Digital Underground’s Shock G died from drug and alcohol overdose, medical examiner says

TAMPA, Fla. - Digital Underground’s Shock G died from an accidental drug and alcohol overdose, the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner said Thursday.

The 57-year-old rapper, songwriter, and producer – whose real name was Gregory Jacobs – was found dead in a Tampa hotel room back on April 22 after failing to check out on time.

Jacobs was born in New York but grew up in Tampa. He attended Greco Junior High School and Chamberlain High School – where he dropped out – and resumed his education at Hillsborough Community College.

Along with Ronald ‘Money B’ Brooks, he became half of the alternative hip-hop group that shot to fame in the 1990s with hits like ‘The Humpty Dance’ and ‘Doowutchyalike.’

In addition to being the lead singer for Digital Underground, he was a successful music producer who spawned the career of Tupac, and worked alongside Bobby Brown and Prince.

Shock G and Money B in better days. (Photo courtesy Money B.)

Jacobs had been in the Los Angeles area for several years to get sober in the early 2000s, but had relapsed and was recently living with family in Florida. Police records show he had two drug-related encounters with law enforcement earlier this year.

The final autopsy report is not completed yet. But the Hillsborough County medical examiner’s initial case summary report, released Thursday, lists his cause of death as accidental, the result of "combined toxic effects of fentanyl, ethanol, and methamphetamine."