Welcome to the Funkiverse!

SHOCK G BOOK INSIDER : KEEP IT BEAUTIFUL

Pages from Emerald City Hip Hop

Hi fam!

Welcome to the Keep It Beautiful insider.

I like to think of this as “backstage” for the book. I’ll tell stories about the making of the book, include audio versions of Shock telling his own stories, and show never-published images. Its an insider look at everything that went into the book.

I met Shock G backstage at the Catwalk Club in Seattle around 2001. Digital Underground was headlining that night and I was there to photograph some of the other groups performing. He created such a fun, welcoming environment backstage - filled with stories and art and we’ve stayed friends ever since. After years of friendship and mentorship, I wanted this book to have the same feel as being backstage.

In 2011, Shock asked me to come down to LA for a month to help him create this book. He wanted a visual scrapbook of all of his art. When he asked me - all I could think is that he has to tell his stories as well. It didn’t take a month, it took years and years, but I did fly down with a recorder in hand that August 2011 and we began the work of creating this book:

KEEP IT BEAUTIFUL; Inside the Funkiverse of Shock G and Digital Underground by Gregory E. Jacobs and Alexis Wolfe Mbassa.