Track Listing

1. Humpty Dance
2. Way We Swing
3. Rhymin' on the Funk
4. New Jazz [One]
5. Underwater Rimes [Remix]
6. Gutfest '89 [Edit]
7. Danger Zone
8. Freaks of the Industry
9. Doowutchyalike
10. Packet Prelude
11. Sex Packets
12. Street Scene
13. Packet Man
14. Packet Reprise

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9185 in Music
• Released on: 1990-03-26
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Amazon.com
This huge, cartoonish Californian crew, helmed by concept-man Shock-G, seized on the ultra-bassy funk woob-woob of Parliament-Funkadelic as the platform for its ensemble tomfoolery. At its best, it's inspired, daffy give-and-take that you can shake your rump to, especially on the hits "Doowutchalike" and "The Humpty Dance" and the ridiculous aquatic hip-hop fantasia "Underwater Rimes." At times, though, an uncomfortable current of leering misogyny surfaces. The disc ends with a suite of tracks about an imaginary safe-sex drug, the "sex packets" of the title. The concept gets stretched pretty thin, but "Packet Man," a cunning dialogue between Shock G (as a dealer) and his Groucho-nosed alter ego Humpty Hump (as his customer), is outright adorable. --Douglas Wolk

Customer Reviews

A great party album
Sex Packets is a great hip-hop album that still sounds fresh and never fails to sound like a party. Although the grooves are based heavily on Parliament/Funkadelic, the grooves don't overwhelm the album like some of the gangsta rap albums that appeared after this. In addition to the grooves and stellar production, Digital Underground come up with some of the most hysterical lyrics ever in hip-hop, particularly on their most well-known tracks.

This album is best known for the hits "The Humpty Dance" and "Doowutchyalike", two of the best hip-hop party jams ever recorded. The lyrics on these tracks are downright hysterical and the break in the latter track advising DJs to end the song and even providing the fade out is priceless. But while these tracks are excellent, many of the remaining tracks are just as strong. "Underwater Rimes (Remix)", "Rhymin' On The Funk", and "Packet Man" are all great tracks relying on grooves from P-Funk. "Gutfest '89" and "The Way We Swing" are killer jams with the latter sampling Jimi Hendrix's "Who Knows." The more laid-back stoned out funk of "Freaks Of The Industry" and "The Danger Zone" are great tracks. The title track is the only slow track here and it's also very good. This is one of the best hip-hop albums ever recorded. Highly recommended.

Wait for a Reissue
This CD does not contain all of the songs from the original album.

Another reviewer mentioned that the original casette of Sex Packets had three extra songs and a full version of "Gutfest." Well, if you just want "The Humpty Dance" then this CD is fine. But know that if you're getting this current version of Sex Packets, you aren't getting the real thing. Some of the songs missing are fantastic and superior to some of the tracks which do remain on the CD. Also, the missing complete 8 minute version of "Gutfest" explains more about its concept in fuller scope and allows the groove to set in better - it was a funky highlight on the cassette issue, but here it seems irrelevant and awkward.

If I'd realized the CD was missing the original songs and sequencing, I wouldn't have paid for it, I would have just downloaded the tracks. I advise you to do the same, and wait for someone to acquire Tommy Boy=(now defunt)'s original version to reissue as the whole album in its entirety.

That said, "Humpty Dance" is one of the funniest, wittiest songs ever, as well as extremely funky. "Dowutchalike" is equally funky.

The "Sex Packets" theme of the rest of the album is okay, a kind of juvenile attempt at creating a George Clinton-like concept, but overall it's just sort of silly, unexceptional joke and nothing more. And not until the bouncy "Packet Man," built around a Fred Wesley sample, does the concept really do anything musically entertaining, making it all worthwhile.

Several songs are missing from the mix, as I've said. I remember one called "Hip Hop Doll" and my one of personal favorites "Tribute to the Early Days."

As it stands, 4 stars. But the complete version of the original cassette tape, if you ever can find it, is worth 5.

Somthing's Missing Here
I remember first buying the cassette at my local swap-meet back in the day. It was when I was fooled into believing that Shock-G and Humpty were 2 different people. I still have that cassette to this day. I did notice that on that cassette, there was a track that isn't included with this CD. That track was called "Hip Hop Doll". It was also a B-side of Doowutchyalike on the 12" back in the day. Other that this missing classic, it is a good CD to purchase. If it had "Hip Hop Doll" on here, it would be worth 5 stars instead of 4 stars.