<p>LOS ANGELES — Shock G, who blended whimsical wordplay with reverence for ’70s funk as leader of the off-kilter hip-hop group Digital Underground, has died. He was 57. </p>
<p>Nzazi Malonga, a longtime friend who served as head of security and helped manage the group, said the rapper-producer was found unresponsive Thursday in a hotel room in Tampa, Florida. Malonga said the performer, born Greg Jacobs, had struggled with drug addiction for years. </p>
<p>The group found fame with the Billboard Top 10 hit “Humpty Dance” in 1990, as Shock G donned a Groucho Marx-style fake nose and glasses to become one of his many alter egos, Humpty Hump. He initially maintained the flamboyant Humpty was a separate person and even did in-character interviews. </p>
<p>Digital Underground’s “Same Song" a year later served as 2Pac’s introduction to music fans, with Shock G handing the baton to the future megastar, who had been working as a roadie for Digital Underground: “2Pac, go ‘head and rock this.”</p>
