Sex Packets

My suspicions are now confirmed. The author of this list is a sick sadist. 440 albums in and there is way more terrible music than good. An album like this doesn’t need to be over an hour. Songs like this don’t need to be 6 minutes long. This album aged like milk left in the hot sun since 1990. Shit this was unlistenable by 1996, let alone 2026.

It’s fun. Good mix of beats and old school hip hop. Doesn’t hold up in the modern era but it’s fun and funky

Сухой семплированный звук, как у многих тогда (исходя из того, что я слышал).

Cause I know I'm the poop, steaming hot Really funky samples and parts of the album are fun, but the runtime is quite long for no real reason. "Doowutchyalike" even makes a joke about it. 2.5 but can't so 2

Humpty Dance was a middle school jam for me. I enjoyed hearing that again - and it somewhat held up to expectations. But I quickly soured on the following tracks and interludes. Extra start for nostalgia.

This was okay. <prudish rant>I know it's an album titled Sex Packets, so I shouldn't be surprised by the fairly explicit sexy time interlude(s?) in here, but I was. I really, really don't get the need for the soft-core porn in some of these albums we've listened to. They feel like silly distractions</prudish rant> I pretty much stopped listening after the first sexy time interlude. Maybe it was the last? I don't know. Regardless, I liked hearing The Humpty Hump again. It carried me back to smoking weed and playing pool in the student union while suffering through all manner of terrible music, but having the time of my life. So, one extra star for that.

The music and rapping is definitely above average for the era, but the relentless and empty sexual content is pretty much incel shit before we exactly knew what to call it. I could have gone as high as 3 stars given the Humpty Dance, but it starts the album and I got beaten down by the end.

1/5 - Did you know CDs can be used as frisbees?

Humpty Dance is fun. I didn't really care for the rest

It’s ok if you don’t pay much attention. But it’s also super weird once you notice you shouldn’t “don’t pay much attention”.

Kinda wild this album ended up becoming as big as it was. No denying the skills and beat making from this group, but I think the novelty of the album wears off quickly. An entire album about sex packets and dealing them on the street is pretty hilarious. That said, not sure there’s a ton of replay for this.

Goodness, just raps from some of the horniest dudes on this list. The Humpty Dance is always a fun song, but from there I really wasn't all that interested. Definitely won't be coming back for a second listen of this album.

This didn't really do much for me. I like some 80's/90's hip hop, but this didn't hit it. I never really got into a rhythm with any of the songs, much less the album.

Described as funk on Apple Music but in reality more hip hop / rap. It has a certain groove and some humour to the lyrics

I hated the lyrics 30 seconds into the first song. Will be too soon if I have to listen to this again

Not terribly offensive but not particularly interesting either. 3

What a terrible day to have ears.

witzig

Vielleicht bin ich einfach nur zu jung und habe ausschließlich den darauf folgenden drecks HipHop abbekommen. Das hier hat nette Beats und ist unterhaltsam. Kann nicht mit Dr. Octopus mithalten, aber nicht schlecht.

Lyrics sind teilweise sehr schlecht gealtert und nach humpty dumpty dance kommt nicht mehr viel weltbewegendes. Aber es hat grundsätzlich so GTA San Andreas Radio Vibes und die Beats sind richtig tight

Records like this are called "one-hit wonder albums". They pop up relatively infrequently on this list, and for good reason: there just isn't much justification for their inclusion. This is an album compilation, not an "iconic songs" playlist. Pablo Honey didn't make the list, but Sex Packets did? Unacceptable. The Humpty Dance is undeniably iconic. Everybody and their hip-hop-crazed mother knows the line "do the humpty-hump": it's up there with "dolla dolla bills y'all" and "mama said knock you out". Great little snippets of horn lines and backing vocals to punctuate Digital Underground's lead vocals. And just about the most "golden age hip-hop" sound you can imagine. It turns out, when the lyrics aren't horrifically misogynistic, rapey, or violent, the genre accidentally creates a masterpiece or two. Cool hook-melody in The Way We Swing, although after the first six minutes it gets a little stale. The guys bar-singing that melody at the fadeout is pretty sweet, though. Underwater Rimes rips the bassline from the Hancock-penned jazz standard Chameleon. The track itself is barely passable but much, much worse than any big-band dub over that sweet bassline. I have no clue what's happening lyrically in Gutfest '89 but it's pretty gross and I'm glad those 6 minutes are behind me. The bassline in Freaks Of The Industry is worth a shoutout: it's easily the highlight of the track. Reminiscent of Let There Be More Light (which is itself one of Pink Floyd's strongest basslines). Great laid-back piano solo towards the end. This is the strongest track so far, barring the lead single. Doowutchyalike tosses all of that freaky goodness aside, making way for an unremarkable 9-minute slog with some scattered decent moments. The best moment, though, is the moment of silence in the middle. And at this point we have so much wasted time on one record that I can't give this anything higher than 2 stars. Trim it down, Digital Underground. I'm on the fence about the title track. It commits to this mysterious thin-textured mood that doesn't really appeal to me. The lyrics are weak and nearly identical to the next full-length song, Packet Man. But the latter is infinitely more musically interesting, so that one passes the check. Great bluesy guitar riff. Not a fan of the large number of interludes (4 out of 14 tracks). Interludes can work in small numbers, assuming they add something musically interesting to the preceding and succeeding tracks. Really the only role they perform in Sex Packets is breaking up the lengthier tracks. (Seriously. Pretty much every full-length track here is between 5 and 9 minutes long.) To its credit, The New Jazz (One) is solid, but would have worked significantly better as a full-length track. 2/5 Key tracks: The Humpty Dance, Freaks Of The Industry, Packet Man

The first track is kind of epic in its own right. But in all this is not for me. It felt like the production was actually pretty good.

Why is every song at least 7 minutes long? I just don't get it. Honestly you almost could just listen to the Humpty Dance and then turn this album off.

So let's make this clear. Digital Underground are (purportedly) endorsed by: the entirety of America, and also Cleveland; the whole continent of Africa, and also Zimbabwe; Australia, Japan and the Philippines. Did I get that right? This album is a mess in the most 90s way possible. What other decade are you gonna hear bars from a pufferfish??? Utterly heinous and I'm so glad I tuned in.

p643. 1990. 1 star. Rap, so wrong audience. Almost saved from 1 star for having a sense of humour, but that soon wears off. Would not repay repeated listening.

Love it

When this came up and I saw the album cover and title I felt like I was being Punk’d. It’s tough to listen to these guys spout some of the corniest shit you’ve ever heard while they’re saying how much they’re loved around the world. I thought I might as well be listening to “Top That” from Teen Witch. When it’s not corny, it’s cringeworthy and/or far, far too long. I’m sure I didn’t have to listen to a blowfish with a transatlantic accent before I died… but i did twice just to be sure I’d heard what I heard. Truly terrible.

Sex Packets was the nickname Len Houmous coined for Ken Chutney after they had a night out with Gladys Knight’s Pips. 2.4 2/14 The Way We Swing

Catchy drunk karaoke tunes, but gimmicky. 3 stars

Um. Not necessary at all. 3 *

Great example of a hip hop outfit where the mixtables take front and center. Far more avant-garde than I was expecting!

Humpty

Solid fun 90s rap/hip hop. Not the best example of the era, but worthy of a listen. 3.5/5

The beats/music on this album are unique takes that really work. The lyrics can be a little juvenile and silly but is a great counterpoint to the other rap/hip hop around the same time.

I thought the story telling of these songs was cool

Dated and not something I'd really want to listen to, fun at times and some ok beats.

There are some seriously funky beats on this album, and especially considering the time period it came out it's clear how influential this was. But that aside, I find it quite ironic to generate this album on international women's day, with how misogynistic so much of the lyrical content is. Constant themes of objectifying women and seeing us as nothing more than trophies or sex objects bring this album down a lot. Still an enjoyable experience overall when you do your best not to pay attention to the lyrics, I think if you just listen to it and tune out the words it's just a really good early 90s hip hop album.

Bit of funk but of rap but not overwhelming. Didn’t stick.

Cool!

