Sex Packets

#306 Heard Before? Only "The Humpty Dance". Notes: - the whole sex packets idea is horribly fascinating. sexual objectification in the most literal sense. would it solve the incel problem? of course not, because the problem isn't sexual intercourse (or lack of it), but patriarchal power dynamics and the hatred of women. - that said, every song on here is truly embarrassing, but I'll give points to "Humpty Dance", "Underwater Rimes" and "Doowutchyalike" for being so terrible in a funny way. - "Gutfest 89" and "Freaks of the Industry" are two of the least sexy sex songs I've ever heard, while "Danger Zone" is an even less effective anti-drug song than anything on the Scruff McGruff album. - there are certainly some decent samples and fine beats, but not enough to distract from the atrocious raps. Verdict: Well, it's certainly memorable. Listen Again? Ummm, no.

It was awfully generous of the 1,001 book to include Sex Packets. While "The Humpty Dance" is a classic, the rest of this album neither classic nor essential. It is, however, loooooong (and "The Humpty Dance" could easily lose about 90 seconds). There's a playfulness and humor here that would be sorely missing once gangsta rap took over hip-hop, and the production has its moments. But neither Shock G nor Money-B are particularly good rappers, and the whole thing is self-indulgent and tiresome. There's a reason Digital Underground didn't set the world on fire.

Sex Packets These are sex people! The Humpty Dance is one of my hip hop playlist staples, but I’ve never delved further into their discography. Which ultimately is fine as I don’t think I’ve really been missing all that much. Humpty Dance is the best song by far. Lyrically it pretty much says everything they have to say, but they still seem keen to hammer the point home that they are keen to boff anything in sight. Although to be fair they add a different shade to this with their Dragons Den-esque song suite about sex pills. And they also do a line of faintly naff self-aggrandisement in The Way We Swing. Sound and production wise though it’s pretty decent, the low end is particularly good on The Humpty Dance, The Way We Swing, Underwater Rimes, Freaks of the Industry, Doowutchyalike and Packet Man. Those are probably the best songs, despite some of the lyrics. There is also a nice contrast between Shock G's straightforward late 80s rapping style and Humpty’s nasal oddness. Humpty is definitely the more compelling and amusing of the two, the songs brightening up when he comes in, eg on Underwater Rimes when raps about kissing goldfish Overall, despite some good songs and sounds, the thematic one noteness does pull it down, especially stretched over to an unnecessary 65 minutes. Between 2 and 3, but I’m not sure I’ll come back or add any other songs from it to any playlists. 👃👃 There is Playlist submission: The Humpty Dance

I'm not against avant-garde in music, especially not in hip-hop; with that said, this album's concept is a bit out there for me. The jazz and funk of the albums is great, and starts off strong. But eventually it gets into the storytelling of this sci-fi "sex packet" which ultimately loses me a bit. Favorite Song: Doowutchyalike Score: 74/100

I came *this* close to not listening to it fully.

i would really appreciate a mediocre hip-hop album, that’s for once not also too long

Dit is te oud. Het mooie is dat m'n kritische luistermaat uit het midden des lands moderne rap vaak kinderachtig noemt vanwege de kleurrijke teksten, maar ik ervaar dit juist als kinderachtig. Een soort kinderschoenen-variant van Tribe of De La Soul is het. Van die rap waar je dertig keer het woord 'sucka' of 'fool' kunt verwachten, al heb ik er niet echt op gelet of het ook daadwerkelijk wordt gebruikt. Ik doe het op allerlei vlakken te kort, maar het is een te lange zit met te weinig afwisseling. Ik vond er echt maar weinig aan. 2 sterren wordt het.

Just a lot of weird sex noises

I’d never heard this before, and being a fan of silly early nineties hip hop, this took the cake. I mean, they’re rapping about being underwater. They’re rapping about being ugly. They’re rapping about some sci-fi sex packet thing for like three tracks. This was weird in a fun way. They aren’t taking things so seriously, and frankly, that’s refreshing. I had Ice Cube yesterday, and I love Ice, but this was like the complete opposite of him. No real politics here. No real anger. Just real life but in the way that dudes are goofy sometimes.

