many songs to hear and download in the musical reference book 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die: And 10,001 You Must Download. The song was nominated for Best Rap Video at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards, but lost to "U Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer (ironically, Hammer is name-checked in "The Humpty Dance"). Canadian television channel MuchMoreMusic's series Back In... rated the song's video as one of the worst of 1990.
In 2021, it was listed at No. 241 on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time." [3]
Of the five raw elements that make up the "Humpty Dance" drum track, one is a sample from "Sing a Simple Song" by Sly and the Family Stone, in the form of a one-measure-long drum loop. Digital Underground incorporated the Family Stone drum loop with four other raw elements; a deep tonal kick drum that alternated between two bass notes, a handclap snare (also a sample, taken from "Theme From the Black Hole" by the band Parliament), drum-machine hi-hats running continuously throughout which were programmed to 8th-notes, and a guitar hit happening once every bar, all assembled into the now-familiar pattern that forms the Humpty Dance drum track. The vocal sample that happens in the song's chorus sections is from Parliament's "Let's Play House" from their 1980 album, Trombipulation . [4]
"The Humpty Dance" is a tribute to Humpty's sexual prowess despite his ridiculous appearance. [5] Humpty introduces the appearance theme with the opening line, "I'm about to ruin the image and the style that you're used to," a protest against the uniformity among successful rappers of the time. [6]
In the final verse, Humpty describes the Humpty Dance itself as a loose, easy dance, "like MC Hammer on crack ... Anyone can play this game." The contrast is with the precision dancing in MC Hammer's videos. The song ends with an invitation for people of all races to join in the dance. [7]
"The Humpty Dance" is Shock G's second song to feature his alter-ego "Humpty Hump," who debuted on "Doowutchyalike" which was Digital Underground's first video release in 1989. The character, which sports a buffoon persona, colorful clothes, and Groucho glasses, is sung by Shock G. A fictional biography was constructed for Humpty, the story being that Edward Ellington Humphrey III, former lead singer of "Smooth Eddie and the Humpers," had become a rapper after burning his nose in a kitchen accident with a deep-fryer. Because of the "accident", the character is seen wearing a large nose disguise. [8]
The song was featured in the VH1 series I Love the '90s , and also on America's Best Dance Crew , where it was included in a dance routine performed by Super Cr3w. The song was also featured in Charlie's Angels . "Weird Al" Yankovic covered the song for the polka medley "Polka Your Eyes Out" from his 1992 album Off the Deep End . The song is also available for play in the 2004 karaoke video game Get On Da Mic for PlayStation 2. It was sampled by Justin Timberlake, Jimmy Fallon on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon , and by the Spice Girls on their debut album Spice as the track "If U Can't Dance". [9] The song was also featured in the 2021 film Free Guy .
In 1990, the song was used in the Season Three episode of the TV series Midnight Caller entitled "Sale Away: Part 2".
"The Humpty Dance" is one of the most sampled songs recorded by a hip hop/rap artist, boasting over 100 usages in other songs. [10] By 1993, less than three years after its release, it had already been sampled in over 20 popular songs, most of them utilizing its drum track. In fact, it was sampled so much that Digital Underground humorously devoted the song "The Humpty Dance Awards" from their album The Body-Hat Syndrome to the many recording artists who sampled the track. [11] Since then, dozens more artists have sampled the Humpty Dance song, from Ice Cube to Public Enemy.
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Printed References: [12]
Posted References: [13]
Audio References: [11]
Weekly charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA) [17] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Stanley Kirk Burrell, better known by his stage name MC Hammer, is an American rapper, dancer, record producer and entrepreneur; known for hit songs such as "U Can't Touch This", "2 Legit 2 Quit" and "Pumps and a Bump", flashy dance movements, extravagant choreography and his eponymous Hammer pants. Remembered for a rapid rise to fame, Hammer has also been an entrepreneur and celebrity spokesperson.
Digital Underground is an American alternative hip hop group from Oakland, California. Its lineup changed with each album and tour.
Gregory Edward Jacobs, known professionally as Shock G and by his alter ego Humpty Hump, was an American rapper and musician who was best known as the lead vocalist of the hip hop group Digital Underground. He was responsible for Digital Underground's "The Humpty Dance", 2Pac's breakthrough single "I Get Around", and co-producer of 2Pac's debut album 2Pacalypse Now.
Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em is the third studio album by American rapper MC Hammer, released on February 12, 1990 by Capitol Records and EMI Records. Produced, recorded and mixed by Felton Pilate and James Earley, it was made on a small budget of around $10,000 and recorded on a modified tour bus between May 1988 and November 1989.
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"(Not Just) Knee Deep" is a song by the American funk band Funkadelic written by George Clinton. The song was released as a single for their album Uncle Jam Wants You (1979).
Trombipulation is the ninth album by the funk band Parliament. It was released by Casablanca Records. It was the last album of original material produced by the group for 38 years, until Medicaid Fraud Dogg in 2018. Unlike previous Parliament albums, George Clinton did not serve as sole producer of the album, as other P-Funk figures assisted in producing individual tracks. Bassist Bootsy Collins emerged as the principal musician on this album, playing virtually all of the instruments on a number of tracks. The track "Let's Play House" was sampled by the hip-hop group Digital Underground for their single "The Humpty Dance".
"I Get Around" is a song by American rapper 2Pac from his second studio album, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... (1993). It was released on June 10, 1993 by Interscope Records as the album's second single and features Shakur's mentor Shock G and Money-B of Digital Underground, Shakur's old group. It was produced by Shock G, who produced it under the alias, The D-Flow Production Squad. AllMusic notes that in the song, Shakur "brags about his sexual conquests". Chart-wise, it was the album's most successful single, reaching numbers eleven and nine on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100.
Sons of the P is the second studio album by American hip hop group Digital Underground. It was released on October 15, 1991, via Tommy Boy Records. Main recording sessions took place at Starlight Sound in Richmond, with additional recordings done at Unique Recording Studios in New York, Axiom Recorders in Tampa and The Disc Ltd. in Detroit. Production was handled by D.U. in-house production team credited as The Underground Production Squad, with Atron Gregory and member Shock G serving as executive producers. It features contributions from George Clinton, Stretch and Treach.
The Body-Hat Syndrome is the third full-length studio album by American hip hop Digital Underground. It was released on October 5, 1993 via Tommy Boy Records. Production was handled by Digital Underground inner production team, the D-Flow Production Squad. The album peaked at number 79 on the Billboard 200 and number 16 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in the United States.
Sex Packets is the debut studio album by American hip hop group Digital Underground, released on March 20, 1990.
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