Taking me way back. 3/5

++: The Humpty Dance, Rhymin' on the Funk, Underwater Rimes (Remix), Gutfest '89 (Edit), Freaks of the Industry, Doowutchyalike, Packet Prelude, Packet Man +: The Way We Swing, The New Jazz (One), Packet Reprise +-: The Danger Zone, Sex Packets, Street Scene 7,6/10

Who knew you could pack so much sex into packets? Digital Underground, that's who. The Humpty Dance is an instant classic, but the rest... Well, let's just say it's a bit of a pack it up and go for me. The energy's there, and Humpty's vocals are a trip, but overall, it's a one spinner. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions - The Humpty Dance - The Way We Swing - Doowutchyalike

Low/mid 2. First rap record I haven't vibed with here, just felt too goofy

Not my thing vry fun tho

Not the sex packets I've been wishing for

Some interesting songs on there, but mostly underwhelming.

Aged prod, poor delivery, uninteresting lyrics, long-winded... Nothing disgusting, but I'm still searching what this thing was trying to offer.

A big no thank you to this trash. 1 star or F.

I was fully expecting to jam out to Humpty Dance (after all, I'm a Xennial) and then get bored quickly by the rest of the album. To my surprise, I had a really good time with the other songs too. Some misogyny and yikes-ey lyrics about underage girls (yes, I know, it was the 90s) keep it from being more than 3 stars, but overall this was mostly fun.

Басы у Digital Underground классные. В целом же их рэп не прёт.

Garchita. Nada destacable.

Goofy, over the top but well-constructed. The Humpty Dance introduced most of us to Digital Underground, and it sets the tone for what follows, an album about sex and a comical pill for the "safest sex." Some of the songs are catchy, and some are mind-numbingly repetitive, but it's not bad.

This aged poorly in almost every way.

Was very excited when this album started off with a strong hip hop beat. But this first track is absolutely ridiculous. The lyrics don’t take themselves seriously at all. I do really like the bassline in the background and the cadence of the lyrics though. The lead singer has a very very smooth and enunciated voice which is nice to listen to. Simple rhyme schemes make this easy listening. I love how meta it is calling out the bassline in the break. The Way We Swing starts off a lot mellower and slower than the first track. I really really like this one. A much more mature sound while still having fairly unserious lyrics. More tame bassline with a bit more reliance on the main guitar lick. Not a huge amount to say about Rhymin on the Funk. Was okay I guess? Oh I love the false starts in The New Jazz (One). Oh just a tiny track? That’s a shame because it was sounding great. Underwater Rimes starts with a very funky spoken intro. Really like the distorted ad-libs in the background. This album really is just not for me. Listened to another 5 tracks there. If I have to hear them refer to biscuits one more time I’m not finishing this record. It’s just not for me. Lyrics are terrible. My favourite part of this album was when I took my headphones off to wash my face.

So fucked up that the gays get no sex packets 😔/j

I used this album to drown out the sound of police trainees running through the same simulated confrontation scenarios over and over again in the lobby conference room. Something about The Humpty Dance pulls off some kind of musical alchemy for me; it's just the perfect blend of beat and flow to scratch every itch in my brain. It took me forever to finally move onto the rest of the album because I kept replaying just the beginning of this song. Every beat on this album is infectious, and the Underground know it too, because most songs end with one or two uninterrupted minutes where they simply let the beats ride out with no words, and these sections are still just as good and worthwhile as the verses. Speaking of the verses, the lyricism across the project is outlandish, meaningless, and nonsensical, and it only remotely works because they play their ridiculousness so straight and with such conviction that you can't help but get on board, even as they're seriously singing to you about Gutfest and the titular sex packets. That is, with the exception of a handful of lines through the entire project so vulgar and out-of-pocket that they can't help but derail the entire momentum of the album. I also didn't expect the album to suddenly become a concept album about sex packets halfway through, with nearly half of the tracklist dedicated to an idea that probably doesn't have the legs to support that many songs, and the concept starts to become less silly and more off-putting the more detailed it gets. In fact, these offending lines and odd concepts color the experience so much that relistening to the project almost feels like a different album; maybe the jokes don't land as well a second time around, or maybe those few lines just make the rest of the album harder to laugh at. Either way, it is a testament to the sheer power of this album's insanely good production that these lines and lyrical sensibilities don't completely tank the experience of the album. And even then, some parts of the album still work really well, and I can see the potential deeper moral the Digital Underground might be getting at, even if they go at it in a pretty meat-headed and sloppy way. And again, I've barely even touched on the music itself, which is incredible throughout: beautifully chopped up hip-hop beats with funk guitars and uninterrupted piano solos, with meta spoken word moments and a constant tongue-in-cheek self-awareness tying everything together. Never has my potential rating for an album wavered this much, but there's a surprising amount of layers and depth to digest for an album called Sex Packets. Highlights: The Humpty Dance, The Way We Swing, Rhymin' on the Funk, The New Jazz (One), Underwater Rimes - Remix, Freaks of the Industry, Doowutchyalike, Packet Prelude, Sex Packets, Packet Reprise

There’s better 90’s hip hop to listen to

its seems pretty dated but it must have seemed cutting edge in 1990. anyway its fine

This really hit that beautiful mark of this is hilarious and I don’t know that it meant to be. Dimmery what are you doing to me. I don’t know, this thing is funny if you don’t take it seriously. Like the way we schwing? Yeah goes from this is funny to insanely bad. Why is every song 7 minutes long. All the sex packet related songs were so bad and gross and just terrible. Not even charmingly funny or anything. Won’t be returning to this one at all but glad to know the humpty dance now that my dad has been referencing for my whole life.

2/25/26. Interesting, will need a few more listens to grasp the narrative going through the album. But looking at other aspects, pretty fun hip hop album, even if I thought it was a tad repetitive. Very clever and humorous lyrics.

Completely new to me, as the Humpty Dance wasn't a hit in the UK. I'm not sure we were missing much. The concept could actually have been interesting because the idea of substituting technology for sex is more relevant now than it was in 1990. It could have been a prescient exploration of how that might affect human intimacy. It isn't, of course. It's a silly adolescent fantasy about making women disposable (and men, but mostly women). Oh well

Holy, 6 songs out of 14 were about condoms. These guys must be agents of big rubber.

I like the music—good beats, some jazz mixed in, lots of samples. I can see a path from here to someone like Thundercat. But I don’t think it’s aged particularly well, especially the lyrics. It was undeniably novel when it came out and there are some fun moments, like “Rhymin’ on the Funk.” In general, I liked the first half better, when they are establishing their approach and their flow. The second half, a kind of sex fantasy concept album, fell flat for me.

Not my area

What a fun album.

Ew.

What a bizarrely dreadful listen. This does not need to be an hour long in any universe. Why are half of the songs 5-6 minutes long? Why is one almost NINE minutes? Why do I have love for other really dated, arguably corny hip-hop albums from this time period but this one is like the aural equivalent of spoiled milk? Annoying beats, annoying vocals (the last minute of "Underwater Rimes", good lord), songs that establish their finishing point upwards of halfway through the actual song ("Doowutchyalike" thinks it's so funny to fade out halfway through only to come back in, if it actually ended during that fade-out I might've been more favorable), and perhaps worst of all this is a concept album...with no tangible concept. 15 minutes of your hour-long album being a conceptual suite a concept album does not make. If the concept is that every song has over-the-top (albeit funny) references to sex and women, then sure it's a concept album. I guess that makes 2 Live Crew's As Nasty As They Wanna Be a concept album too. I don't even have a problem with overtly sexual lyrics, but I am not a fan of this presentation. For something that's supposed to be funky and dance-y, this is so lethargic. Finishing this felt like pulling teeth. I feel like i need to cleanse my palette with Eric B & Rakim or ATCQ after this.

a good majority of this album is... interesting. not bad, just interesting. a lot of poop references. not sure why

You hear how outdated this is and attribute it to its age but then you realise Tribe would drop The Low End Theory just a year later, Public Enemy had already put out multiple classics, you had Rakim in the same era who blows the rapping on this album out of the water and you wonder how this album has made it on the list. The Humpty Dance is a cool opener but it goes on for WAAAAY too long which is a pretty good summation of this album (why is the second song seven whole minutes long??) I guess the best thing about this album is its strong P-Funk influence and some may find the concept funny but on the whole this album really shows its age.

