Shock G from the Hip-Hop group, Digital Underground created his alter ego character named Humpty Hump in 1990 looking back on it was Humpty Hump, the character and dance poking fun at Hip-Hop at that time when you had hard gangster rap? The character of Humpty Hump had some disabled characteristics. In Alex S. Porco 2014 essay, Throw Yo’ Voice Out: Disability as a Desirable Practice in Hip-Hop Vocal Performance that was published in Disability Studies Quarterly brought the issue as viewing Humpty Hump as a disabled character and if you listen to how Shock G describe him and the dance you hear the disability characteristics as follows:

First I limp to the side like my leg was broken
Shakin’ and twitchin’ kinda like I was smokin’
Crazy, whack, funky
People say, “You look like M.C. Hammer on crack, Humpty”
That’s all right ’cause my body’s in motion
It’s supposed to look like a fit or a convulsion
Anyone can play this game
This is my dance, y’all, Humpty Hump’s my name
No two people will do it the same
You got it down when you appear to be in pain
Humpin’, funkin’, jumpin’
Jig around, shakin’ ya rump
And when a doo-doo chump punk points a finger like a stump
Tell him step off, I’m doin’ the Hump

Shock G and the whole Digital Underground did deal with disability in making the 1990 album, Sex Package as Naru Kwina and I found out when we were creating a film on blind Joe Capers of Oakland who had one of the first all accessible home recording studio named, J Jam Studio in the Oakland hills. During the interview Shock G told us that the recording of the song, Underground Water Rhythm that happened in J Jam Studio and how he was surprise how this blind man, Joe Capers knew every inch of his studio and his professional ears and knowledge in music engineering .Did Blind Joe helped influence Shock G’s Hampty Hump if not where and what influence Shock G to create Hampty Hump that had strong disability characteristics that identifies him?

It’s interesting that Digital Underground came out of the Bay Area in 1990 where disability activism was strong in the late 1970’s and 1980’s decades before the album Sex Package came out and the Bay Area would become home of two Hip-Hop movements with a disability influence in two different ways, one, the Hyphy movement in the 1990’s and Krip-Hop Nation in mid 2000’s.

To be continued..