Sex Packets

July 28, 2024 :/

No sex packets for me, I'm about to become a sexual abstinent after listening to this album. It's not that old, but certainly it's not easy to listen to it nowadays. Relic of its times.

The Humpty Dance, Doowutchyalike and Freaks Of The Industry are ok, but the rest is a bit boring 2/5

Somehow simultaneously fun and boring. Danceable but also incredibly dated, a lot more so than other stuff from 1990. Also, same 90’s problem of overlong songs just because of the upgrade from vinyl to CDs.

kinda ridiculous the humpty dance

Hip Hop / R‘n B…4/10

Some ok beats but very dated. I had it on in the background while working so I didn't fully take in some of the lyrical themes. Probably for the best...

Sexy packets

Der gik overraskende lang tid før vi rent faktisk fik hørt om alle de Sex Packets der... Og så var det satme liderligt.

Early hip hop often sounds silly, so good on them for leaning into that.

Bizarre choice for this list. Not one of the great hip-hop records over the past 45 years, but it does have that one nostalgia track that everyone has heard at least once, "The Humpty Dance". Old school rhyme style that is pleasant enough, but the stories aren't all that memorable, and the tracks go on for way too long. A 65 minute record that should have been trimmed down to a tight 43-45 minutes. The beats and samples are competent, but nothing that truly blows your mind. I will take this any day over a Gangster P-Funk album, so there is that. It is a party record, but I cannot imagine losing my shit at a party over this. For those who say you had to be there to appreciate this record, I was there, IN HIGH SCHOOL, when this record came out and I wasn't moved by it then either.

Well this is weird. Doowhatulike and Humpty Dance are bangers, but elsewhere it's a bit 80s cheesy, and the Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff comparisons are not unwarranted. Never mind the bonus sci-fi concept suite about Jazz(y) mags of the future.

Not a bad album but these songs are way too long. And Freaks of the Industry alone should keep this off 1001 albums you must listen to.

They had me at ‘Sex Packets.” But really, this was mildly better than I expected. Don’t love the obligatory “sexy” song, though it was actually pretty funny.

Not for me

Okay. Why is it that like half of the hip-hop albums I've gotten come from 80s/early 90s (occasionally early 2000s) rap groups that nobody talks about anymore? I'm not upset to get albums from hip-hop groups. There are plenty of albums from rap groups that I want to listen to eventually. "Three Feet High and Rising," "The Low End Theory," "Stankonia," stuff like that. I'm not getting those albums though. I'm getting the weird obscure stuff, and I'm tired of it. I'm especially tired because a lot of the albums, including this one, are kind of meh. I don't care for Sex Packets. The rapping is fine. I didn't hate it. The beats are okay. Nothing particularly stands out to me. The writing is interesting. This is a concept album, but it doesn't really go as far with it as I'd like it to. The concept is about the titular "sex packets" that are basically pills that give you a sexual experience. However, they really only bring this up at the end of the album. The other songs are just your standard 80s/early 90s hip hop affair. Rapping about rapping, rapping about girls, you get it. Imagine if the album had songs about the business of the packets or whether or not society approves of their usage or not. You actually could have a pretty neat concept for a story right there. They just don't really do anything with it. Also, this thing is pretty long. I don't really feel anything with this album. It's fine, but I don't think it needs to be on here. 2/5.

Incase we haven't worked this out... I don't like rap/hip-hop. Like not at all.

Not terrible, I just really don't care

Very funky but spoilt by the misogyny

A couple of highlights, but overall I was happy when this ended.

Bland

"The Humpty Dance" is silly and great fun, but the novelty shtick wears a little thin and it's hideously misogynistic in places. Again, no idea why all albums of this genre/era need to be one hour plus.

Corny. I'm not sure if they got any better after 2Pac joined the following year, but this album does not make me want to find out.

A lot of the samples and music are much better than I expected. I was surprised to hear the Hendrix sample. However, I didn't really like anything else about it. It wasn't offensive in content or style, but it also wasn't something I could imagine myself seeking out again.

Wtf

Good old school hip hop but the creepy sex packet thing spoils this album for me.

osea sí de una pero me chupa un huevo. 6,5/10

2024-04-20...

The music's somewhat ok, nothing outstanding, but not bad. The rest, lyrics, delivery, and all, is meh.

Maybe fun definitely ridiculous and completely dated. But unless it spawned a whole genre of sci fi sex hip hop that I'm entirely unaware of, this album doesn't belong on this list.