I really only knew The Humpty Dance before this and it's fun as a sort of novelty song, but that dude's voice would get so annoying if it it was all that, but it's funny to read that's an alter ego. But there's lots of good jams, I love the jazzy and funky bits. I will always have a soft spot for this era of alternative hip hop, it's just interesting and different. My only issue is maybe there is just too much here, there's something to be said for a shorter album to make an impact and not overstay the welcome.

Hearing The Humpty Dance sparks memories and still hits with goofy charm, but the rest of the album blows.

I was just uncomfortable the whole time. The humpty dance is fine. The beats are fine. But it seems like these guys are committed to a gimmick that they think it's funny when in reality it's gross. It feels weird that on a list also including NWA and Marshall Mathers LP, this one felt the most violating. I can't put my finger on why this one crossed a line and those didn't. But it is what it is

I guess this sort of a missing link between the 80s Run DMC stuff and the gangsta rap to come but it came across more cringey than both. Lots of things that don't make sense here, I'm left with a lot of questions. Is he saying he's strange looking because he is Humpty Dumpty, or is it just a name? Does he actually look weird? Why are there two tracks about a conceptual sex drug? Actually liked the beat on the first one, probably my favourite track. Didn't fully understand this but I know I didn't like it.

Crossed the line a little into extreme silliness. Sex packets was a gross song - even afte reading the concept of the album. Super fine to lean into a concept, but the execution here was way off. Bizarre, and wouldn't want to revisit.

Well, that was something! On one hand, at least it isn't about guns, bling and misogyny, but on the other WTF is it about? A concept album about some fictional sex drug?! Feels old school, which is good, but I think it was a bit too silly. Didn't like the Humpty dance. Or most of the sex packet stuff. Didn't mind the underwater rimes though. Think 3 is fair

Listenable. Not bad in itself but not my thing.

Sex Packets is an album i didn't like at all. Though honestly, what should i have expected from an album about these pills intended to give people sexual pleasure in generally not appropriate situations. The music is fine until it's not when it uses the most annoying and odd picks for samples. But the main offender is obviously the lyrics. These lyrics are so terrible that it often makes me wonder how these even left the drawing board and makes me wonder "How horny are these guys?". Albums like this infuriate me because its because of these that hip-hop generally has the stigma of being a very shallow genre in the lyrics department. And that is a shame because there are rappers that can make good lyrics, too bad these guys just aren't among them. Best Song: Street Scene Worst Song: The Way We Swing

I mean...I guess? But why is every track so long? And why is the whole lyrical point to be repetitively gross?

It has the HUMPTY DANCE, what’d you think it would get?

The rap style was cool, but kinda beatin' a dead horse with the raunch.

It was alright but realistically won’t ever throw on again on my own volition

the funkadelic baselines were fun but it got old past "the humpty dance"

It is not that it sucks but it's just hip-hop and I skipped almost every track. 1,5

Great album but went on for longer than it should've

Musically these guys are competent, if not very original. The lyrics are juvenile, but sometimes fun.

Rap just as I like it - clever, a little funky and not taking itself seriously. Honestly such a great listen.

Some unreal basslines but more sex pest than anything

Too horny

Not bad but not great, way too horny for a Wednesday morning

Literally couldn’t wait for it enough to be over. Has not aged well.

Some songs are painfully long and drawn out. It’s rage inducing almost every bar is pretty weak, but the storytelling isn’t too bad. I did not enjoy this album very much but I understand it’s influence.

This isnt satire??? Really???? It’s comically bad. I can’t believe it’s not a joke.

Not for me

Okay. It's definitely got some fun late 80s/early 90s vibes, and the concept is inherently ridiculous, but the lyrics... man, times have changed since 1990.

2/5

The sound isn't entirely terrible. But it is terribly dated, especially the lyrics. And far too long. Cut it in half and you'd have a much better album that would score a point higher perhaps. Even with the lyrics.

8/10 some iconic hip hop songs and lots of good ones i could vibe to

Review posted 21/10/26 I've said this before but this list is very biased when it comes to hip-hop. I knew the rating was gonna be bad but even then I'm surprised it's below a 3. I did a little reading into the album and the genres and I thought more and more "hey... this sounds pretty good", not just that but 1990 is very early for hip hop of this quality and style. Leading with the Humpty Dance did make me worry it was going to lead really strong and then fall off but no, I did love the first song and then flowed into the second and third and still found myself enjoying the overall package. Underwater Rimes is an insane song, goofy and yet a lot of fun and this genre is one of the best for lending themselves to ridiculous wordplay and bombastic presentation. The Danger Zone was a sleeper hit for me and one of my favourite standalone songs on the album. I sort of like Doowutchyalike in the same way I like "Can I Kick It" by Tribe, it's a fun chill song and very listenable, and I appreciate that the song has a build in "this is where you'd stop on the radio" so I can dip out if I don't want to disgust the full 8 minutes every time. That being said I was initially like "Meh 4 more minutes I guess" and then that damn piano man did his thing. Every time Piano Man is mentioned on this album I know I'm in for a few minutes of gold, he might be an underappreciated hero on this album. The final "suite" of sorts, from Packet Prelude to Packet Reprise is excellent, telling a short story all over infectious beats and smooth rhymes. This isn't exactly the peak of the genre but it's also about 3/4 years before my favourite bits of the genre and that's really impressive for a genre that transformed a LOT in the 90s. Fair enough to say I like this a lot, in fact I'm glad I lowered the Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde to a 3 upon my return because I'd say this is a better album that has also aged better. Best songs: Oxygene, pt 4 Worst Songs: N/A Rank compared to everything else so far: 39/74 (above Green, below Definitely Maybe)

Digital Underground (and especially Shock G) was everything right about music. Never taking themselves too seriously, quality beats, great flow, and development of community. Y'all know this is where 2Pac started, right? You know that Shock G was famous for taking in and helping young artists? Just good, fun stuff. Yes, we could easily cut three songs and be better, and yes, the back half of the album has not aged well from a feminist perspective. It was, however, the early '90s. I'm not excusing that, but evaluating it in the context of the time, this was not even close to offensive. Influence 5. Quality 3. Hits 4. Intangibles 3. The Humpty Dance is my dance 4.

Good old school rap album! Plus the Humpty dance! Lol

If I have to listen to this genre of music at all then this album started off sounding better than the hard core stuff. I liked the funk sound and it was good to hear some female voices. However, I can tell you that the attitude to women the album goes on to relay was NOT acceptable in the 80s and certainly isn't acceptable now. I'm not a great believer in cancelling artists but this album is offensive.

I had doubts about this immediately after seeing the title Sex Packets, and my doubts were confirmed after listening to just the first track, “The Humpty Dance.” Hearing an MC who unironically calls himself “Humpty” rapping lines like “I’m spunky” and “I once got busy in a Burger King bathroom” was simply dreadful. The rest of the album was similarly plagued by faux-macho, misogynistic rubbish. I’m refraining from giving this one star, though, because by the end of the album, I couldn’t help but think that the majority of the backing beats were actually rather good. If you were to shave about 25 minutes off this, completely redo the rhymes with a better flow, and shift the content toward themes you’d hear on a funk record, you might have something quite good. Another thought stayed with me, specifically the line “Does this record bother you? If so, you need to leave it alone” I think I’ll follow that advice.

It’s silly and hasn’t aged all the best, but it’s fun at least. Not the greatest example of hip hop that should be represented on the list when Rakim isn’t present at all. The Humpty Dance is kind of a novelty. The beats are funky.

Not for me

Built around humor, skits, and sexual bravado that now feel more exhausting than clever. While historically important, especially for introducing Tupac, the album leans so heavily on novelty that the music often feels secondary. What once sounded freewheeling now comes across as unfocused and dated.

They really thought they were cookin with this sex packet stuff…they were not.

Lots of questionable dated stuff here. The Humpty Dance is always a fun tongue-in-check jam. After that we get into women’s bodies and rape along with sci-fi sex and rapping about how good at rapping we are. Just doesn’t do it for this amount of time…

Helt okej, lite udda texter men ändå ok.

own

Tudo muito igual. Nada demais. 3 passa de ano

Nao tava na vibe

I only knew The Humpty Dance. Not my favorite hip hop album. The lyrics were overly sexual and misogynistic.

