Artist: Digital Underground (shut up, it counts)
Best Album: Sons of the P
Best Song: Good Thing We’re Rappin’
This Letter Could Have Been About: U-God, except no, not really

Why I’m Writing About This Artist: Because Digital Underground pulled off the greatest con in the history of music.  Yes, the history of music, not the history of hiphop, although it’s entirely possible that I was the only one fooled.

Here’s the deal about Digital Underground: They’re mostly a duo, although there’s a few other members of the posse who pop in every now and again, the two main rappers are Shock-G and Humpty Hump.  Humpty wears a hat, thick glasses and a prominent fake nose every time he appears.

The two trade verses.  They appear on screen together.  They argue with each other on albums.

And they are the same fucking guy.

I never knew this.  It never even occurred to me that they might be the same guy.  Sure, they looked alike; lots of guys look like other guys, especially with that much other junk on their faces.  But they sounded different enough that it never occurred to me, until, god, maybe two decades after buying my first Digital Underground CD I heard an interview with Shock-G where he, in mid-sentence, dropped his voice a register or two and slid straight into concluding the rest of the interview as Humpty Hump, without bothering to put the glasses on.  It blew my fucking mind.

The fact that their music is fantastic is utterly beside the point.  The gimmick alone makes them one of hiphop’s greatest bands.  Shock-G’s solo albums are pretty damn good too; check out Fear of a Mixed Planet.

(By the way, yes, that’s Tupac in the Yankees jersey in the final, ridiculous video.  He got his start as a backup dancer for Digital Underground and I’m pretty sure this is his first recorded verse.)

Have a video!:

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