Reading bell hooks has made me pessimistic when it comes to media consumption. I don’t think she would’ve appreciated some of these songs. “Go see a foot doctor tonight” is a wild lyric that I was not expecting.

I can appreciate the Humpty Song. Then most of the other songs go on 4 minutes too long just naming cities. Ya gotta cut it off.

Some good moments that I’ve heard sampled in other hip hop and apparently pretty important in its place but it’s just so cringy to listen to. Sounds dated and embarrassing. It’s a whole album about some kind of weird sex drug. What?

Another group of arrogant hiphop artists who think they invented the holy grail. The music, on the other hand, is groovy and funky (+1).

Would have been 3 stars if it would have been half the length

Un album qui a très mal vieilli. Autant la musique que les paroles. C'est un style de hip-hop qui est dur à prendre au sérieux en comparaison aux autres albums plus lourd de l'époque. Quelques pièces par ci par là se démarquaient un peu plus, mais le reste était vraiment trop long. 4/10

Oh my god I don’t care about packets.

Bad 1.5

First thing to stand out is how dated this sounds. Weird balance of corny and overly sexual. I wanted to turn this off and listen to Parliament instead.

I like the different styles of music on this album. Not great, but not a 1.

An interesting concept but feels SO incredibly dated. 2.5/5

The least sexy sex album, If I put this on during boning I'd get slapped and would have deserved it. That being said, It never takes itself to seriously and I am impressed that they could make a 60+ minute album off of a fake drug The lyrics are also pretty amusing sometimes. Best Song: The Humpty Dance Worst Song: N/A

Obviously the Humpty Dance is great, but I didn't really gel with the rest of the album. Good early 90s vibe, but not for me

What are we doing here folks s. Do I give this album a 2 bc pac was peripherally related to it?

Good beats and samples used are great - lyrics are very of their time.

The good aspects of it are ruined by every song being 2 mins too long and the cringe lyrics

024-03-06:....pas sur!

All very mediocre and a bit childish

No, I don’t recall asking that many times about DU. Not that unique when you consider all the other sampling hip-hop of that time. Give me my De La Soul and I’m good.

not for me

Silly, not for me.

Definitely dated. But sounds quite innocent and fun.

Tuneful at times but maybe I wasn’t in the mood. 2*

It was OK I think. Quite nineties.

This was too long, both as an album and each individual song. I don't know why you'd think you need 6 minutes per song, people! Victim of the CD age? 2/5

This is bad. Really bad. The lyrics are so cheesy it's giving me secondhand embarrassment. Firsthand embarrassment even, just for listening to it with my windows down. And the songs are so long! I love a good long song but the beat never changes and they run out of lyrics 1 minute into a 6 minute song. I'm sorry, the only reason this is getting 2 stars instead of 1 is cause the lyrics made me laugh a couple times. I haven't finished the album yet. I will, but this is the review the album is getting.

Weird but vibey

Generic 90’s rap/hip hop. Some enjoyable moments, songs to on too long though. 2.1*

Underwater rimes is such a fun song to listen to, but this album just felt too long for what it was. I’m a bit too young for this early hip-hop, and that’s fine

frankly poor

I'm surprised that this album wasn't more popular. Not a fan of rap music but this was pretty good. Lots of different melodies and some really good lyrics.

Cheap album artwork; tacky, childish name. If I didn’t know better I would have said this was a joke act.

Not for me

More hip-hop; I like the funk beats here -- they're better and more developed than most in the genre, though you still have to wade through the artists' endlessly chattering about how tough and cool and smart and sexy and... everything they are. Boring and cringey to be honest. The first part of the album was better than the second -- the title track was just some schoolboy's extended wet fantasy -- but I will probably never listen to this record again.

I remember having a tape of this rap band as a teenager and quite liking it. The first track of *Sex Packets* sure displays a very distinct and enticing "sound". Unfortunately, everything else after it can be filed as "more of the same, but less good". Plus, that particular recycling of P-Funk moods quickly became outdated by the one Dr. Dré applied for his own productions. So if *Sex Packets* remains an interesting record to listen to today, it's far from being "essential" in the overall history of hip hop. Not to mention in the history of music in the last seven decades or so. 2/5 for the purposes of this list, which translates to a 7/10 grade for more general purposes (5+2). Number of albums left to review: approximately 300 (I've temporarily lost count here) Number of albums I'll include in my own list: half so far, approximately Number of albums I *might*  include: a quarter, approximately. Number of albums I'll never include: another quarter (including this one, many others are more important to me)

Man, hip-hop has really changed. This is another one where I understand why it's here, and I'm sure it was hip at the time...but it has not aged very well (at least to my ears). It's not really fair to judge this against modern rap, and 80's/90's rap should probably have its own genre altogether, but I can't say I enjoyed much beyond "Humpty."