1* is extremely generous

vile album title

Funky but not for me.

Old-school rap album that feels really dated, is named after condom wrappers, and that comes across as really misogynistic. I didn't hate listening to it when I wasn't paying attention to the words. The music is fine if old sounding. The lyrics are dumb as hell, though.

In many ways i am a prude and this wa a punish. Humpty dance was pretty fun but in part just as something recognisable. It went downhill from there and it was a long descent.

Stupid and I loved every second of it.

I don’t mind the sound of this but it felt long. Gutfest 89 was quite fun? And I liked the radio spoken word interludes and announcements

Ignore the period typical misogyny and there’s a decently fun collection of songs here. I was grooving. I was laughing.

Normally I’m into sillier lyrics, but these are just so corny and delivered in such a sleepy way that I just can’t get into it. Then it’s only worsened by the fact that every song goes on for so long

Honestly... I love The humpty dance They sound so nice and polite! Even the song about the ***** & the **** fest sounds kinda polite! I got spooked when they used the b word (bitch) in danger zone, like guys CALM DOWN! But for real, past the opener and the early part of this record, it quickly gets a bit tedious for me. It's soso! But I'm giving a 3 for the MO-THER-FLIP-PING-HUMP-TY-DAN-CE! BAG IT UUUUUP BROTHERS!

My kind of hip-hop but the spoken word parts get a bit tiring

like I guess? it was very fun but everything surrounding it made me think the ENTIRE album would be about these fictional packets and then it was just the last few songs .. but it was fun. why was one of the packets a 17 year old tho

Digital Underground is like a proto-Turquoise Jeep with the aggressively raunchy lyrics and ridiculous alter-egos. Even the pill is turquoise! Despite the seemingly silly concept, there was heavy thought involved when creating Sex Packets. The guys designed an alternative reality where sex packets leaked onto the streets of San Francisco, they made-up a Sanford professor who invented the sex packets for astronauts, and they even distributed pamphlets about the perils of sex packets throughout the city. In their press release, they remained ambiguous on if sex packets were real or not. All of these antics were subtle commentary regarding street drug epidemics and casual sex concerns post-HIV/AIDS. "The Complete Story of Digital Underground’s Sex Packets" by Peter Lawson is worth a good skim if you want to read more about it. Gutsfest 89' and Freaks of the Industry were pushing too much on the freak side, but the amount of depth and thought that was put into the overall album got me. Will I be listening to this album a lot? Probably not. Will I listen to this in-public with mixed company? Never! Did I greatly appreciate learning about this album? Yes!

"The Humpty Dance" is an incredible piece of work but what a fucking 180 degree turn into "The Way We Swing" I mean jesus christ i'm not gonna pretend I know what to say about this album. I don't. I'll give them this: no one will ever be able to say this album isn't interesting to listen to. Whatever it is, it's not boring!

Always a fun time to listen to Digital Underground. The Humpty Dance holds a special place in my heart, and if ya liked that one you'll probably like the rest of the songs. Nothing crazy on here though, but it's good fun.

Day 5 of being snowed in: I stumble around downtown Lexington in a daze as a man graphically describes busting some cheeks, self conscious that others can overhear the music. 🗣️🗣️ yeahhh he’s the Packet Man 🗣️🗣️

I always love listening to this LP. "Doowutchyalike" could literally go on for an hour and I wouldn't care -- it's just a fun jam. Quick aside: Shock G (RIP) is such a fun and offputting person. For a group that didn't take themselves too seriously, he sure did. Watch 'Hip Hop Evolution' on Netflix for some really wild interviews with him.

RIP Shock G. Starts off really strong (the delight in this man’s voice when he says “yeah I called ya fat, look at me I’m skinny” makes me laugh 100% of the time) and then just kind of keeps going. One of my favorite things to do is try to spot things that influenced an artist and, in turn, things they have themselves influenced. The intro to Gutfest '89 very helpfully did this for me by listing a bunch of artists with whom Digital Underground have chosen to associate with themselves at this fictional event. The Who, The Clash, Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock. Gives us a good idea of where Digital Underground see themselves.

a wacky zig zag in the timeline and trajectory of hip hop. I think most 90s hip hop has a primary genre of inspiration, like Tribe and jazz, NWA and punk tendencies. Digital Underground brought with them the exuberance, goofy attitude, and samples of funk. But more comical and def more horny. This album has characters, but no skits (thank god). Plenty of great samples, notably Parliament Funkadelic. Bars that are still ridiculous and fun. It might be a little *too* much, but I enjoyed it.

I usually like funk, really wasn’t enjoying this

Blind album and artist. This album hooked me so hard and then dropped off by the end. The instrumentals are fantastic, I just wish it could've held up with some other artists of this sampling and style.

The second half of this record really drops the ball to me. Side A is an excellent, fun, and funky hip-hop record.

Pretty good, a little bit too long for each track. Shouldn’t it be tagged as funk?

Underrated album. Of course everyone knows the Humpty Dance, but there are 3-4 other gems on here.

I really didn’t need an hour of listening about how horny these guys are.

5/10 – Mediocre

Now I know where they Humpty dance is from, that being said - it's a fun album, I dig it

Im half in half out on this one. The production is top tier but the rapping is just too old school for my tastes. Its alright but for sure the weakest section of this pie. I do like the title of the record is the story of at least the last handful of songs. That part is neat. Twilight zone or black mirror ass idea but its fun. And I like that old ass show not so much tech is bad the show. Black mirror implies it's bad. Sex packets is fun and id see it as a good little story. Her type story. But the beats are it. It gives me some de la vibes with a west coast style. Super super good. I like the whole package more than I dislike the parts I dont like. Its still cool and ill replay it and maybe like it more on a second listen.

Shite

Funny nonsense.

Confused by this album. Fun and hilarious at times. Innovative. Playful. Really sexually aggressive. I’m trying to figure out how to engage with very classically aggressive media made by young men at all, especially when it feels inspired mostly by sexist ideals and porn. However, it’s fucking funny. The different character voices were kind of distracting in a song, and not my taste, but it was funny and playful and experimental and that was the point. Felt soooo 90s. I’m glad that this is album was in the list because I probably would not have listened to it otherwise. Not sure how to rate this one because it’s completely subjective and I’m still confused by it

curious.

not my type of music

It was interesting , thx!

Digital Underground is a hip-hop group that I only became aware of after hearing "The Humpty Dance" a little over a year ago. Fronted for the longest time by Gregory "Shock G" Jacobs, who also sported the alter ego of Humpty Hump, they were one of the Golden Age groups that incorporated a heavy amount of sampling, primarily from funk music, while also boasting a playful attitude in their lyrics and song construction. Case in point, their debut album, Sex Packets, is pretty much unbridled humor. Every line that Shock G and his posse wrote is a chance to take the piss on sexual urges, along with assorted lampoons of hip-hop trends of the time. Straight from the get-go on "The Humpty Dance", the alter ego Humpty Hump comes out to introduce a new dance craze that ends up looking purposefully awkward, where "it's supposed to look like a fit or convulsion", all the while poking fun at his own exaggerated look, likening himself to "MC Hammer on crack". The following track, "The Way We Swing", sees the group flowing over a slick guitar-driven groove about their lyrical mastery and jokingly differentiating themselves from other hip-hop crews by trying not to suck up and do their own thing. "Doowutchyalike" further reinforces their notion of doing what feels natural to them, while poking fun at how radio DJs tend to cut songs down to 3-4 minutes, leaving the extended versions to the clubs. All the while, the group found themselves in rather strange and outlandish sexual encounters, including underwater, at the fictitious festival Gutfest, or in the proverbial "Danger Zone" that could be a stand-in for the dark alleyways of the city. They even go into more uncomfortably graphic detail in "Freaks of the Industry", full of double-entendres. It's only towards the end that the title of the album comes into perspective, as the Sex Packets are fictitious glowing pills that cause people to feel instant sexual gratification, for when it's inconvenient to get it on. I've certainly heard my fair share of absurd album concepts, and credit where it's due, they were able to roll the typical lyrical themes of sex and drugs into one, with the "Packet Man" assuming the role of the black-market dealer offering these pills in packages with pictures of the women that they represent. Alongside the lyrical talent, the blending of samples and live instrumentation is pretty uncanny on this record. Sure, some samples stick out like a sore thumb, such as the use of Chic's "Good Times" on "Doowutchyalike". But for the most part, they're seemingly blended in this progressive jazz-funk mix. From smooth beats with guitar wailing on "The Way We Swing" and the title track, to the eclectic piano solo over the new jack swing cadence of "Doowutchyalike", to the full-on lounge piece with abrasive record-scratching of the line "God damn" on the interlude "The New Jazz (One)", there were some innovative-for-the-time moments that showcased a bit more musical prowess from these guys. That said, for as much as I applaud the Digital Underground for how inventive and humorous they were on this record, it's still rather long to bear. Clocking in at 65 minutes, multiple tracks run for over five minutes, and they don't always warrant the extra length. Sure, I've already established how "Doowutchyalike" effectively lampoons the notions of cutting songs down, and it works well in justifying its length; I can't say the same for the likes of the sexual prowess described over the worn-out sample of Donna Summer's "Love to Love You Baby" in "Freaks of the Industry" or "Rhymin' on the Funk" with its repetitive hook. Also not helping are the multiple interlude tracks, which again I liked "The New Jazz (One)" for the clashing tones, but I can't say the same for the "Packet Prelude" or "Street Scene" that are tacked on to their respective tracks at the end. Overall, I consider Sex Packets to be a good record. I get the appeal and talent behind this group, and they were certainly ahead of their time, however brief that may have been.

