''This Is an EP Release'' is the first
extended play
An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
by American hip hop group
Digital Underground. It was released on January 15, 1991 through TNT Recordings and
Tommy Boy Records. Production was handled by Digital Underground themselves. The EP peaked at number 29 on the
''Billboard'' 200 and number 7 on the
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...
in the United States. It was certified gold on March 18, 1991 by the
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
for selling 500,000 units.
Its single "
Same Song" made it to number 61 on the
Radio Songs and number 15 on the
Dance Club Songs charts in the United States. Both "Same Song" and "Tie the Knot" off of the EP were included in the soundtrack to 1991
comedy horror film ''
Valkenvania''. The album marks the expansion of the group with the debuts of
2Pac and Big Money Odis.
A music video for "Same Song" uses new footage from cast members from the film ''Nothing but Trouble'', as well as clips from the film.
Dan Aykroyd appears portraying a Scottish bagpipe artist, as well as a Los Angeles gang member, 2Pac portrayed an African king, while
Dr. Dre and
Eazy-E
Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. Eazy-E is often re ...
make
cameo appearance
A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...
s. "Tie the Knot" contained jazz-influenced piano tracks and a comedic interpretation of "
Bridal Chorus".
Track listing
;Sample credits
*Track 1 contains a sample taken from "Theme to the Black Hole" by
Parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
.
*Track 2 is based on copyrighted adaptation of ''
Lohengrin''s "the Wedding March".
*Track 5 contains samples from the song "Foreplay" by
Fred Wesley and
The Horny Horns.
;Notes
*Shock G appears as his alter ego Humpty Hump on all songs, except track 3, on which he appears as MC Blowfish.
Personnel
*Gregory "
Shock G" Jacobs — vocals,
organ solo &
synthesizer
A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
(track 1), acoustic piano & drum programming
(track 2), sample arrangements
(tracks: 1, 3), producer
*Jimi "
Chopmater J" Dright — vocals
(track: 2),
(tracks:1-4), producer
*Ronald "
Money-B" Brooks — vocals
(tracks: 1–3, 6), producer
*Tupac "
2Pac" Shakur — vocals
(tracks: 1, 3)
*Earl "Schmoovy-Schmoov" Cook — vocals
(tracks: 1, 4)
*Kent Racker — vocals
(track 2)
*"Bigg Money Odis" Brackens III — vocals
(track 4)
*David "
DJ Fuze" Elliot —
turntables
A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration Waveform, waveforms are recorded as correspond ...
(tracks: 4, 6), producer
*Christopher John "
CJ" Mackintosh — re-mixing
(track 5)
*Atron Gregory — executive producer
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1991 debut EPs
Tommy Boy Records EPs
T.N.T. Recording albums
Digital Underground albums
Tupac Shakur