It was nice to hear The Humpty Dance again after so many years, but I was quite bored by the halfway mark.

Not for me

Really dated hip hop, not sure why this needs to be on the list.

Boo. Some clever rhymes, but overall lyrics are kinda dumb. Also, the whole "sex packets" concept album thing is wacky and dumb, too. 2* based on the strength of Humpty Dance and some catchy music here and there.

Funny, but very dated. I expected some misogyny with the age and subject but as it was over an hour long it got too much halfway through.

Has some nice songs but overall as an album not that great

Wasn’t expecting much from an album that started with “The Humpty Dance” and, well, this lived up (down) to my expectations. None of the songs needed to be as long as they were, and the few that started off okay took weird lyrical turns partway through. I just wasn’t a fan of this at all, and there are much better hip hop albums that should be on this list instead. This is getting 2 stars only because of “The Humpty Dance,” which is still a fun song, albeit too long.

Didn't do anything for me except understand what these people like to do sexually.

Nope.

don't know if the songs are interesting enough to be 6-8 minutes long

Couldn't get into this- it's just not not in my spectrum. Quite dated now.

Hip hop has come a long way since this, thank god

Pretty foolish. It's got a few good tunes, but mostly it's not for me.

Enjoyed underwater remix and the idea of sex packets does not age well

Very, very dated. The lyrics and flows aren’t the best. The beats are cool tho imo. Some dope samples, including a Jimi Hendrix one which really caught me off guard!

Some of the album was fun and across the whole it had great rhythm, but at some point it felt more like a parody. I don’t think the album has aged well in terms of both lyrics and sound (it sounds stuck in the 90s) and about half way through I was getting tired of the album. It’s maybe closer to 3 stars than 2, but for the life of me I cannot understand why this had to be an album I listened to before I died.

Really horrible stuff. Hasn’t aged well at all.

Some is fun, some is joke-rhymes, some is sexist foolery. Very smooth, but not my jam.

Sampling and rap done with some competence. But it's still sampling and rap, so don't waste your time. Find the creators of the original music the samples were taken from and marvel at real music.

Humpty promising & catchy. The rest, nah.

Okay

Tiresome, repetitive, dated. It has aged very badly. Its like listening to the Fresh Prince for a hour. Did not enjoy.

Spaßiges Rap-Album, welches aber in Sachen Beats und Rap-Technik dem typischen 80s-Mustern folgt. Für mich wird's erst drei Jahre später mit "Enter the Wu-Tang" interessant.

This is my most hated kind of rap, its got no bite or anything that grips you. I'm not saying all rap has to be about bitches and ho's (see Lupe Fiasco) but it needs to have something of interest, this reminds me of the Donald Glover skit about hold rappers writing raps about buying hats. These guys would be better off doing a gospel album. I hated this but its not as bad as Serge so it's 2

Crass lyricism meets a few good beats.

Better than expected but also definitely not an album that you have to listen to before you die. There should really be some kind of revision of the hip-hop albums that are included here

Maaaaaan... inte olidligt men nästan svag 2

A nostalgia throwback leading off with "Humpty Dance" but after a minute or two it just ... got tiring. I think the memory of the song was/is better than how I feel about it now. The rest ... eh...? at times I found myself vibing with it but only "at times" Really most of it is that these lyrics are so bad. SO. DAMN. BAD. e.g. "Freaks of the Industry" is one of the more stupid tracks I've ever heard - a lot of that statement might reside in the fact that it would have gone from a 1 to an 8 simply if it were instrumental. TL;DR: I generally like old school hip-hop but for this I just can't dig in. I like to ignore lyrics if/when I can but even the best parts of this where/when it grooves they're too much of a distraction. 3/10 2 stars.

Had not heard The Humpty Dance in a while, that was a fun surprise. This is an interesting counterpoint to NWA and Public Enemy, a kind of positive uplifting version. Lots of these songs are very long, and so is the album, and it wore me out by the end. Kind of funny and kind of baffling that they had two songs about "sex packets." The plethora of Funkadelic samples just made me want to listen to them instead.

