The Humpty Dance
| "The Humpty Dance" | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Single by Digital Underground | |
| from the album Sex Packets | |
| Released | January 20, 1990 |
| Format | Single |
| Recorded | 1989 |
| Genre | Golden age hip hop, hip house, funk |
| Length | 6:30 (Original), 4:42 (Short Edit) |
| Label | Tommy Boy |
| Writer(s) | Humpty Hump |
"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. The song was selected as one of many songs to hear and download in the musical reference book, 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die: And 10,001 You Must Download. 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.
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 the band 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.
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