Shock G Takes It Back To The Streets With A Lit Freestyle…Literally (Video)

Shock G and his brainchild of Digital Underground helped introduce the world to Tupac Shakur, Saafir, and others. The Oakland, California group may have taught the world how to do the “Humpty Dance,” but their albums and hits run much deeper than just a crossover single.

With a career spanning back to the mid-1980s, Shock G is still rhyming and producing. Originally born in Brooklyn, G has spent the last decade working with the likes of the late Bernie Worrell, Prince Paul, San Quinn, and remixing posthumous Tupac material. This week, the MC was captured by PopKiller in an alleyway in Santa Monica, California kicking freestyles in a cypher. With something burning in each hand, the former Tommy Boy Records star shares the moment with another anonymous MC. Shock is the one to watch though, especially 90 seconds or so in, as he pokes fun at himself and tells more than a few stories.

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After questioning some of the Gangsta Rap bars from his in-video counterpart, Shock really digs in around 3:00. There, the MC alludes to his “30 in” referring to his Rap seniority, and even breaks into Humpty Hump’s voice (Shock’s sometimes alter-ego) as he proves he can bust “with or without the nose.” He then hits ’em with, “Most crews split before the first shit was soaked up / But me, Clee, Money B, ‘Pac, E, we never broke up.” He continues running down the resumé, while name-checking a litany of D.U. hits. At 5:00, he comes back in in cypher-form to rhyme, “I don’t live in the valley / I don’t even live in Cali’ / I’m homeless, but I’m not house-less / Any hotel is mine / Any girl is mine / Any universe that I pick can be your kind.” Whether it is unclear if that statement is true, one thing stands for certain: Shock G remains funky, talented, and has flows in “packets.”

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The rhyme goes in and out, as Shock eventually breaks into song—as he’s done on many of his singles and albums. Digital Underground last released The Greenlight EP in 2010.