What Was Shock G's Net Worth?
Shock G was an American rapper and musician who had a net worth of $500 thousand at the time of his death in 2021. Also known as Humpty Hump, Shock G was best-known for being the lead singer of the hip-hop group Digital Underground, which had a huge hit with "The Humpty Dance." With Digital Underground, he released the albums "Sex Packets" (1990), "Sons of the P" (1991), "The Body-Hat Syndrome" (1993), "Future Rhythm" (1996), "Who Got the Gravy?" (1998), and "..Cuz a D.U. Party Don't Stop!" (2008). Shock G also released the solo album "Fear of a Mixed Planet" (2004), and he produced every Digital Underground album and numerous songs by 2Pac. Digital Underground gave a young Tupac Shakur his first big break on the track "Same Song," and Shock G was later featured on Tupac's song "I Get Around." Shock G died of an accidental drug overdose on April 22, 2021, at the age of 57.
Early Life
Shock G was born Gregory Edward Jacobs on August 25, 1963, in Queens, New York City. His family moved around the East Coast before settling in Tampa, Florida. He became interested in drumming at an early age, and in 1978, he won Greco Junior High School's "Most Talented" trophy. After his parents divorced, Shock G moved back to Queens, where he discovered hip-hop music and began experimenting with turntables. He was mentored by his cousin Rene Negron (DJ-Stretch) and their friend Shawn Trone (MC Shah-T). Trone suggested that Gregory use the stage name "Shah-G," but Jacobs thought he said "Shock G" and went with that. Less than two years later, he returned to Tampa, dropping out of Chamberlain High School to form the mobile DJ crew the Master Blasters. They performed at Sunday gatherings at Riverfront Park, where they caught the attention of the program director of the R&B radio station WTMP, Tony Stone. Stone offered 16-year-old Shock G a job as a DJ, making "Gregory Racker" central Florida's youngest radio DJ with a regular time slot. He was fired after he played the 15-minute-long version of Funkadelic's "(Not Just) Knee Deep" in a slot that was supposed to be for a five-minute song.
Shock G subsequently went backpacking around the country, working odd jobs and committing petty crimes. He began playing keyboard and taught himself to play the piano in practice rooms at music stores. After deciding to seriously pursue music, Shock G returned to Tampa, earned his high school diploma, and studied music theory and piano at Hillsborough Community College. There, he met Kenneth Waters, and they began performing together as The Chill Factor and The Four Horsemen. In 1985, Shock G and his girlfriend, aspiring actress Davita Watts, went to Los Angeles, where Gregory played keyboards in the pop-funk band Onyx. He later moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and took a job at an Oakland music store, where he would eventually form Digital Underground with Kenneth Waters (Kenny-K) and Chopmaster J.
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Career
After Digital Underground spent more than a year unsuccessfully negotiating with small record labels, they released the 12-inch single "Your Life's a Cartoon" / "Underwater Rimes" on Macola Records in 1988. Shock G wrote both songs and drew the cover art. In 1989, Digital Underground signed with Tommy Boy Records, and they subsequently released the single "Doowutchyalike," which was an underground hit. The music video reached #40 on MTV's list of the year's top videos. The group released the album "Sex Packets" in 1990, and it reached #24 on the "Billboard" 200 chart and #8 on the "Billboard" Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The album was certified Platinum, as was the single "The Humpty Dance," which topped the "Billboard" Rap Chart and peaked at #11 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart. "The Humpty Dance" was performed by Shock G's alter ego, Humpty Hump.
By 1991, Digital Underground had expanded to include DJ Fuze, Schmoovy-Schmoov, Money-B, Tupac Shakur, and Ramone "Pee Wee" Gooden. The group followed the success of "Sex Packet" with 1991's "Sons of the P," 1993's "The Body-Hat Syndrome," 1996's "Future Rhythm," 1998's "Who Got the Gravy?," and 2008's "..Cuz a D.U. Party Don't Stop!" as well as the EPs "This Is an EP Release" (1991) and "The Greenlight EP" (2010). "Sons of the P," "The Body-Hat Syndrome," "Future Rhythm," and "This Is an EP Release" all made it onto the "Billboard" 200 chart. The single "Kiss You Back" (from "Sons of the P") went Gold and reached #5 on the Hot Rap Songs chart, #13 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, and #40 on the Hot 100 chart. Shock G also released the 2004 solo album "Fear of a Mixed Planet."
(Photo by Matthew Simmons/WireImage)
Personal Life
In a 2011 interview with MLive.com, Shock G said of his younger days, "From 1981 to about 1984, I wouldn't even date a girl if she didn't have a piano. I was always the last one at the party in the back room playing the piano, everybody be singing, then they'd leave and I'm the last one there, still playing." He also spoke about offering help to Tupac when Shakur was in trouble, stating, "I said, 'Pac word on the street in Oakland is that the police are after you. And word on the street in L.A. is two more hits are out on you.' You know gang hits that's paid already. I took out my key to my condo, everybody knows I love my condo and wouldn't give it away to anybody but I was like, 'Here, this is a key to my condo. I'm going on tour tomorrow, get off the street, watch some TV. Kick back. Chill there. There's plenty of food, there's a grocery store in the building down stairs, a movie theater across the street. Just hide out there for a while. Call your girl, you two take my house for a couple months, just relax.'"
Award Nominations
"The Humpty Dance" earned Digital Underground a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group and an MTV Video Music Award nomination for Best Rap Video. They also received an American Music Award nomination for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop New Artist in 1991.
Death
Shock G was found dead in a Tampa hotel room on April 22, 2021, at the age of 57. The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner later announced that the rapper's cause of death was "an accidental overdose of fentanyl, ethanol and methamphetamine." Shock G was laid to rest at Parklawn Memorial Cemetery.
