Digital Underground Albums (7)
'..Cuz a D.U. Party Don't Stop!'
Release Date 4/17/2008
Tracks 18
Label Jake
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'Who Got the Gravy?'
Release Date 9/8/1998
Tracks 11
Label Interscope
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What The Critics Say
When Digital Underground recorded Who Got the Gravy? in 1998, its challenge was to acknowledge late-1990s rap tastes without being unfaithful to its history. And the Bay Area group pulls it off nicely on this album. Though not quite in a class with Sex Packets, Gravy was among the strongest rap releases of 1998. Underground was still greatly influenced by George Clinton's P-Funk, and the quirky rapping of Shock G and Humpty Hump leaves no doubt that this is a Digital Underground release. But this time, the group brings a strong East Coast element to the mix. Blastmaster KRS-One has lively cameos on "Cyber Teeth Tigers" and the opener "I Shall Return," while Humpty and Brooklyn's equally goofy Biz Markie prove quite compatible on "The Odd Couple." Given how senselessly violent the East Coast/West Coast rap rivalries had became in the 1990s, one can't help but see the CD's New-York-meets-Oakland flavor as a call for East/West unity. Of course, there were numerous rappers who refused to get caught up in that type of silly regionalism, and the Oaktown and New York MCs heard on Gravy are a prime example. Gravy demonstrated that in 1998, the Underground still had some highly entertaining tricks up its sleeve. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
With each new album, Digital Underground develop and deepen their homage to George Clinton's P-Funk, coming up with new, inventive ways to carry on the tradition. Unlike the G-funk-inspired crews down in Southern California, DU play fast and loose with their inspiration, keeping true to the wild-ass eclecticism of P-Funk's best moments. On Future Rhythm, DU have added a concept of their own -- namely, the record is a concept album about moving funk and hip-hop into the next century. Unfortunately, the music never sounds any different than the group's previous releases, with the notable exception of the exclusion of the good-time party raps that always ranked among the crew's finer moments. So, the concept never quite takes hold, and the music is similar to the group's other recordings, but so what? Digital Underground has found a way to infuse hip-hop with not only the sound but the spirit of George Clinton in a way no other rapper (with the exception of Dr. Dre, who took the sound but ignored the spirit) has ever done. And that means that even their lesser efforts, such as Future Rhythm, have some fine cuts to offer. ~ Leo Stanley, All Music Guide
'The Body-Hat Syndrome'
Release Date 10/12/1993
Tracks 20
Label Tommy Boy
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What The Critics Say
Rebounding, in the charts anyway, from the relative downturn of 1991's Sons of the P LP, Digital Underground continued cultivating its own brand of P-Funk culture on The Body-Hat Syndrome two years later, stuffing what had been the group's first year of silence with a fresh batch of funk-infused rap. Digital Underground's last effort for longtime label Tommy Boy, The Body-Hat Syndrome lacked some of the bright spark and humor that informed the band's first two albums. With the edgy grind of the leading single, "The Return of the Crazy One," and its accompanying X-rated video (reworked for public consumption) boosting the band back into the spotlight, the rest of the album unfurled to less than outstanding crossover commercial acclaim -- the album's second single, the slightly melancholy and anti-racism cultural awareness politico "Whassup Wit the Love," barely cracked the R&B Top 100. But that's not to say that this set doesn't represent another brilliant feather in the group's cap -- it does. Smooth grooves, understated humor, and gentle remonstrations of peace, love, and manifesto continue to drive the Digital Underground style, here sampled across a chunky 20-track set. "Holly Wanstaho" is a fantastic jazz-tripped reinvention of Parliament's "Holly Wants to Go to California," while the completely original big bass beat "Brand Nu Swetta" is the perfect dance groove. The three-part "Body-Hats" breaks up the action. Two bonus tracks, "The Humpty Dance Awards" and "Wheee!, are included on The Body-Hat Syndrome's CD issue. With a smart balance between old-school, new-school, and their own school sonics, Digital Underground has once again brought funk history to life, passing the torch to the next generation and, above all, having one hell of a good time doing it. ~ Amy Hanson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
If it ain't broke, don't fix it: Sons of the P offers more of the loopy humor and P-Funk fixations that made Digital Underground's debut album, Sex Packets, an instant classic. And if Sons of the P doesn't quite hit the absurd heights of its predecessor's best tracks, it's still a strong, engaging listen and an entirely worthy follow-up. The group doesn't take the title Sons of the P lightly; their George Clinton obsession isn't just manifested in samples, it's everywhere from the extended, chorus-heavy song structures right down to the back-cover art, a P-Funk-style comic strip recasting DU as part of the Clones of Dr. Funkenstein concept. Once again, there are two great singles in the affectionate "Kiss You Back" and the Humpty Hump feature "No Nose Job," which rips black celebrities who surgically alter themselves to look less ethnic. In fact, the group goes in for some overt social commentary on several other tracks as well; "Heartbeat Props" are directed at still-living heroes in the struggle for equality, and "The Higher Heights of Spirituality" is a brief utopian dream. On the other hand, the album closes with "Good Thing We're Rappin'," a full-on pimp rhyme courtesy of Humpty Hump that's a little less genial and a little more Too Short than you might expect from DU. A few tracks don't make much of an impression, but on the whole, Sons of the P makes a convincing case for DU as the rightful spiritual heirs to the P-Funk legacy -- and George Clinton himself even endorses that idea on the title track. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
'Sex Packets'
Release Date 1/1/1990
Tracks 14
Label JDC Record Distributors
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What The Critics Say
Sex Packets is a vibrant, wildly funny record that transcends any attempt to dismiss it as mere novelty. Novelty records are throwaways -- cheap gags that are funny once, but never pay off with repeat plays, something that Sex Packets certainly does. Sex Packets is layered like any good story. Corny jokes, gross-out tales, flights of fancy, and sheer absurdist humor co-exist comfortably, usually within the course of one song. Take "The Humpty Dance," their breakthrough single and timeless party anthem. Within that one song, Humpty Hump spills out countless jokes, spinning between inspired allusions and thuddingly obvious cut-ups, which are equally funny because of the irrepressible, infectious nature of his rap. And he's so confident in his skills, he's sexy, which is kind of what the album is about -- it knows that sex is funny, and sexier because of it. But the very name of the album should be a clear indication that Digital Underground doesn't take any of this stuff all that seriously while creating elaborate, fantastical settings that reveal boundless imagination. The showiest number, of course, is the "Sex Packets" suite that concludes the album, built around their idea for a drug that creates full-blown sexual fantasies (virtual reality before it was in vogue), but their skill at creating distinctive worlds is just as apparent on the endless party of "Doowutchyalike." These are the things that are buried beneath the band's jokes and an enormous amount of George Clinton samples. Much of the music on Sex Packets uses the P-Funk canon as their foundation (a notable exception being a swinging interpolation of a Jimi Hendrix Band of Gypsys cut on "The New Jazz (One)," a cracking showcase for their team vocal skills). It's so strong an influence, it may seem easy to reduce Digital Underground to the status of mere Clinton imitators, but they take his blueprint, expand it, and personalize it, creating a record that is as loose and funny as anything in the P-Funk empire, and in some ways, easier to access, since the party feels wide open. Few hip-hop albums sound as much like a constant party as this, and years later, it's still impossible to resist. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
