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Digital Underground played a vital role in the rising popularity of Hip Hop. Emerging during a transitional time for the genre, when Old School was ending and Gangsta Rap and Commercial Rap were taking its place, 
Digital Underground found a niche for itself among the hard hitting sounds of NWA and Public Enemy and the catchy, yet very watered down hits from M.C. Hammer. Digital Underground was about having fun and the group brought a funky sound to the mix, creating hit after hit, but being forgotten (some may not even remember the group past its hit Humpty Dance), as Rap historians gloss over the group when discussing Hip Hop's storied history. Raw Uncut attempts to correct the oversight with a docu-musical that tells Hip Hop fans how it really was.
Raw Uncut takes a behind-the-scenes look at the group from 1989 to 2003, showcasing how the band was created with Shock-G, Money-B and DJ Fuze following the path of artists like George Clinton with their funk sound and their first release Underwater Rhimes and Underwater Cartoons, giving them instant popularity in their hometown of Oakland, California and selling 30,000 copies, mostly in that state alone. Digital Underground would achieve international fame with fans equating them with such legendary acts of the time as Public Enemy and EPMD. The song Doowhutchyalike, which would eventually be featured in the Love & Basketball Soundtrack, would bring the band to the forefront of Hip Hop with a new kind of message; a free spirited mantra that seemed to flow through every Digital Underground hit; the biggest one being just around the corner.
The DVD pays special attention to two very important moments in the group's history. First, Shock-G's alter-ego Humpty Hump, the Original Big Nosed Rapper, as he likes to be called, helped officially stamp Digital Underground's name to Hip Hop Supremacy with the hit track that has been sampled to death; The Humpty Dance.
All right!/Stop whatcha doin'/'cause I'm about to ruin/the image and the style that ya used to./I look funny/but yo I'm makin' money see/so yo world I hope you're ready for me./Now gather round/I'm the new fool in town/and my sound's laid down by the Underground.
It was this declaration and the funky dance that would soon follow that took rap to a new level; allowing people to, like the rap group itself, not take themselves too seriously and just have a good time. Humpty Hump cemented the group's place in Hip Hop lure, but one man would keep them there forever.
Second, Digital Underground was where Tupac Shakur first made a name for himself. Starting out as a backup dancer for the group; a tough street kid who would go to jail and get caught up in rivalries that led to his death (at 18, he even proclaimed that if he sold a million records and died by the age of 25 he'd live a full life), Tupac even did the Humpty Dance on stage. However, his lyrical ability would allow the cream to rise to the top and rather than lose him, the group showed their belief in the young man, featuring him in their next hit, Same Song, which was featured in Dan Aykroyd's film Nothing But Trouble. Money-B and Shock-G would be featured with Tupac in his first single hit I Get Around and Digital Underground would produce tracks for him right until Tupac left for Death Row Records.
Raw Uncut is strongest when it shows concert footage of Digital Underground paying homage to Tupac at each concert right until present day, remembering his legacy and the man he was; not the man he came to be. Concert footage of the group performing hits with stage props; foregoing over-the-top pyrotechnics for simplistic fun, are interwoven in the docu-musical and present the viewer with a keen look at the mindset of the group. The DVD also shows some backstage antics of the band, including some moments when a younger Tupac got wild with a Super Soaker; a special moment Tupac fans would be thankful for.
However, after Tupac's story, the DVD seems to rush past its fourth, fifth and sixth CD releases, quickly discussing other artists who came on board with Digital Underground, hoping to be the next Tupac like Raw Fusion, Gold Money, Clev MC, Element and many more. Digital Underground also became involved in the porn industry and there are moments of very scantily dressed women and nudity that will keep casual viewers intrigued, but it is where the DVD loses focus. The lack of any real specials; such as videos like The Humpty Dance, do fans a disservice and ends up upsetting the viewer who will remember what he/she didn't get from the DVD more than what he did get; a real glimpse at Digital Underground and what they meant to the Hip Hop genre.
Unfortunately, this DVD left me wanting more -the first half is great; the second left me feeling empty. I would recommend people giving it a look for a more in-depth look at the group's beginnings, but I believe many people would be upset with their purchase when the title rushes the end and loses its focus.
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