Shock G's criminal history: Digital Underground rapper was arrested for drug possession but got bail for $100
Shock G, known for his work with Tupac Shakur and the hit song 'The Humpty Dance' by Digital Underground, died on Thursday, April 22. According to his father, Edward Racker, the rap legend was found dead in a hotel room in Tampa, Florida.
The cause of death is unknown, but there were no injuries, according to sources. Shock's father said the authorities will perform an autopsy. Billboard had earlier reported that Gregory "Shock G" Jacobs, a member of the Digital Underground, was arrested in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, on June 13, 2017, on suspicion of drug paraphernalia possession. Here's what's to know about the rapper's legal woes.
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Drug paraphernalia discovered
Shock G was taken to Barron County Jail on June 13 and was detained for a little more than two hours before paying $100 cash bail, said Barron County Jail Captain Tim Evenson, according to local station WEAU, as reported by Billboard. Jacobs, then 53, lived in San Francisco at the time, but he was in Wisconsin on tour with Naughty by Nature after performing at the nearby Aquafest festival on June 10.
Three days later, an officer pulled over a car around 2 am because the license plate belonged to an unlicensed driver, according to WEAU. Shock G was behind the wheel and the owner of the vehicle was the lone passenger. Captain Tracy Hom said that drug paraphernalia was discovered by police inside the car, but did not specify what was discovered. He added that they did not know why Shock G was in the area more than two days after the show.
Job made him 'miserable' and a 'drug addict'
In July 2005, Shock G cited depression among other things, that had led him to quit the music industry altogether. In a Couch Sessions report, he was quoted as saying: "Every man has the right to the pursuit of happiness and should first try a job that he might gain happiness & fulfillment from. This doesn't make me happy anymore; it makes me miserable and a drug addict."
In his retirement letter, the rapper said, of his reasons to quit music: "It drives me to do drugs, cause I HATE BEING IN THE STUDIO. To much pressure & expectation for me to make/save/spark someone else's career or project." He added that he wished to pursue writing and acting in the future, which he eventually did. He made a cameo appearance in the 1991's sitcom 'Drexell's Class', then in 'Nothing but Trouble' as Shock G and Humpty Hump. He also appeared in several music documentaries and starred in Tupac Shakur's biopic 'All Eyez on Me'.