Beyond the first track it was pretty much background music for me. It's... fine, but not as great as other 3 stars for me.

lol i mean, maybe i should have expected this from the album title and cover, but this album is so horny. like obnoxiously so. i like the beats and the samples and the flow is nice, but also like oh my god. from the first track, i was actually kind of expecting to be really into this one, even if it was a bit corny and sexually charged. i didn't mind it at first but starting at "Gutfest '89" which is the so cringey and obnoxious, that it really started bothering me a little. especially with the length of the album, i'm not sure how you rap about sex this much. there's only so much sampled "oohs" i can take.

Surprised to see this album on the list as I always thought of it as a novelty record. Yes, they launched Tupac, but just include more Tupac.

I remember the video with him wearing that big nose and I can't see anything else when I listen to this. Kind of a pervy album though, isn't it.

not my jam but good.

Somehow this is the most realistic concept album I’ve listened to so far.

This was kinda fun but got really repetitive

This from another era. Feels like it’s right before the time rap changed from being fun to being fun and silly to grumpy and raw.

The Humpty Dance is always good for a smile but this thing was tough to get through. It's way way way to long and repetitive for me. 2.5

The only thing saving this from a 1 for me is the opener being fun and the beats in general being pretty funky. Almost every song on here overstays it's welcome by a good 2-3 minutes, and the rapping is so basic when at this point you'd already had Rakim, Chuck D, Ice Cube that had pushed the form forward. I was just waiting for it to end by the time it was halfway down. Won't be returning to it any time soon.

Dated

Still not sure if this is a pisstake or not

I guess this was influential with blending hip hop with more electronica? The playing lyrics are not a new thing and it quickly becomes tiresome... 2

Shrug

Pretty cringe anymore

Very underwhelming stuff. The flow didn’t hit at all. It was only interesting musically and some of the scratch/mixing. 2 out of 10

Very 90s

Thought the hit "The Humpty Dance" wasn't much to write home about on a forgettable album. Vocals were okay, but beats were boring on ab illicit 90s hip hop record.

90s rap, PLEASE stop with all the disgusting skits where you eat food. I am begging you.

kind of stupid

Very cringe, these guys really want you to know that they do sex. Samples are good and it has moments that are decent, but man some of the content.....Yeesh.

It was OK. Didn't really get into it.

Fair, but there was so much more interesting hip ho and rap going on in 1990 ...

Keep your sex packets to yourself. One lame ass one-hit wonder from the 90's does not an iconic album make. Although they do name drop Burger King and that amuses me, so I'll be kinder with my star rating. But this album really isn't anything special.

Maybe influential? Seems early for hip-hop or whatever you'd call this? Got bored of it quickly. Title track slower tempo and more interesting.

I’m starting to lose my confidence in this list. What is this doing here? Is there some kind of influence I’m missing? I mean, it’s fine I guess, but a complete product of its time.

There’s some funky fun to be had here, but I think I’ll pass on the generous, 65-minute offer of, uh, sex…packets (?!?), thank you.

Zzzzzzz All very generic, doesn't do anything for me. Some of these bars are plain crap. Cringey as hell album title to boot.

Seemed to not take itself too seriously. Some of the rapping was like they were trying to do it for the first time though, especially on Gutfest 89.

Sex packets is not near as cool if a concept as these guys think it is. Cringe rap.

I get that this album was highly influential and was sampled to death, but maaan, does it ever sound dated now. This is more whimsical and less in your face than say NWA or Public Image so its more listenable, but at over an hour of it gets a bit tiresome.

I generally like this style of old hip-hop, but this album didn’t really do it for me.

Meh

I feel like this kinda music you really had to be there when it was released. When I listen to it now it reminds me of that Donald Glover stand up comedy bit where he talks about how all old school hip hop is just guys going like "well I went to the hat store and I got myself a hat."

Heard it before?: No Enjoy it?: not really, nice flows and beats but just very cringe Favourite song: didn’t have one

Garbo! Fuck 90s rap!

Golden age hip hopalternative hip hop

Kovin joutavaa renkutusta. Parissa biisissä ihan hauskat biitit.

It's kind of like De La Soul, except it's longer, more repetitive and not as fun and enjoyable. It was a little painful to listen to.

Annoying

Kids having fun. Not terribly boring but also not terribly exciting. I'm not a fan of rap to begin with but at least the piano was good.

