Digital Underground founding member Shock G’s cause of death has been revealed, months after the rap pioneer died at age 57.
Per TMZ, Shock G died from an overdose of fentanyl, alcohol, and methamphetamine, as determined by the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner. He was found unresponsive by a hotel manager at a Tampa hotel on April 22, and was last seen the day before. The manager went to check on Shock G’s room after he reportedly missed his check-out time at the hotel. The manager called 911 upon finding him, and Shock was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after.
His death was confirmed by Digital Underground’s co-founder Chopmaster J in a post on Instagram in April. “34 years ago almost to the day we had a wild idea: We can be a hip hop band and take on the world,” wrote Chopmaster J. “Long live Shock G, aka Humpty Hump. And Rest In Peace my Brotha, Greg Jacobs!” Shock G’s funeral was held on May 1.
Shock G was best known for his work as a producer for some of the most important names in hip-hop, including Tupac, and his output with Digital Underground. The Bay Area rap outfit released six albums throughout their career, and was best known for its 1989 song “The Humpty Dance.”
Following his death in April, an unpublished essay on the early days of hip-hop from Shock G was published on Twitter by writer Rob Tannenbaum. “We all knew we were a part of something that was artistically heavy, unique, intelligent, different, as creatively rich as jazz or classical music, and completely brand new to the universe,” he wrote in the essay.
RIP.
