OAKLAND , CA, UNITED STATES, September 15, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — A Like Father Like Fun Podcast Episode
Oakland, California, September 14, 2026 — Jimi “ChopMaster J” Dright, co-founder, original drummer, musician and producer of Digital Underground, is speaking publicly in a new episode of the Like Father Like Fun podcast titled “The Looting of a Legacy.” The episode examines the group’s history and what ChopMaster J describes as ongoing efforts by former hired band members and management to exploit or represent a brand they did not create.
Founded by ChopMaster J and the late Gregory “Shock G” Jacobs, Digital Underground emerged from the San Francisco Bay Area to become one of hip-hop’s most distinctive and influential groups.
ChopMaster J says the group’s history has increasingly blurred an important distinction: the difference between those who founded and created Digital Underground and the musicians, performers, employees and representatives who became associated with it later.
“This isn’t about taking anything away from anybody who contributed to Digital Underground. This is about putting history back in the right place. There is a difference between being hired to perform in a band and being one of the people who founded and created that band.” — Jimi “ChopMaster J” Dright
WHO BUILT DIGITAL UNDERGROUND?
“The Looting of a Legacy” takes listeners back to the beginning, before the hit records, the international tours, “The Humpty Dance” and the emergence of 2Pac (Tupac Shakur), who got his start as a Digital Underground dancer and roadie before launching his own solo career, plus the rotating cast of musicians and performers later associated with the group.
ChopMaster J says those origins are essential to understanding who created the organization and who later participated in it. The episode addresses his concerns about former hired members and management presenting themselves in ways that, in his view, may create the impression that they represent Digital Underground itself rather than their specific roles within its history.
“Being part of the history does not automatically make someone the owner of the history.” — ChopMaster J
HONORING SHOCK G
Central to the episode is ChopMaster J’s relationship with his late creative partner and co-founder, Shock G. Together, they established the musical and conceptual foundation that became Digital Underground. For ChopMaster J, protecting that history is also about protecting Shock G’s legacy for future generations.
“You can honor everybody who contributed without rewriting who founded it. You can acknowledge the musicians, performers, managers and everybody who came through the Underground. But you cannot erase the people who built the Underground in the first place.”
WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO REPRESENT THE LEGACY?
The episode raises a larger question facing many historic music groups: what happens to a band’s identity when founders die, retire or stop performing while other participants continue using the name? ChopMaster J says contribution deserves recognition, and participation deserves recognition, but neither should become a claim of creation or authority that never existed. The episode asks listeners to separate participation from creation and preserve an accurate record for future generations.
THE LEGACY IS NOT FOR SALE
“The Looting of a Legacy” is intended to start a broader conversation about ownership, authorship, identity and preservation within hip-hop. ChopMaster J says he is not attempting to erase anyone from Digital Underground’s history. He is fighting against what he believes is the erasure of those who created it.
“I’m not asking anybody to erase their contribution. I’m asking them not to erase mine.”
When history is rewritten for commercial benefit, ChopMaster J calls it exactly what the episode title says: the looting of a legacy.
ABOUT CHOPMASTER J
Jimi “ChopMaster J” Dright is a musician, drummer, producer and co-founder of Digital Underground. Alongside Shock G, he helped develop the creative foundation that established Digital Underground as one of hip-hop’s most important and enduring names.
PODCAST INFORMATION
Podcast: Like Father Like Fun
Episode: “The Looting of a Legacy”
Featuring: Digital Underground Co-Founder ChopMaster J & son SOTU (Son Of The Underground)
“Know who built it. Know who was hired. Know the difference.”
Bob Hope
Digital Underground LLC.
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Like Father Like Fun – Episode 008 – Looting Of A Legacy
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