Listened to this with my 12 year old daughter whilst driving around to shops and popping into work. I will pass on her comments. “Why are the songs so long” “What is a sex packet” “Oh is a sex packet a condom” “Why are they so weird” “Can we skip this song please” “This one’s better it’s only a minute long” “No it’s not” “Why do you listen to all these albums” “Oh a sex packet is a condom they have just said” They’re the comments I remember! Best track- ‘doowutchlike’ because it made Alice laugh! Worst track- ‘gut fest’ I mean I didn’t even get what they were trying to do with this! 1/10

Digital Underground - Sex Packets Old school rapping, nailed on scratching, cherry picked samples, and the whole was a head bobber from start to finish. Best Track - Could have been many but The Way We Swing was my pick. Worst Track - probably the one everyone else prefers most as it was a hit which was The Humpty Dance. 7/10

it was wild and experimental when it released. Aged like milk though. The single still holds up but the rest of the album doesn't.

Other than The Humpty Dance, this one has not stood the test of time very well. Favorite track: The Humpty Dance

It’s early hip hop so I can tolerate it more than later hip hop… but it’s not something I enjoy

Looked up thinking I must be getting into the back half of the album. I am 3 songs in. Not an encouraging sign. Update: god this sucked

This was so utterly bad that I started to enjoy how bad it was.

I don't know. This is...fun? Funny? Reading up on this, I learned it's a higher concept effort that I realized, but that didn't really help me appreciate it any more. It felt like a slog after a while. Will not revisit.

It was better than I expected (I'd only heard the singles before this). Still not one that I was immediately ready to hear again.

I am pretty sure I had this cassette back in the day. This one doesn't hold up at all.

Fresh Prince of Crap

Only a 3 because the Humpty Dance is so iconic.

I really liked this!! The songs were super catchy and fun, I enjoyed the flow.

da humpty! meh. chill.

Not a very serious feeling album even though it's partially addressing a very serious culture issue at the time. I really vibes with a couple tracks, usually based on the sampling done or the general energy of the funk was pumping up and I always like that. The other parts of the album have a very sensual silly sexiness that doesn't always land. Partially feels like it's attempting to be a caricature of hip hop like a satire but then also has this authentic cheesiness going on as well, it's odd but endearing. At the end of the album I enjoyed more songs for the music than I thought I would so it'll stick around for me.

i mean....kind of funny in a cornball way? Humpty's flow sounds like Andy Samberg's "Blizzard Man" sketch to me from SNL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2r3dBNDRug

A lot of the beats dont hold up and the sec songs are not my style. Emjoyed the underwater song that was fun

Usually, I'll listen to music at work, especially when I have a big order. Today, I just didn't want listen to the Humpty Dance at 7:30 in the morning. I like my cheese in my omelette not rap. It's funky fun. This type of rap from this era seems to be insanely long winded. Like Humpty Dance is 8 minutes. Who needs that? Goofyness galore especially when they whip out their Jimmy Durant impression. Ya Don't Stop!

Ah. This contains the song that crocodile sang in the Sing movie. I didn’t love this, but it was nice to have another hip hop album as I haven’t had one in a while. 3/5⭐️ 294/1089

RIP Shock G

Why?

Was a fun revisit to music of this genre and time in my adolescence but in general not something I would choose to listen to. Of its day.

Humpy Dance!! That was a jam! I had never listened to the rest of the album. After listening to it now, I’m not quite sure I needed to. I appreciated that the album portrayed so many different characters making it a tapestry of personalities. There was some good rhythms in here and that classic Golden Age flow. Some songs were even good like the song the Way We Swing. I liked the consistent jazz-bass backing, such as the song Doowutchyalike. But some songs just felt completely unnecessary and focused solely on the shock value such as Gut Fest, and Freaks of the Industry. In so far as Rap an albums, there was a lot to like about this album. And so far as general listening, not exactly dinner with the family music.

Random thoughts: * This was a wild listen. I've been trying to go back and listen again because I'm not sure how I feel about this one. * Totally wild to have a concept album about a fictional product called "Sex Packets". Or at least half the album. * Humpty Dance is still a banger. * The overall flow is great. * I know 2Pac is on here but I didn't really recognize him. Not sure if he is featured much. * I gotta listen to this one again.

fun but not really my style

Boring old school hip hop that hasn't aged well, couple of decent singles here but too much filler. 2 stars

Most enjoyable albums from the hip-hop albums I've listened so far. Far less profanity, more groovy than TPAB or Cuban Linx.

Metalhead here - the people that usually don't endure rap and hip hop. I found this album great. The idea of a drug that gives one a sex experience is nice, but... The lyrics are many times vulgar in a degrading level. If this record had more old school theme, it would be one of the best albums of all time, as the instrumental is really nice.

das erste mal gehört ist okay aber ist nicht das ware hip hop für mich

Weird stuff. Kinda fun. Love P Funk, so the samples do a lot of the heavy lifting.