The opener is a fun song. The second track insanely repetitive…a vibe that continued thoughout. No need to revisit this one. 2/5

Humpty Dance is a classic, the rest is decent

0.8/5 I don't like west coast hip hop or any hip hop to be honest so another tough listen today. A couple songs were a little amusing but nothing I will ever want to revisit.

dit album is uiterst geschikt voor mensen die lijden aan slapeloosheid... na twee minuten lig je gegarandeerd in dromenland

The lyrics were the worst part

Tää oli ihan hauskaa kiimaräbää, mut loppua kohti vitsi alkaa olla aika kulunut. 2/5

Erm, some interesting tracks in here but doesn’t quite reach the bar for 3

Estuvo bien, no lo volvería a escuchar porque se me hizo muy repetitivo.

I probably have a screed to write about how hip hop doesn’t hold up very well (largely because it is ever-shifting and evolving in ways both good and bad) but Sex Packets, while perhaps the ideal subject for that analysis, is not quite worth the time despite the affection I once had for it (and somewhat perplexed feelings as I really was too young to get some of it in the phys. ed. sense). DU gave birth to a character I genuinely didn’t know was an alter ego until much later in life and also Tupac. There’s a lot here and also not very much at all beyond token novelty.

Big fan of 90s rap but I was never really down with the underground. A fine, fun LP but just not my flavours. Humpty Dance still slaps though

Album #1,013 Wow, I never expected to see this album here! When I was in high school, I loved the Humpty Dance. Recorded it off the radio. Wrote down all the lyrics. Memorized them. Asked my mom what 69 meant. I couldn't forget them now if I tried. It was the kind of rap I liked most, the fun kind. I have never the full album until now. Well, it's a mixed bag. On the one hand, you've got the fun, party songs like Humpty Dance and Doowutchyalike, which are great. Then you have the weird, sex obsessed ones like the entire Sex Packets suite, Gutfest, and Freaks of the Industry. I'll go ahead and round up to a 3/5 mostly based on my nostalgia for one song. I did find it strange in the song The Humpty Dance, he explicitly references Doowutchyalike, explaining that he was the one who sang "just grab 'em in the biscuit," but we don't hear that song until later. Maybe it had to do with the chronological release of singles, but it's weird listening to the album's track list in order.

Prefacing this as a clear reflection of its time. At times, sex-positive hip hop with some really fun samples, and a shocking approachability from male voices talking about respectful, consensual relationships. At other times, wildly raunchy and offensive - while occasionally done with a "we're just kidding" tone where the artists attempt to roll off of it as a joke. At its best, these are soft-hearted lumps that play a tough game with their beats but really are just horny dudes about "doing it in a Burger King bathroom." At its worst, groan-inducing and a lot of punching down on women. Sound wise... heavy DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince influence (or inspiration?), and clearly an inspiration for Lonely Island (Dick in a Box). Title track reminds me a bit of Beck's Debra, which came later (did Beck steal this one?).

Interesting. My standout song is ‘Packet Reprise’ and that says a lot because it’s the only song without lyrics.

Think I already know 'The Way We Swing'. I enjoyed 'Freaks of the Industry' haha, funny dilemma, situational lyrics and the 'Love to Love You Baby' Donna Summer sample worked well. I really like the little samples that came in at random points - Chic's 'Good Times' featuring in 'Doowutchyalike'. Packetman is funky - nice sax

Said it all before about this type of woeful music. 1/5 12/1/26

Most of the rap was quite good. The beats/samples were also pretty good. Still too much talking for a 4 star. Definitely one of the better hiphop albums.

Not a fan. The beats were ok at best but the lyrics never really hooked me. Very horny album

I still don't really know what a sex packet is.

45/1089 3.1771* Rip Humpty. This is a good album overshadowed by the classic Humpty dance. It has great beats and MCs and would be good background during a poker game. Hits...Humpty dance

I really liked their voices, so smooth and cool. But the songs were just so silly, it was hard to take them seriously.

I really liked this from a musical perspective, but the lyrics on some of the songs are just a bit too over-the-top horny for me. I'm not a prude, but some of the lyrics (e.g. on "Packet Man") are just wack. All in all I'm glad to have heard this, but I'm not sure if I'll do a full listen again any time soon. I'll likely be listening to some of the songs again, though. 3/5 (not that far from a 4/5, but the lyrics are just too all over the place for my personal liking)

Weird sexual album with some sexual themes that honestly aged like milk in the hot sun. It's a shame too as songs at the start like the humpty dance and underwater rimes are a lot of fun, but once it hits gutfest it gets real weird

I'm sure it is good but it's not my thang.

Weird album. Not bad, but got tired by the end

So, I had taken a break as I was busy with other things. Anyway, I loved the first track of "Sex Packets". It should be in my playlist. As "Sex Packets" progressed, the songs got progressively worse. It's still a good album, even at its worst. 3 stars for "Sex Packets".

Definitely of its time, but updates the P-funk sound and is a lot of fun

it was fine but overall boring. listening to this knowing tupac came from this group is like listening to up all night after hearing pillowtalk first

i'm ngl. i did not enjoy this whatsoever in the beginning LMAO. i mean everyone knows and loves the humpty dance but damn those lyrics????? then the songs got ugh and then they got fun again LMAO anyway bless you tupac and your sexy ass for existing and then deciding to go solo 🤍

When I signed up to do this project, there was a sense of resignation when it came to the high likelihood that I would completely hate some of the albums, but I committed to listening to them with an open mind. This one elicited so many cringes it’s a miracle I didn’t turn it off before the end. It’s so painfully stupid. I refuse to give it too much credit for having some good, funky beats because the rhymes and flow are so immensely corny, dated, and childishly horny. Still, the beats and production earn it 2 stars rather than 1. There was so much good hip hop in this era, I don’t get why this one made the list.

The first song, The Humpty Dance, is supposed to be the highlight of this album. It's not great and it's six and a half minutes. Ouf... this is just soooo dated. There's no flow, every song is just too long. And each progressive song is worse than the last.

Funk is good. Rhymes is good. Stop the presses! I think I'm done.

I had absolutely no clue about these people, but it was more fun than I expected it to be. Not gonna listen to it again though.

I'm sorry, I gotta hear this why?

I liked this way more than I thought I would. It's stupid fun and it sounds great. Loved the chemistry between the band members. I can't quite bring myself to give it a 4 but I could see listening to this again, so maybe it would grow on me

no

This might have been iconic or groundbreaking at the time, but it has not aged well. Mid bars and boring production. Another reason East Coast >>>>> West Coast

Classic. Whimsical N.W.A.

