Ryan Pearson April 22, 2021Updated: April 22, 2021, 11:33 pm
Rapper Shock G of Digital Underground performs at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis in July 1990. Photo: Raymond Boyd, Getty Images
Shock G, who blended whimsical wordplay with reverence for ’70s funk as leader of the Bay Area hip-hop group Digital Underground, has died. He was 57.
Nzazi Malonga, a longtime friend who served as head of security and helped manage the group, said the rapper-producer was found unresponsive Thursday, April 22, in a hotel room in Tampa, Fla. Malonga said the performer, born Greg Jacobs, had struggled with drug addiction for years.
Shock G of Digital Underground performs at the 2010 BET Hip Hop Awards at the Atlanta Civic Center. Photo: Taylor Hill, TNS