Score: 50 Album art: 70 Funne lol When this album is being funny it's really enjoyable. Sadly when it's not it's the most boring shit on the planet. This album induced nap time within me. Every song is 6 minutes long and they don't exactly change a lot during that runtime. They rap about how they are the masters of rhyme like 12 times and then they just... dont do anything lol. I was laughing and having fun though. Sex packets put me to sleep but the follow up song is funny. Glad I listened but never again

It’s a lot of fun but I can’t really give it any more than two stars

langwiilige prince of bel air rap

I adore the Humpty Dance but the rest of this? A bit too horny Prince without the funk.

This is a hard album to rate. It's definitely an interesting and unique concept for an album. And I like some of the beats. The problem is sometimes I'm kind of a prude, and listening to an entire album about objectifying women and having sex is not exactly my idea of fun. It was a bit uncomfortable to listen to. Even so, the album did make me laugh a few times. I can't say I truly disliked my time with it, but I don't have any urge to relisten to this. My favourite song was Sex Packets.

Like many grooves. Lyrics leave a lot to be desired, especially when the “sex packets” that are referenced over and over and over again seem to be done kind of date rape drug.

I quite liked this to begin with. A concept album about a sexy sex pill is an original, amusing and pretty weird idea. However, the novelty wore off fairly quickly, as it most likely would with the fictional medication. Rating: 2/5 Playlist track: The Humpty Dance Date listened: 22/02/23

2nd hiphop album in a row. too much . And Im incredulous at the title this time. It sounds like a gangsters clubhouse

Outside of the popular "The Humpty Dance" this just wasn't very good. Early hip hop that just hasn't aged very well. It's crazy to see how far hip hop would evolve in a handful of years to the mid-90s, knowing what we know now. 4/10.

Just one long song that never changed

Didn’t finish it. it wasn’t that bad but i couldn’t do an hour of that

There were some cool parts to this but ultimately I feel like so many of the songs sound like each other.

I only know Digital Underground for two things: The Humpty Dance and that Tupac Shakur was once in the group. So, when this album came up in the generator, I was perplexed. Was there more to Humpty than meets the eye that justified this album placement here? Yes and no. Yes because, at times, the album's attempts at diversifying their sound (whenever it comes) are a bit admirable and no because parts of the album (Doowutchyalike and its blink-and-you-miss advocating for sexual assault in particular) haven't aged well. Everything about it feels interminable and a good twenty minutes too long and the album's goofiness brings it down a couple of pegs. I wish I can understand why it's on this list when it's really not that essential. P.S. Gutfest '89 would have been the most awesome festival ever had it actually happened. P.P.S. Thanks generator for giving me this on Hump Day. Favorites: The Humpty Dance, The Way We Swing, Rhymin' on the Funk, Underwater Rimes, Gutfest '89.

This album feels very MTV. I’m always scared of an album with a big hit as its first song (is the rest just padding?). But I don’t think this album is deliberately padded. I’ve just never been into the jocular vibe in hip-hop especially when that’s intermingled with misogyny. The best songs are their most direct, like “Freaks of the Industry” etc.

Waaaaay tooo many songs about condoms.

So strange and too long. They also don’t get to the main conceit of the album til the last 4 songs or so. 4/10

Lucky to get one star

Too much Party Time for me, prefer the oldschool rap like Public enemy, NWA or Dutch sensation Bob uit Zuid.

not my thing

A bit of a grind to get through this album. Humpty Dance is creative and fun, but certainly a bit long in the tooth now. It is creative at times, but the smooth soft talking rapping approach with a funk twang doesn't do it for me. Wanted to turn it off.

Golden age hip hopalternative hip hop

classic 80s hip hop thirst album.

Didn't age well

Eh dug the old school vibez, could have done with a few songs of this and called it quits

The underwater song was fantastic. If there was 17 songs like that I would of given it a 3 maybe a 4 but a lot of the other songs I really did not like. So I’ll give it a 2

Some pretty good songs, and some that are completely uninspired. It's overall an average album with a couple killer tracks

Obviously, this album is aimed at having fun. I particularly enjoyed Humpty Dance (a classic party jam) and the way we swing (heavily built around a Jimi Hendrix sample. I love the way they scratch the original guitar solo into the song). Funky and fun, I found the adolescent sexual humour a little wearing after a while. Great singles, but hard to sustain for 70+ minutes. This could have been a really tight 40 minutes record. At least there are no skits.

Best Song: The Humpty Dance. Yeah it feels silly, but it's still better than the rest of the awkward, overly serious (and overly long) tracks on the album. Worst Song: Freaks of the Industry. My campaign against sex moans as background music continues. This shit is just awkward, not interesting. Like, did at any point during writing/recording did this group of dudes question themselves as they went through line after line of corny sex poetry? Overall: What is it about hip hop from this era that always sounds like it's being performed by Snagglepuss? The best parts of this album are its samples.

