“The Humpty Dance” is a song by Digital Underground, which was featured on their debut album Sex Packets.
The single climbed 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 second musical appearance; the first being Digital Underground’s “Doowutchyalike,” a pre-album video-single released in the spring of 1989. The song has been sampled by many different artists and producers. 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.
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“The Humpty Dance” is a tribute to Humpty’s sexual prowess despite his ridiculous appearance. Humpty introduces the appearance theme with the opening line, “I’m about to ruin the image and the style that you’re used to,” a protest against the uniformity among successful rappers of the time.
In the final verse, Humpty describes the Humpty Dance itself as a loose, easy dance, “like MC Hammer on crack … Anyone can play this game.” The contrast is with the precision dancing in MC Hammer’s videos. The song ends with an invitation for people of all races to join in the dance. (Wikipedia)