A little goofy for my tastes. It was fun, but I wouldn't return.

Yet another variation on rhythmically spoken lyrics—something new to me, but something that doesn't interest me. Furthermore, hip-hop, in whatever form, is not music. 1/5

The most brilliant stupid record ever made. Go see a foot doctor!

It has its moments and I appreciate its lighthearted party-down ethos, but it felt repetitive and one-dimensional, and it didn’t sustain my interest. Ideally I'd re-listen to this when I'm not distracted by having to work, but I don't really want to.

Did a sci fi hiphop concept album 2 decades before Janelle Monae, so deserves some props for that. Its a little too long, but I still adore it.

Second dud in two days and way too long. Really dated music production and juvenile lyrics. 1/5

Sound like Fresh Prince but the attitude is somewhere between Public Enemy and Prince. Extra star for the novelty song though, it is nostalgic and fun.

3.5 stars out of 5 for Digital Underground. I love this album which heavily incorporates Parliament/Funkadelic samples and rhythm and beats, and there's nothing wrong with that. Just know they were doing it before Dr. Dre. Besides the mega hit, The Humpty Dance, there are some gems on this album. Gutfest '89, Freaks of the Industry, Doowutchyalike, and even the title track is a slow jam of layers of lust and smoothness. RIP Shock-G/Humpty Hump, a true pioneer.

this was so silly but fun. bit weird. but kinda fun

Not a huge rap fan and the lyrics are sexist but it's still fun

Hated this. Went on for an eternity. My name is Humpty and it’s spelt with an Umpty is up there with the worst lyrics I’ve ever heard and I listen to Power Metal so am so stranger to ridiculous lyrics

I skipped this album when it first came out but now am surprised how good this entire album is. It hit me as being one regular album and a second more thematic album attached to the end.

There is a clear disconnect between the music on this album and the image they try to portray. The cover album, and many songs are about them being cool, savvy etc. But it isn't convincing, it just gives me "How do you do, fellow kids" vibes. The beats aren't particularly heavy, and the rap ain't heavy either. Trying to get cred by starting your album with "Do the humpty hump" choir is just ridiculous. 'Sex Packets' was probably the only song that felt genuine and a bit tasteful. They get some points for being playful, with songs like 'Underwater Rimes', though it wasn't a particularly good song unfortunately. It recovered itself a bit in the end with 'Packet Man' which had a cool guitar riff. Gut said this deserves a 2, but after skimming through again it feels too harsh. It wasn't THAT bad. Weak 3 it is.

A big ole meh from me. Nothing really made it unique. Actually, with a name like “Sex Packets” I thought it was going to be way worse. Still it felt pretty bland, and long. Weak 3 stars.

They really leaned into the album title!

man, i don't know. "Doowutchyalike" is sorta funny, but even then... It's funky rap.

Funny

для любителей репа. как-то слишком однообразно((

I really like the creative concept of this album about a magic pill that simulates sex and the underlying funk vibes. However, I thought many tracks were too long and lost my focus in the repetitiveness of them.

The sex packet thing at the end kind of loses me, but until then, this is great.

Liked the first song, but samey after that

If I wanted to listen to bad sex obsessed hip hop from the early 90s, I'd listen to Prince

I DNF's S&M (Metallica) last week so I felt obliged to finish this. I think in hindsight I wish I had have listened to all of S&M instead. Each song was twice as long as it needed to be. It is dated, but as a young teen when this was released, if I had have heard it then I would have still thought it dated. I don't get it. I don't get why it is acclaimed, I don't get why it's on the list, I don't get why anyone would choose to listen to this in 2026. If the songs were half as long - as they should have been - I could have given a generous 2 stars. But when I find the songs bad AND they all go for 6 minutes...

I generally like early hip hop - but this was a little basic and school yard and pretty piss poor compared to Public Enemy etc

'The Humpty Dance' is the best-known track here and probably the worst advert for the album. A novelty party song with goofball delivery, it's terribly dated. The other single 'Doowutchyalike' also has plenty of 1980s hip hop hangover, with scratching and comic rapping (although the piano interlude is excellent). After that there's a lot to enjoy, and a bit of it with stylistic crossover to Native Tongues even if the lyrics are pretty-one dimensional. There's a massive reliance on Parliament samples - so the bass groove leads everything and the raps are generally laid back. But there are layers to it - the Hendrix sample on 'The Way We Swing' is excellent and 'The Danger Zone' sounds like the sampling of a thousand late 90s hip hop tracks - it has that big synth string sound used as a vaguely Eastern melody. It's not the most innovative album; but dated singles aside this was a real grower, floating near the Native Tongues in style, and some interesting sampling touches amongst the heavy reliance on p-funk.