Tracks are repetitive, and way too long. Plenty of rap albums around this time that were way better.

Some good instrumentals, I'm not a big fan of the lyrics

so 90's it hurts

Funky sound, but unquestionably dated. The lyrics are so intentionally over-the-top that it's undeniably funny for a while, but it goes on for far too long to maintain my amusement. I would never listen to this again, and won't remember it for long, but at least it got a few smirks out of me while it lasted. Probably the strangest concept album I have ever listened to. Standout tracks: "The Humpty Dance" and "Doowutchyalike"

LOL well what a journey this was. Finding it hard to believe this was a contender with other similar era of hip hop. Major cringe some of the lyrics, particularly the sex quiz one and all the words about slamming pussy etc etc. Luke enjoyed the one about Packet Man as he thought it had a jazzy riff

Some cuts are listenable.

My favorite thing about this album is that it does have moments of gangsta rap, but it's only just a guy rapping in a 1920s movie gangster voice. Lol. How did that not take off?? I mean, I suppose there's probably some article somewhere about how this album is significant and important in helping set the stage for a form of alternative hip hop. But I don't know that this alone makes it worthy of being on this list. Some of these songs go on forever and none of it really feels essential aside from the gimmicky opener, which is at least catchy. Surely there are other records in this lane that are better from start to finish. That said I would totally wear a Gutfest '89 t-shirt.

Creo que sería un muy buen disco si las canciones no fueran tan largas y con tanto espacio donde sólo se repite la base. Creo que esa estructura no agrega nada y hace el disco pesado y repetitivo. Tiene buenos sampleos y buen rappeo pero a cada canción podemos recortar minuto y medio sin problema. Al final se me hizo tedioso.

Não consegui escutar até o final.

Interesting enough.

It's quite fun for a while, but I lost interest in it pretty quickly - an hour of this stuff is just too much. Probably would've stepped up to 3 had it been a tighter 35-45 minutes, but there's too much filler (both in the album as a whole and within a lot of the individual tracks), so it's a 2. Won't ever put it on again, I imagine, but don't regret listening to it.

Shits dated as it gets lol. It's pretty fucking fun though.

Horrible

Ovo bi mogla slusat negdje vani uz alkohol al ovak sama od doma me ubi.

Hip hop suave. Con ritmo. Para amantes del género. No me ha aportado especialmente

It's an early 90s hiphop concept album about magic sex pills. It's not boring for sure, but did you really think it would be good?

Not sure if this one deserves a spot on the list. I always hope for the best when it's not just an album I've never heard of, but a music act as well. The production is clean and ahead of it's time on some tracks, but overall it's corny and embarrassing lyrics had me rolling my eyes very early in the run-time. 1.5/5

I wasn't really feeling this one. Overlong, a little one-dimensional, kinda corny, and maybe kind of shallow? It doesn't feel as essential, innovative, or fresh as a lot of its contemporaries that have found their way onto this list. The beats are often pretty solid, but I'm not loving the rhymes or flows. "The Humpty Dance" is a jam for sure, though.

Not my thang

Not bad for early 90’s hip hop. Not great either

This was a brutal listen as in boring. I don't get it but me and hip hop have a love/hate relationship.

The running time of 65 minutes makes this album bloated. A couple of good songs and I suppose the Sex Packets tracks at the end was an attempt at a funny narrative, esp. in the era of gangsta rap, but ultimately isn't that successful.

Hmmmm...

The first several songs were pretty good, albeit with some usual braggy rap that went on a little too long for my taste. “The Way We Swing” was pretty clever musically and I thought they were pretty funny in “Underwater Rimes.” So after song 5 I thought this album might be a surprise. Things went south quickly. “Gutfest ‘89” is definitely an event to avoid. Pretty much everything else seems kind of toxic and awful. I was glad when it was over. I did like two songs. But it left me nauseous and I have no interest in hearing this album again.

Not terrible, but not amazing. I can understand people loving this, but I think you had to be there at the time.

Definitely the raunchiest album I have had on this list so far. I am not a fan of rap in general, but I could still appreciate some of the stuff they were trying to do here. Most of it doesn't feel dated, but there are some moments that definitely pinpoint this album to the year 1990. On the first listen, I enjoyed the The Humpty Dance (catchy) and Freaks of the Industry (smooth) the most, but they are songs that I don't see wanting to listen to again in the future. The main thing that brings this album down for me is its length; it has no right to be over an hour long. If they trimmed some of the fat, I probably would look at this one a little more positive. 2/5. NOTE: this is probably the worst album art I have seen so far on this list. It's hilariously dated.

