While the "Humpty Hump"'s funky breaks and lyrical high jinks were hallmarks of the
Digital Underground sound, the song's success was also a limiting factor for the Bay Area group and
Shock-G, their MC and co-founder. Caught between following it up and moving on, the
Underground never quite recovered. Fear of a Mixed Planet,
Shock-G's 2004 solo debut, finds the MC exploring his mellow, even serious side. But the influence of that loopy,
Parliament-derived psychedelia is still apparent throughout, and the album soon finds a groove between past, present, time, and space. Opener "Keep It Beautiful" laments the bling and bravado of hip-hop in the 21st century over sax and breezy rhythms. "You really want to be like 'Pac?"
Shock asks, acknowledging his intertwined history with Tupac Shakur. "Read, shorty, read." "Cherry Flava'd Email" and "Cinnamon Waves" mesh easygoing flows with lush keys and understated beats (with the latter featuring scratches from
DJ Q-Bert), while "Baby You Okay?" is a disjointed, first-person mood piece about getting high in the wrong place, and the adolescent rumination "Rime in the Mochanut" is full of cleverly-blended lyricisms from
Shock. Meanwhile, mid-album standouts "Gotchoo" and "We're All Killaz" are stripped-down and surprisingly heady examinations of cultural and sexual politics. Mixed Planet isn't all fluttery keyboards and deep emotions. "Holme Down Up" features harder beats and raps from
Yukmouth and Java, while "My Opinion" plays the rather extreme views of
Numskull off
Shock's cooler head. Though they don't agree on banning country music, the Bush administration gets no love from either. Fear of a Mixed Planet's multiple subjects and generally airier sound show how curious
Shock-G has remained since
Digital Underground's hiatus. But he's also maintained his signature sense of humor, as the re-emergence of his
Humpty Hump alter ego on the album's gently psychedelic finale proves. ~ Johnny Loftus