Way too long and not very interesting.

ohh that was hard listen to. The worst kind of early rap

But naff

There are some good funky beats to this, but don't think it works well and does feel quite dated.

Based on the first 30 seconds of the album I thought I'd really enjoy this album. That did not last.

4.5/10 - Gets old really fast. All the “we are so different” rap seems to fall flat. Beats were fine but it went no where for a really long time. Wouldn’t ever pick it up again.

This feels entirely like a novelty album. The songs stay past their welcome and the album didn't need to be this long. 3/10

Kind of felt repetitive after a while. Also, their antique flow made them seem wholesome, but they weren’t in the end. Not sure I needed the track with the moaning over and over. My favorite was the band of gypsies sample.

Listened

Fun album. I knew Humpty Dance and Doowutchalike but didn't know the rest. Lyrics are kind of scandalous, but I guess that's to be expected given the album name (and that's the main reason I won't score it higher, I just don't think I'll return to it often). The rap style reminds me of De La Soul and I especially liked the tracks that were a dialog (e.g. Packet Man). I'm impressed that it includes a lot of jazzy/bluesy sounds (piano, etc).

The final act of this album loses me a bit, but this is largely quite good. Little known fact: I am required by law to sing along with the Humpty Dance.

Definitely seems a bit unfair these guys got relegated to one hit wonders best known for a joke song when this album is pretty solid for the year it came out. Yeah, some of the rhymes aren't all that deft but the samples and beats are fun - you can see how they're ahead of the curve in some ways, and totally of the time in others. Compared to say, MC Hammer, this absolutely holds up. Compared to Tribe or EPMD, maybe less so.

Solid hip hop album featuring some certified bangers. Now do I think this album should be on a list like this, not really, but there’s so much crap albums from the rock genre that this being on here is fine in comparison.

I normally like early 90s hip hop. I tried with this one, I really did. But dang, these guys are dirty

I went to a cheese museum in Amsterdam that was less cheesy than this album.

Drippier and funkier and sludgier than I expected. These are all good things. There's even some EPMD style flow which is a very good thing. The horniess is a bit over the top

“Sex Packets” in title certainly made me curious to learn what was going on in this album. The style, content, and sound is classic 1990’s. The beats felt familiar and I liked all of the elements of funk woven through the tracks. I certainly knew “The Humpty Dance” as a big radio hit when I was in high school. Hearing it in the context of the larger album changed my understanding of it. I did not know that Humpty Hump was a character beyond that one song. And that creating this character was part of a larger imaginary story of pills you take to have the experience of sex without actually having sex. It’s an interesting reminder of how prevalent HIV and AIDS was at the time. While I don’t think I would listen to this record again, I appreciated the experience. The tracks kind of blended together for me and I didn’t connect with the lyrics personally, but I appreciated the humor and imagination and creativity of the storytelling.

6.1/10. A more groovy, jazz and R&B inspired rap album, it definitely went against traditional anger that often arose, trading it for a more mellow sound that just produced a softer feel. It wasn't bad in any regard, but the topics combined with the length made it a bit of a difficcult listen. I don't know that I would put any of the songs on again.

The Humpty Dance is one of the greatest songs ever written, but I thought it was a one hit wonder. Turns out the whole album rules.

That was painfully long wow.

Sex Packets was released in 1990 and is classified as alternative hip-hop funk with other influences. I'm not a big fan of hip-hop but I really like this album. Shock G and his alter ego, Humpty Hump, are great. It's fun, not gangster with very clever lyrics that can be explicit without cursing. The songs are also more musical than typical hip-hop with a big funk influence. Top songs for me are: The Humpty Dance The Way We Swing w (Jimi sample) Rhymin' on the funk (P-Funk) Underwater Rimes clever Freaks of the Industry Doowutchyalike Sex Packets (R&B) Packet prelude (Jazz)