Not sure why this is included in the list of albums you must listen to before you die. It’s ok 90’s hip hop but not that great and most of the songs are at least 2 minutes too long.

Digital Underground's debut hip-hop album. It performed well commercially, as a result of its singles becoming club hits, and the album was able to achieve platinum certification. This time period was arguably the best for lyricists and writers of hip-hop/rap albums - this album being a good example. Simple club beats with great-rhyming lyrics about sex and partying compose this album and it was fun to listen to.

corny as fuck

Humpty Dance is a strangely funky one, probably didn't give the rest of it enough of a chance

nothing new

Its smooth hip hop but fairly boring. The production is good for the most part, delivers a good sound. Some of the beats like the first half of Sex Packets and The Way We Swing are enjoyable. It is however at times incredibly lame. For instance, the Humpty Dance was pure cringe and it reminds me of a spoof of 90s rap that would feature in The Simpsons. It was a bold claim in Gutfest '89 to compare themselves with The Clash and The Who but you have to back it with memorable intriguing songs. Its not terrible and offensive but I couldn't enjoy this album.

Inte bra men stund is rolig

Besides the first song, never really hear anything from them. Their rap style isn’t too complex and their rhymes aren’t bad. But their songs feel generic and their beats aren’t anything outstanding. It’s an ok rap album. 5.5/10

Ich kann es rational erfassen aber mehr nicht

Good 90s hip hop. With age, more "fun" than "transformative."

Ehh

A mediocre to boring rap album. 6.4/10

didn't listen to it all but was interesting

Not really my thing, but some decent beats.

Meh

This vintage hip-hop thing is not really my type of thing.

Wow, so bad

Samples some great funk beats, but I’d rather just listen to those original tracks. Most songs are way too long

1/5 I’m writing this while listening to the album, and honestly, I don’t feel annoyed by this project anymore - I’m starting to let frustration and sadness take over! Holy shit, man: whoever put this list together must not really understand what “must-listen before you die” means! I get a lot of the criteria: quality; the artist’s genius; sales; impact on a particular genre; et cetera, et cetera… But man, either I’m having really bad luck with this latest trend, or whatever comes next is going to have to be really, really good! Finishing up these latest albums and thinking, “I want the time I wasted listening to this back” is truly sad and frustrating. I didn’t find this kind of music funny at all back then, and as time has gone by, I feel like nothing has changed - it’s completely dispensable. Absolute garbage - don’t tell me there aren’t better albums out there… oh, right, I forgot - Anglophile crap reigns over the whole world :-(

Genuinely couldn't get past the first song. How this even made the list is beyond me

I raised my eyebrow since I started reading the album concept in Wikipedia, and listening to the album itself didn't fix it that much. Plus every song is repetitive as hell.

Fresh prince of Bell-Air, enough said

Corny, overtly strange, dated, boring garbage. Get it FAR away from me

The Humpty Dance?!?! Oh hell no. It is like the Beastie Boys with just a lot less talent.

The worse of 90s hip hop

it's offensive that this is on the list

Ope

Offensively bad.

Nonsense

Doesn’t feel like it’s aged particularly well. Not that I suspect it was much good back in the day anyway.

No redeeming qualities.

Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear. Oh goodness me. This is one of the crappest records I’ve ever had to listen to. Shitty hip-hop ‘concept’ album, where the incredibly juvenile is dreadfully presented, and lasts for over an hour. Utter, utter shit. How this is not in amongst the lowest rated albums on the app is beyond me.

Dire

terrible

this was so extremely bad and it felt really unnecessary

An album that demonstrates the borderline between a fun album and a silly album. It has a sort of classic rap sound, though a bit imitation, with opening track The Humpty Dance giving hope that this could be not a classic but ok. However, it gradually loses the plot into long, meandering songs with awful lyricism that makes the album off putting. Making a concept album about some kind of pharmaceutical attempt to create sexual satisfaction in a pill is certainly *bold* for a debut album, and the way it’s handled makes it come across as crude, instead of with deftness and humour.

