For many listeners, Bay Area rap from the late ’80s and early ’90s calls to mind the dark synths and trunk-blapping bass of mobb music. The popular Northern California subgenre was born out of poverty-induced turf conflicts and dreams of riches, producing timeless classics like Too Short’s Born to Mack and E-40’s Federal. Though nuanced and laced with hood wisdom, much of hip-hop from that period focused on pimping, hustling and territorial claims.

It’s groundbreaking, then, that during the same time, an aberrant, free-spirited rapper from the East Coast would arrive on the Oakland scene and forever change it with boundless expressions of joy.

This Afrosurrealist galaxy traveler with a microphone and a Sharpie was Gregory Jacobs — better known as Digital Underground frontman Shock G, or his alter ego, Humpty Hump. His platinum-selling rap collective gave Tupac Shakur his start and made classic hits like “The Humpty Dance,” “Kiss You Back” and “Freaks of the Industry.” His place in Bay Area rap’s Hall of Game is unquestionable.

READ ON AT KQED