Ift. at det er hip-hop er det ok for mig

Early 90s hip hop seems so gentle to me, so quaint. That said, it wouldn’t surprise me to hear that the members of Digital Underground dreamed up the concept and lyrics for this album as high school virgins.

Found it kinda of funny for some songs but with beats that didn't move me. I can appreciate how others would later build on it, but I wouldn't listen to it again

boring song loop over and over

Props on them for sounding pretty 90's in just 1990, but hiphop got a lot better later on imo. Faves: The Humpty Dance, Doowutchyalike

Just.....not good

Ya know this wasn't bad, but my god it was too long. I felt like the songs could often have been cut shorter and we could have done without a few. That said, I really enjoyed the instrumentals throughout, sampling from classic rock, jazz, and funk. Many of the vocals sound familiar, but I can't quite place them. On the whole I'm glad for the ride, but would have liked a condensed version. Took me a minute, but I realized that The Way We Swing sounds familiar to me because its the same exact guitar breakdown that Umphrey's uses on Mail Package, which I think I knew, but didn't quite register is originally a Jimi Hendricks song Who Knows. Underwater Rimes is a cool flip of Herbie Hancock's Watermelon Man. Freaks of the Industry, while overly horny, features a pretty great laid back beat and some solid flow. For me this falls in a 3/4 range, erring low because it felt bloated.

Cool album cover. Certainly sounds like the 90s. Doowutchyalike was an interesting song with the radio fade break. Never really got into this one.

Such an incredibly strange concept for an entire album with these Sex Packets. This album also had every sound known to man on it, was a bunch of random stuff going on. A good amount of songs were really goofy and fun like Underwater Rimes. But there were a few too many raunchy songs with moaning in my ear on. This was a surprise of an album though and lands as a high 3

Absolutely wild that 2pac was in this group at some point. I'm not even sure at the time this was revolutionary, as this came out after Straight Outta Compton and is 1000x more corny and feels way more dated. Not quite sure why this is on the list and while it probably deserves a 2, it annoyed me and was long enough that I'm going with a 1.

The "Humpty Dance" was okay, but the rest was sadly puerile.

Oh, the Underground troupe smells a lot like steaming’ hot poop. These have to be the absolute worst rhymes ever. Here a hump, there a hump, some took a stinky dump! For the first time with The 1001 Must Hear List I feel insulted. (0.4*s) Humptiness? I really hope your kidding.

I think I confused Digital Underground with another group that I actually like. This was absolutely insufferable. It's so corny and horny it makes you uncomfortable. The rhymes are terrible and the whole thing sounds super dated. I actually thought at one point it was a spoof or comedy album because there's no way they are serious. The album name sucks and everything about it was bad. 0.35 is the highest I can go, so grimey. Ew!

Hokey hip-hop ain't my thing. The idea behind this album is cool but Digital Underground failed to execute. They may have been an act that brought something new to the table but it's too cheesy and weak lyrically. Shock-G is just corny horn bag and Humpty Hump has always annoyed me. And MC Blowfish on "Underwater Rimes"...bah. Best track is probably "The Danger Zone" but barely. The closest they get to good tunes is the mention of The Who and The Clash playing sets at Gut Fest '89. Struggled to get through this and knew I would but was hoping to be surprised. "For the Underground troupe Cause I know I'm the poop Steaming hot...Stinking up the dance floor." Yup, you love it and for that I'll take 1.2 packets (orgy).

Good lord Sex Packets is incredibly hokey/cheesy/corny. I wanted it to be fun in doses but its schtick runs out pretty quickly. It's almost like the album tries to be standard 90's hip hop masked in an air of parody or satire, though I think they were taking this seriously. The Humpty Dance was the only song I recognized which still has a minor presence some 35 years later. I enjoy the softer vocal style and clean lyrics of this style of 90's hip hop over more popular gangster rap but this was a pretty ridiculous listen. All in all its a fun trip down memory lane at times, though pretty sure I don't need any more visits from MC Blowfish. Overall Sex Packets starts as a decent listen with its opening hit, but runs out of steam within an hour. Once it wraps there isn't much to take with you long term. I'd smile if I run into any of these tunes again for 30 seconds but the 6+ minute playtimes from quite a few of these make them unlikely to be included in any rotation. I'll file Sex Packets away (in my wallet like an unused condom from the 90's?). 1.48 stars

Listen were there good beats? Maybe. Did I need to listen to this before I die? For the crude humor… I guess. But truly? No, not at all. Why was that so long and how does a group make so many songs about sex, sex pills and the concerning experiences. Not sure how one could find this to be quality or profound. Digital underground and all their sex packets could have stayed underground as far as I’m concerned.

This took a fair bit of effort to finish. Not that it was bad, but I found a lot of the beats and motifs repetitive. That being said, it was pretty mad and out there and amusing in parts (starting off with describing his nose as a pickle). Low 3.

So this was early 90s rap, which I generally like the feel of... However with this one the beats felt fairly repetitive and although the rhythm of the rapping was similar to others of the time the lyrics were flipping abysmal. So it starts with the humpty dance like a weird super horny guy who's named a dance after himself and although he describes himself as skinny, ugly etc he won't seem to shut up about a lot of women. Then there are a few songs telling you how great the band are and how unlike the other rap group these guys really have something to say. It's just that most of what they had to say was telling you they had something to say... Until... There was one song about a mysogynistic festival of naked women in cages that the who played and another about a guy who liked to tell you he could put rap any other rappers without actually doing it... There was another that seemed to be just two guys telling of their sexual exploits... Then, the piece de resistance... A several track long story about a made up drug that gives you the experience of having sex. They really lent in here and managed to make the whole thing much worse than you could imagine. Man it's a while since an album actively got worse and worse as it went on. This started ok, but it's a hard no by the end.

This doesn't even crack the top ten hip hop albums for 1990. Some pretty bad tracks on this one

I couldn't listen to this whole album. The songs were way too long, so after about 3 minutes I would forward to the next song. Most of the songs seemed to be the same with very little differences from song to song: same repeating beat, same instruments, same monotone rapping with the exception of "Packet Prelude". I wish the group could have done more songs like it. Best song: "Packet Prelude". I recognize the difference found in "Digital Underground" also, but again the song was just too long. Worst songs: the rest of the album.

Le crap

Lol I've heard this first track before. Ah the 90s rap.

A funny, rap group that answered to the "too serious" gangster stuff that saturated the era, the Digital Underground is quite solid actually. Of course they are a bit over the top, but that is part of their appeal. It is easy to like bands that are a little "less serious" especially if they are otherwise very technically good, if not great. If you are at all interested in this sort of hip hop, rap, electronic crossover style than you will probably really like this! At any rate, any recommendation to take a listen would not be out of sorts.

5.5/10

For a time and place, it’s good stuff! Felt very same-same? For general listening, not for me.

I enjoyed the music but the songs were too long

If you squint you can actually see modern hip hop in this which is very cool for an album this old. I really enjoyed it but i will admit that it’s really hard for me to take this seriously and give it consideration for a five with the all the songs actually about sex packets.

too much talking. painfully repetitive

It was that good old school vibe but probably wouldn’t listen through again on my own

It was okay, interesting that they were the intellectual rap group. I need some heat soon tho generator, I’m not playin.

Some decent hippin' and a hoppin'. Just scraping in for a 3.

Maybe not every single song needs a 4 minute outro

It's a shame because there's a lot of great talent here and these tracks are groovy and the rhymes are slick and hot, but to be honest with you, it drags on and then gets really weird. Which I don't necessarily mind, but they did go from edgy to vulgar

Decent enough rap album. Had some songs that blew (both figuratively and literally), and some decent ones. Don't know why every song needed to be 6 minutes long. Made it a bit of a slog but it didn't sound bad.

In some ways this is quite ahead of its time for an 80s hip hop record. It definitely sounds more modern than something like Run DMC, e.g. with the jazzy elements. There are highlights (Humpty Dance, Rhymin on the Funk) but definitely lowlights as well (Gutfest 89, Sex Packets). I thought Doowutchyalike was quite an interesting song, almost like prog rap with the different elements, but back to back 7+ min songs (discounting the prelude) lost some momentum for me and the rest of the album was a bit of a drag. 3* seems fair for a hit and miss album

Music - 3, words - minus 5

Listenable rap.