A truly dreadful album. ‘The Humpty Dance’ is an okay opener but nothing special, daft but kind of funny. Amazingly, it’s probably the highlight of the album, as after that it goes into a series of seemingly never-ending songs that are either painfully boring, lyrically icky, or both. ‘Gutfest ‘89’ and ‘Freaks of the Industry’ are probably the worst of both worlds here, but almost every track is too long and massively outstays its welcome (there’s no justification for ‘Doowhutchyalike’ being nearly nine minutes long; the fake fade-out should have been real). Basic beats, basic rapping, and terrible, off-putting lyrics.

A juvenile and dire hip hop album with absolutely no redeeming qualities.

ngl, no me gusto, just not my thing i guess. me estaba gustando "packet man" hasta que llegué a _ese_ lyric... 1.5 que creo que bajo a 1.

Just not my vibe. Giving off Fresh Prince.. which may be racist... but It's just not compelling. it seems like they're acting too cool for school. and I love passion and cool rythmns. And the lyrics are very problematic.

I started out liking this album. It was chill, funky. But the tracks get really repetitive and long. If the tracks didn’t overstay their welcome, or had more variation in the backing tracks, this would be stronger for me. Again, this is not helped by the fact that I have a hard time following lyrics and their storylines on a first listen. 3/10 Ho Hum

I think even hardcore rap fans are forced to admit that nobody needs to listen to this in the 21st century.

Album #135 Digital Underground: Sex Packets Even if I’m going to put aside all of my reservations and actually try to enjoy a song like The Humpty Dance, I simply can’t keep up that charade for over an hour. Some absolutely baffling lines on this thing, that are at times actually funny, but only for how absolutely terrible they are. These guys are pretty much the personification of that kid you knew in school who only talked about having sex, when in reality he was a version, or just Jay from the Inbetweeners. I might not be a big rap fan, but I am very happy that this style has been left in the past, and the stuff we have on the radio doesn’t feel like you are being sexually assaulted, or as Digital Underground would put it, verbally raped. Best Song (I guess): The Humpty Dance Worst Song: Gutfest Score out of 10: 3

Not for me x

I like old hip hop but this had songs that were way too long. Nothing really interesting.

The yin to Fear of a Black Planet's yang. Hated this top to bottom, and it gets more and more ridiculous as the tracks go on. Turns out concept records can suck in every genre!

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.

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

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

What a terrible day to have ears.

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.

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.

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

Garchita. Nada destacable.

This aged poorly in almost every way.

Ew.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

1* is extremely generous

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.

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

Shite

not my type of music

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.

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

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

no

Just.....not good

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.

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.

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.

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

too much talking. painfully repetitive

Music - 3, words - minus 5

Wie Chicago Bears … Suck Suck Suck

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.

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.

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

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.

Ghastly.

Boring, too long. 1 Star.

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

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

langweilig, nich mein geschmack

474/1001 Este es el que me ha salido hoy. Ni me he parao a escucharlo... 🌕🌑🌑🌑🌑

Hip Hop. 1/5

Yet another Hip-Hop album, just for a change. And like just about every other Hip-Hop album in this list, I'm not a fan.

This may have some historical value for rap music, but it almost unlistenable. Just annoying now.

I was intrigued by a hip hop artist I'd never heard of making this list (considering how little diversity the list really seems to have once you get out of the mainstream US/UK market artists), and the jazz samples at the start had me pretty excited. But I did not like the way they swung. The feminist part of me died multiple times on the first two tracks. Then they got into an extremely uninspired refrain that never seemed to end. So I gave up.

Humpty, please take this shizz and go back to sleaze city. How did this garbage end up on the radio?

Not really my vibe, didn't finish it unfortunately

Had no idea that Tupac was in a group, so that's a somewhat interesting tidbit that will hopefully come up in a pub quiz at some point. This hip hop album is thankfully only 65 minutes (most are longer than that, so this felt like a blessing). The beats are definitely funkier than most hip hop albums I've heard thus far and the raps seem almost cheerful and old school. Christ, this got boring after a while though. Rap songs have no business being longer than five minutes in my opinion, and a lot of these are stretched out to up to nine minutes which is ridiculous. I don't want to listen to this again and definitely never will.

The Humpty Dance is fun, but you know you're in trouble when the second track is an interlude stretched to nearly 7 minutes. Rhymin' on the Funk introduces the other members of the group over a beat that's mixed far too low. One of them really seems to lack confidence and I had to turn the volume up to hear him. Then there's another interlude. And so on it drags. I'd rather hear an album by their dancer, thanks.

This might be the worst album I’ve ever heard.

Barely noticed this back in the nineties and after listening to this in 2025, it was the right call.