This is a weird one. No other hip-hop album sounded like this in 1990. There were absolutely better lyrics in 1990, and maybe better beats. However, this combination of beats, samples, jokey and mostly lighthearted lyrics was an island at the time. Pretty much everything else at the time was angry, serious, graphic, and violent (with a couple exceptions from Tribe and Eric B/Rakim), so this was kind of a different animal. It's sort of a logical leap in the genre, but also a few steps in an unexpected direction. Sort of like prog-hop? There are some good flows on Packet Man, with rhyme arrangements that didn't become popular or common until a lot later. Certainly had to be influential for those who came later. For that reason, I can see its placement on a list of essentials, and I'm just as surprised to be writing this as you are to be reading it ⭐⭐⭐.49

I don’t even know what to say. Wanted to call the lyrics cheesy but they can get down right horrible at times on this album. And don’t get me started on the production especially in the last half of the album, quite honestly some of the most ear grating noises I’ve ever heard.

More Humpty Dance, less of everything else. Its the a pretty stock example of early 90's/late 80's rap. This reminds me of one of those projects you throw yourself into when you're young, thinking its your best work, but then you look back 20 odd years and realize, how fucking dumb this was. I get it, a product of its time and all that, but man, there were so many better rap albums coming out this time, its hard to believe this one deserved an entry. Also were sex packets just esctasy? Weird material for an album.

Oooffff not good! Humpty Dance is a bop but the rest of the album is pretty forgettable. Until you get to the end of the album that explains what Sex Packets are and it turns out they’re some sci fi bullshit pill that roofies you and makes you cum your pants. And this explanation is not played for laughs or anything. Just… yeah you pay $40 for a packet that advertises having sex with an underage Chinese girl, black out and cum your pants. Not very good!

This was a playful detour in I think hip hop, can’t say it delighted me though.

I feel that this "concept album" did a terrible job of communicating to you what the concept was supposed to be about. Like there was one song about it late in the album, but that was after like almost everything. Overall pretty weird, there were a couple songs that were threes but it was ultimately just bad as an album.

It's kind of goofy, which I don't really mind... but the lyrics and general content are just really bad, and it sounds so dated. Outside of some funky flourishes, the beats and rhymes are incredibly basic, and the talking sections and skits aren't funny. There is absolutely no need for it to be this long.

The description for Sex Packets calls it a concept album, but it’s only the last couple of songs on the album that even mention the things. So I guess I learned something new today. Thank you 1001 albums generator. I learned that only a few songs on an album need to be part of the concept to be classified as a concept album. As for the album itself?? Sure, I enjoy it a lot actually. Personally, I’m more of a hardcore gangster rap guy myself, but to have a band like this instead lean in on the comedy aspect and not take itself seriously in the slightest is actually kind of charming. I love bands like this as well. And to base it off of Electronica/Funk bands like Parliament, a band I previously gave a 5 star rating to, is also just as charming. Let’s talk about some negatives real quick. Sure, this album is hella dated. I might have even guessed this was from the 80’s it’s so dated. It’s also over an hour long, after opening with the best song in the album, “The Humpty Dance”. So the album goes slightly downhill from the banger opener, and in my opinion it should have the length cut by at least 30 minutes to maybe even around 45, and it would make it tighter, better, and more memorable. As it stands right now, I’m only going to remember that first song, and then the songs at the end of the album that the concept is based on. But the guys can sing, and it is catchy. So all that being said, I don’t mind the length all that much, because this is very easy to listen to as a whole, even if it’s not all that memorable or groundbreaking, even for the time. Having something that anyone can listen to though with the opening song is pretty cool though. Even my Mom has heard of “The Humpty Dance” and thinks it’s hilarious. Now on to the topic of Sex Packets as a product. Yeesh. I mean, it’s funny. I’ll give it that, but you couldn’t exactly make the same joke today without someone trying to cancel you. I thought the skit of the guy trying to upsell them was genuinely funny, and that’s probably the main thing I’m going to take away from and remember on this album. As a whole, yeah, I might even return to it. It doesn’t do anything spectacular, but it’s pretty funny and interesting for what it is, so I’m going to give Sex Packets by Digital Underground a mid to high 3 out of 5 star rating. That seems like a very fair rating for this album.

Kind of like a pervy De La Soul. I like the song with the Jimi Hendrix sample.

Confusing but did not dislike.

Boring

First of all, crazy album name and cover to see at 8 am as someone who has never heard of this before. I liked the solo bit on The Way We Swing. Every song on this thing is like a minute and a half to three minutes longer than it needs to be

Quality golden age hip hop, some cool parliament samples and quite layered beats.

girls and guys dancing

The cheesiest of rap