Classic Digital Underground. One of the better CDs of the time, with a some Tupac before he made it big.

Wie Chicago Bears … Suck Suck Suck

This has got to be one of the funkiest rap albums ever. The funk influences are very visible all over the samples on this album and make the production very bouncy nad groovy. The production is so unique and well done, makes the album a really fun listen. The rappers in the group aren't anything special really, they mostly rap about partying and sex but they don't take away much and are fun to listen to also. One for the production nerds.

Chapa

2.9

I liked and disliked this in equal measures. Lead has a great voice and some of the lyrics are very witty. But the other half are either weird or demeaning to women. It's of it's time I suppose, and a lot less violent than early Eminem.

Hip hop ? Mule lässt mich schunkeln , daher als Gut befunden. Künstler unbekannt.

Lyrically suspect (of it's time, sadly) but otherwise really interested

sometimes stupid is okay

Shit from start to finish. I almost respect the consistency. Almost.

Nah didn't enjoy it, classic hour of enduring music for the sake of the list.

Looks like I came up Gutfest a day early. Would’ve been much happier with Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and Miles Davis

Sexy

Undoubtably influential, deeply weird. Someone had to keep the party going while Chuck D was yelling about politics and Eazy-E about slinging dope. Managing to bring the party while also making a concept album about a sci-fi digital sex drug is an accomplishment in itself.

It will never not make me laugh that they put time, effort, and energy into creating some kind of sci-fi alternate universe and it came out corny as fuck. 2/5

Wow! I’m usually quite partial to a bit of old skool but this is hideous! It’s just shit and that’s all I’m prepared to say.

I'm not sure which is more problematic, the music or the lyrical content

Meh

A good album, I liked the Humpty dance the most.

Humpty Dance! There were a few tracks I liked, but I skipped a few too.

Pretty smooth

Misschien is het een kwaliteit als hiphop ongemerkt voorbij mummelt, met af en toe een opmerkelijk sampletje of een lollig geintje. Maar er is ook niet veel meer interessants aan te horen of over te melden. Binnenkort zal ik me niks meer van deze heren herinneren.

We krijgen een concept-album voorgeschoteld. Wat is dan het concept? Seks(surrogaten). Dan zijn er ineens wel een hoop meer concept-albums op te sommen. Het getuigt niet perse van creativiteit. Wat meer overtuigt is dat ze met dit onderwerp slechts twee explicit lyrics labels scoren op Spotify (al vraag ik mij bij een enkel nummer af, hoe ze dit label ontweken hebben). Letten de collega's even op? Al die krachttermen zijn vaak overbodig. Ook de klank van deze rap is vrij ongeforceerd. Het is wat betreft de toon goed vergelijkbaar met A Tribe called Quest. De rap is relaxted, de muziek is funky. Ik kan hier daarom met plezier naar luisteren. Maar laten we eerlijk zijn. Dit hoort echt niet in ons lijstje thuis. 3,5 ster (Gelet op het concept, laat ik de aftrek voor gekreun deze keer achterwege.)

Hiphop, jippie, precies waar ik al tijden zin in heb. Gelukkig geen hiphop met kinderachtige teksten dit keer, maar wel puberaal. De mannen komen iets tekort blijkbaar. Maar dat kan ik wel beter hebben dan slap geouwehoer over bling-bling of bang-bang. De muziek is een stuk relaxter dan de gangstarap. Het heeft veel funky elementen en de vibe gaat meer richting muziek als a tribe called quest, in de zin dat het dus niet agressief overkomt, maar juist heel laidback. En dat maakt het een stuk prettiger om te luisteren. Blijkbaar heeft 2pac hier zijn eerste stappen gemaakt, maar het snobboek rept (padoempats!) daar dan weer met geen woord over. Wel dat als ik dit niet goed vind, er niks van heb begrepen. Kolere zeg, als je dat al gelijk in een boek zet, dan schaam je je niet voor je snobisme. Ik zal de artiesten daar niet voor straffen, maar als ik dat soort dingen lees, krijg ik bijna spijt dat ik het fysieke boek gekocht heb. Ik ga dit een 4 geven. Ik vind het stiekem best een lekker album en merk dat ik onbewust op het funky beatje mee begin te knikken.

Goofy fun but little more

Is this good? No, not really. Does it represent an era? Unfortunately, yes messy cultural snapshot of the late 80's It hasn’t aged well, but there is some genuinely interesting music buried in here, like corn in a turd. It’s not 2 Live Crew-level chaos, but let’s not pretend it’s high art either.

Garbage.

What is this one hit wonder novelty act doing on this list?

Not really my cup of tea, but never got to the point of absolute loathing.

Nah

Oh, humpty hump off with this tedious nonsense. The bassline in Underwater Rimes was the only enjoyable thing on the whole album. Otherwise, revolting.

Wasn’t really into this. The Way We Swing uses the riff from Who Knows (Hendrix) in such an obvious way that it seems insulting. Using the bass line for Chameleon in Underwater Rimes also just provoked an eye roll. The songs are overly long and all stagnate. I do get that if I had heard this when it came out I would more than likely have a different opinion, and for it’s time, it’s ok.

Musikalisch nice, textlich naja. Rap.

Unique approach and lyrics, but not so much on the samples.

I like music I can move about to. But some of the tracks overstayed their welcome. Lyrics were ok but represented a time clearly in the infancy of hiphop. The “rhyme” and “MC” lyric count was huge and some of the playful ‘gags’, like the announcement to radio DJs in Doowutchyalike sound very dated. Overall ok as a museum piece.

This song reminds me of summers down the Jersey shore at my friends house. First I limps to the left like my legs is boosted. Humpty dance. Classic song. The rest? This is an excessively long record. Only other song I recognized was doowutchyalike.

Ghastly.

Not really my cup of tea

I've always had a soft spot for this band. They remind me a bit of David Byrne describing George Clinton's music as "joyful confusion". There's a ton going on with this record, and it's all fun, and funky. I also love bands with great horn sections!

6/10 Favourite: The Humpty Dance Least Favourite: The Danger Zone

Boring, too long. 1 Star.

While I am not a rap aficionado, this was definitely an approachable album.

It was great to hear some of that older music I grew up with. The music and the beats sounded really good, the lyrics were kind of silly like De La Soul back in that day. I’m sure it was fun party music.

Yep.

Gracioso pero no me liaria.

If you take it for how silly and immature it is, it's not bad and pretty funny but I'd never listen to this twice.

Couple of serious bangers. Sounds like if Parliament made a rap album

Not sure this album is a change changer or one that everyone should listen to in their lifetime. It has two tracks I like and that it's. I would rate it one but that means it's as bad as the Mekons, which it is are not! Sadly Two stars are a stretch 🫤

I'll take a sex packet

I was not into this one. The Humpty Dance totally caught me off guard, and it kind of irked me. The context that this album is meant to be commentary/a satirical concept album is very important, because I didn't know that until after the fact and was a little disgusted. That being said, I do think it's well-made and a good example of hip-hop/funk. But I couldn't get into the actual music, and I was really not into the song where a woman was moaning in the background the whole time. I don't think this album aged particularly well. I did like that they had some fun concepts, like Underground Rimes and the gutfest song that started with a commentator/announcer.

bro needs to take a cold shower and take a walk. I understand that during this time period the rap that was being put out was mainly political statements but this album is to horny for me to really enjoy without laughing out due to the weirdness of the bars

Okay I listened to this is 3 parts as I was running errands today (Nov 13). As such I'm doing notes from memory. This album is hilarious and idk I think it's only partially intentional. I love this era of hip hop but I was asking myself is this an important record in the history of hip hop? I don't know much about it but crazy if true! Humpty Dance is actually sick, that bassline is so cool, never heard something like that before. Love this dudes voice. Underwater Rimes into Gutfest '89 is what kinda lost me. The rest of the record felt like a novelty. The mobster verse in Underwater Rimes had me cackling in the car tho. 1-2 seeee.. well I'm a deep sea gangsta, underwater pranksta, kissin all the girl fish, dissin all the ??? Freaks of the Industry I actually kinda liked too haha, I'm into these story-songs, a friend bragging to another friend, like "this is what I did...", Pharcyde is my reference here. A couple nice piano moments scattered throughout! Track 11 is when we learn that this is an insane concept record (read wiki)????? Packet Man had me laughing in the grocery store.

