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"Underwater Rimes"
"Underwater Rimes"

"Underwater Rimes"

Performing artist Digital Underground
Producer Atron Gregory
Producer Rodney Franklin
Record company T.N.T. Records, Inc.
Producer Shock-G
Date1988
Mediumpolyvinyl chloride; paper (fiber product); ink
DimensionsOverall (HWD): 12 3/8 × 12 3/8 in. (31.433 × 31.433 cm)
Overall (Diameter): 11 13/16 in. (30.004 cm)
Credit LineMoPOP permanent collection
Object number1999.197.10.A,.B
Text Entries

The song tells a story that takes place under the sea, using various aquatic references. The closing rap is Shock G in character as MC Blowfish and the producer of the song.

Digital Underground is a ’90s Hip-Hop group from Oakland, California. Digital Underground’s Hip-Hop sound was unique compared to other artists and groups as their signature sound incorporated P-Funk from Funk bands of the 1970s, which helped shape their Oakland-based Hip-Hop sound. Digital Underground was known for their fun, nutty lyrics, and eccentric style. Their founder was Shock-G (Gregory Jacobs, 1963-2021) who created the group in 1987 with Chopmaster (Jimi C. Dright, Jr, b. unknown) and Kenny K (Kenneth Waters, b. unknown d. 1994). Money-B (Ronald Brooks, b. 1969), DJ Fuse (David Elliot, b. 1970), Pee-Wee (Ramon Gooden, b. 1970), and Bigg Money Odis (Odis Brackens III, b.1969) were also members, along with a rotating list of others throughout the group’s discography, notably 2Pac (Tupac Amaru Shakur, 1971 - 1996). 

What made Digital Underground popular was Shock-G’s alter ego—Humpty Hump—who was a nasally-voiced, overly-energetic ladies' man who wears a Groucho Marx nose. Monica Lynch of Tommy Boy Records suggested that Humpty Hump should have his own song, thus “The Humpty Dance” became a hit single under the Tommy Boy label. “The Humpty Dance” debuted at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #7 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts. The song was eventually certified Platinum  and became a nostalgic ’90s hit. Digital Underground is also notable for launching the career of Tupac Shakur, who was featured on “Same Song.” Over the course of their career, Digital Underground featured numerous members, but throughout it all, Shock-G remained at the core of their evolving funk sound and style.

Front Cover: Two yellow fish are featured holding mics that appear to be rapping, a shark has an amp in his mouth and an octopus is djing. Digital Underground is printed in the right corner and Underwater Rimes and Your Life’s a Cartoon is printed in the middle. Back Cover: The track list is printed in the center. Credits are posted on the left. A black panther is standing on the back with jewelry and smoking a cigarette.
CopyrightThis work is issued under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) License. For more information, go to https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
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Not on view
Underwater Rimes / You Life's A Cartoon
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Date: 1988
Medium: polyvinyl chloride; paper (fiber product); ink
Object number: 1999.389.29.A,.B
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