The Humpty Dance
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"The Humpty Dance" is a 1989 hip hop song by Digital Underground, which was featured on their debut album Sex Packets. The single climbed all the way to #11 on the pop charts, #7 on the R&B charts, and #1 on the Billboard Rap Singles chart. The single is sung by Shock G's alter ego, "Humpty Hump", marking the character's first musical appearance. The song features a hypnotically-pulsating bassline and a particularly potent drumtrack that has been sampled by many different artists and producers. (see list below) In the song's video, a young Tupac Shakur is visible in the background.
In 2008, "The Humpty Dance" was ranked number 30 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop and number 65 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s in 2007. The song was nominated for Best Rap Video at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards, but lost to "U Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer. Canadian television channel MuchMoreMusic's series Back In... rated the song's video as one of the worst of 1990.
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Composition
Of the five raw elements that make up the Humpty Dance drum track, one is a sample from "Sing a Simple Song" by Sly & The Family Stone, in the form of a one-measure-long drum loop. Digital underground incorporated the Family Stone drum loop with four other raw elements; a deep tonal kick drum that alternated between two bass notes, a handclap snare (also a sample, taken from "Theme From the Black Hole" by Parliament), drum-machine hi-hats running continuously throughout which were programmed to 8th-notes, and a guitar hit happening once every bar, all assembled into the now-familiar pattern that forms the Humpty Dance drum track. The vocal sample that happens in the song's chorus sections is from Parliament's "Let's Play House" from their 1980 album, Trombipulation.
Humpty Hump
"The Humpty Dance" is Shock G's second song to feature his alter ego, "Humpty Hump" who first debuted on "Doowutchyalike" which was Digital Underground's first video release in 1989. The character, which sports a buffoon persona, colorful clothes, and Groucho glasses, is sung by Shock G using a nasally voice. A fictional biography was constructed for Humpty, the story being that Edward Ellington Humphrey III, former lead singer of "Smooth Eddie and the Humpers," had become a rapper after burning his nose in a kitchen accident with a deep-fryer. Because of the "accident", the character is seen wearing a large nose disguise.
In popular culture
The song was featured in the VH1 series "I Love the 90's", and also on the MTV show "America's Best Dance Crew", where it was included in a dance routine performed by Super Cr3w. The song was also featured in the 2000 film Charlie's Angels. The song is also available for play in the 2004 karaoke video game Get On Da Mic for Playstation 2. It was sammpled by Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.
Charts
| End of year chart (1990) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 11 |
| US Rap Chart | 1 |
Samples and Covers
By 1992, only two years after its release, "The Humpty Dance" had already been sampled in over 25 songs, most of them utilizing its drum track. In response, Digital Underground released "The Humpty Dance Awards" on their later album The Body-Hat Syndrome as a way to thank many of the recording artists who sampled it. There are over fifty songs that sample the Humpty Dance, most of which did not credit Digital Underground or Gregory Jacobs (a.k.a. Shock G, the song's author & producer).
Songs That Sampled The Humpty Dance
title, artist, (description of use)
- A Crazy Break, WC & the Maad Circle (full drum loop)
- Back to the Underground, WC & the Maad Circle (vocal + snare & kicks used in drum track)
- Behind Closed Doors, WC & the Maad Circle (raw instrumental used as their drum track)
- Blow Your Mind, Redman (drum loop)
- Buck tha Devil, Da Lench Mob (full drum loop)
- Bumbell, Yukmouth feat Tech N9ne (bassline)
- Can't Truss it, Public Enemy (full drum loop)
- Cherish the Day, (Best of Sade version), Sade (raw instrumental used as drum track for last 30 secs of her song)
- City to City, Straw tha Vegas Don feat Shock G (raw instrumental scratched in first verse)
- Cotex, BWP (full drum loop; looped in reverse)
- D.O.G. Me Out, Guy (piece of loop, muted, as kick drum support)
- Don't Be Afraid, Aaron Hall (full drum loop)
- Dr. Trevis, Redman (bit of drum loop underneath)
- Dr. Trevis (Signs Off), Redman (bit of drum loop underneath
- Flip Squad's in da House, Big Kap, Flip Squad, Funkmaster Flex (full drum loop + bassline)
- Here We Go Again, Portrait (raw instrumental as their drum track)
- Hold Onto My Bumper, Dice (full drum loop)
- How I'm Comin, LL Cool J (full drum loop)
- How Ya Gonna Reason With a Psycho, Insane Poetry (full drum loop)
- I Made Love (4 Da Very First Time), Little Shawn (drum track doubled up)
- If U Can't Dance, Spice Girls (drum loop + bassline)
- Imma Gitz Mine, Erick Sermon (chopped & muted drum bit underneath; kick drum support)
- Is It Good to You, Heavy-D & the Boys (full drum loop)
- Jackin' For Beats, Ice Cube (raw instrumental)
- Let Me Tickle Your Fancy, Ed O.G. & da Bulldogs (vocal sample)
- Live and Learn, Joe Public (full drum loop)
- Lost in the Storm, Chubb Rock (raw instrumental used as their drum track)
- Love Makes No Sense, Alexander O'Neil (full drum loop)
- Mama Said Knock You Out, LL Cool J (full drum loop)
- Not Your Money, Oaktowns 357 (full drum loop)
- PlayGround, ABC (full loop, muted, used for kick drum support)
- Really Doe, Ice Cube (bit of drum track underneath)
- SMPTE, The Boys (full drum loop)
- Teddys Jam, Guy (full loop)
- The Break Up, WC & the Maad Circle (full drum loop)
- The Humpty Dance Awards, Digital Underground (full drum loop + bassline)
- The Money is Made, Detroits most Wanted (full drum loop)
- Time 4 Sum Aksion, Redman (drum track chopped underneath; kick drum support)
- Two 4 the Time, Nubian Crackers (raw instrumental as their drum track)
- Walk Thru Hell, K-Stone (raw full instrumental)
- Who's the Mack? Ice Cube (vocal sample)
- Wild Wild West, Will Smith (bassline)
- You Gotta Believe, Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch (full drum loop)