"your wife looks just like a fat blue grouper" Starts off big with Humpty Dance. That bassline is bonkers. I love when he sings to the bassline in the middle lmao. I guess I liked Slick Rick back in the day, but otherwise this sort of funky funny rap from the 90s was never my jam. That being said I do love newer funny rap (YN Jay, RXK Nephew, Rio da Yung OG, Lil B, etc. etc.) so I will rock with this and see how we do. Underwater Rimes is great lmao. The underwater mouth sounds that repeat. Had to look up whether this album invented the 'hip hop skit'. I guess consensus is De La Soul beat them to it a year earlier but still pretty cool that this tradition still lives on. Haven't thought about it intentionally in a while but it is suuuuuch a cool generic tradition fuck. I think mainly what brings me out of it are the drum grooves. I've never liked the swung beats of the 90s and at the end of the day, the beats are so much of what keep me around. OK the sampling on 'Sex Packets' is beautiful. Those first 12 seconds had me like confused in the best way. PACKET REPRISE!

Wow. What a wild ride. I was laughing a lot. I love the old school hip hop charm. The Humpty Dance. What a hilarious track. I like my oatmeal lumpy Every track is 5+ minutes. They are vibing out on these beats. Is this maybe a club oriented thing? Apparently it’s a concept album but that doesn’t become apparent until the last 5 tracks. I love the concept album in a hip hop context though. Packet Man is my standout. ‘Biochemically compacted sexual affection, now here, take a look at my selection’ hit so nice. I actually laughed out loud while driving cause the delivery was so smooth. What a trip. I think I really liked it, though I did get a little tired of the lengthy tracks. I am a sucker for the old school hip hop delivery, cute as it may be at this point, it just feels so nice. I have a hard time giving this a 4 cause I feel like most of my enjoyment of it is kind of ironic?

This is a lot of long, meandering raps. I checked out for a lot of it. But Underwater Rimes got me back. Did Marlon write this?

So when dudes tell me constantly how much ass they get I immediately assume they can’t get no ass. Packet Man is a wild song. This album is hilarious and I enjoyed it even though it’s so creeptastic. The beats are actually pretty good for early 90s rap and the lyrics are so silly but it was fun.

As far as Hat Rap goes this isn’t too horrible. But not the most fun. It’s so long! And I get it guys, yall are Horny bois. God damn. Relax.

Ugh, I guess they make good use of some samples but why do so many hip hop acts feel the need to be so juvenile? It put me in mind of going on dating apps and being bombarded by men looking for ‘dirty talk’, sexy pics or demanding to come to your house/place of work immediately for sex. Tedious and something I don’t wish to repeat ever again. 1.5

I do not love this

Weird

Gutfest 89 - hmmmm

Some of the music is OK, but the endless loops of the same sample over and over is just not my cup of tea. I know it's the genre, but I don't care for it. Additionally, the vocal delivery is hilariously dated and the lyrics range from not good to very sketchy. 1.0/5.0: Embarrassing

great grooves but the lyrics did not age well. theres also no reason each song needs to be 6 minutes or more. if you chopped this down to runtimes that dont let the beat get stale its probably a 3.

Good beats and flows, except all the songs don't have to be so damn long. The lyrics can be very outdated and cringey at times, but overall the album was okay.

We will be moving our stuff into her old place as well! 9am Saturday at our place if you're available.

This feels very much of its time. The 80s. Hip hop, before it took so much Rap and R&B influence. Similar vocals to Fresh Prince of Bellaire.

DO THE HUMPTY HUMP. God, that opener is such a classic, really one of the goofiest and most ridiculous rap songs ever that somehow just works. The whole album sort of falls in line with that one song - just laid-back fun and, at times, nonsense. The sound these guys stick to here walks the very fine line between distinctly '80s hip hop, ala groups like De La Soul, and the new sounds ushered in by guys like ATCQ that were maybe a bit more slick. But the album's personality isn't as finely curated as albums from those two other groups generally are. I'd say it certainly has (and sort of suffers from) a bit of that '80s hip hop clunk, in everything from the production to the rapping to the hooks. It's also a bit too long, and the songs drag on waaaaaaaay longer than they need to; there's a lot of dead air here. But there are quite a few funny standout moments that make this thing impossible to hate - I really meant it when I said this album falls in line with that ridiculous opener. The sort of tongue-in-cheek and comedic nature of it all gives off a Parliament/Funkadelic vibe (a group they were very influenced by), so that's cool at least. I especially liked 'Gutfest 89'' for that exact reason, a genuinely funny song with one of the better beats here. And then there's 'Freaks of the Industry', which takes this whole thing way too far - but I'm also glad it did. But we have to stop making moans a part of these hip hop beats, like it never works, ever (even though this seems to be a cleverly chopped sample that makes it sound that way, my point still stands). 'Packet Man' and 'Dowautchyalike' have these smug vocal rapped/sung bits that also get a chuckle out of me, and the latter has this really nice, and out-of-place piano solo in the latter half. It really makes you realize, this album is about the little moments. And the whole premise behind the psychadelic title track is so stupid, and nothing about it makes sense, but they somehow made me bob my head to it for 7 minutes straight - so they win. So yeah, this album just sort of does its thing for an hour, and then it ends. Don't know if it left an impact on me, but when it was all said and done, I felt oddly satisfied with my time, which is not how I felt at various moments throughout the record, especially in the second half. It's chill, it's cool, it's funny, it's sarcastic, and that's all it tries and needs to be. And it would hurt me physically to give this anything less than a 4 gadamnit - 'cause I'll be humpty humpty'ing till the day I die.

An excellent record. Loved the rhymes and the beats, even today they feel so on point and tight. Liked the concept album nature of it. It grabs your attention more than other hip hop records from the same period of time. A bit long perhaps but the tunes keep you going. The opener and underwater rimes are standouts.

The only redeeming thing about this album was that it ended.

OMG I wasn't expecting to laugh out loud multiple times during this album. Some of Sex Packets was definitely of its time, but I haven't heard a hip hop song about safe sex before. For a "horny-on-main" album, I thought this would be a lot more inappropriate and degrading than it was, so I'm impressed with Digital Underground. And the beatz are catchy and fresh! The title-song is this eighties, sultry R&B tune that I genuinely enjoyed. Not bad, not bad at all.

I wasn't familiar with Digital Underground, or the big hits from this album, so this was all new to me. Surprising myself, I actually found this album to be pretty catchy. The hip-hop here is funky, and quite different than a lot of what was out at the time. The album is DEFINITELY about being SUPER horny, though. Definitely a strong entry musically for a group's first album. Probably close enough to a 3 for me to warrant the round up.

Funky. Fun.

- Enjoying the funk of the beats and sampling, the production is clean, too, except for everything being way too long. - The lyrics are pretty bad in a lot of spots (like the entire Underwater Rimes). I know it was the 90s, so it’s definitely dated in that respect. - I started getting pretty tired of the album at the second half of doowutchyalike. Then, it got sexist and explicit. Call me a prude, but I don’t want to hear explicit sex stories from random dudes. - The first half of the album, I liked enough, the second half, I strongly disliked. That whole sex packet thing went on waaaay too long. Was going to rate it a 3, but knocked it down after the second half.

hoooly, what a vibe. wasnt aware of this albums existance before.

Better

Not my thing, but, okay sure.

Another fun discovery. Smart lyrics/rhymes, funky beats, overall very enjoyable. Songs were a lot longer than you’d expect but they didn’t feel like it while listening to them.

it's fun how early rap sounds so slow like they're actually under water. still dont have patience to listen something like this without skipping. but i can see it working as a background music

Tried listening to this before since I heard it was similar to Dr. Octagon's Dr. Octagonecologyst. Honestly, couldn't disagree more. The concept I guess is in the same realm, but it's just not as interesting or funny for me as Dr. Octagon is. Combine that with the more old school rapping/rhyming, and the incredibly repetitive beats (along with the songs a lot of times being overly long), and I'm just not feeling this. Nothing in it is really offending me, it's just nothing is interesting to me either.