The Digable Planets are the group we need today. We need the vibe, the lyrics, and the consciousness. Yes when DP’s hit the scene in 1992 they helped stem the tide, if only for a while, of the onslaught of the emergence of gangsta rap. They brought another dimension to the game. With their jazz based production, laid back delivery and hip vocab, the Digable Planets created a new lane for themselves. A lane that was similar to A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul, but one that was still all their own. With “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like That),” the DP’s burst onto the scene and shook the world of rap with a phrase that actually shook a few hard core heads – “We Be to Rap What Key be to Lock.” Yes they were hittin hard without violent imagery, profanity or misogyny. They were so in the pocket with the jazz horns, the boom bat beats and ingenious bars, that you had to truly wonder if this was a dawn of new age. A theme of our recent Artists of the Week from the Pharcyde to Earthgang now to Digable Planets, is that they bring something new to the game, and they uplift the game with originality infused with the beats we love and the bars we crave. The DP’s first album – “Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space)” was a major hit and their second “Blowout Comb” did not disappoint artistically, but didn’t sell as well. Nevertheless, the DP’s were that group that you wanted a little more from over the years, but you cannot deny that what they did give us, is classic ish that hits today (i.e., The Fugees). Check out my Top 5 from the Digable Planets:
1. “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like That)” : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM4kqL13jGM
2. “Nickel Bags”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpWVn7T6qGg
3. “Where I’m From”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl-pjb7y3y0
4. “9th Wonder (Blackitloism)”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyeI43BeR54
5. “It’s Good to be Here”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZX5gN1yevM (They had me at the Klingon reference!)
#Classic Hip Hop
#Digablelplanets
#WeBetoRapWhatKeybeToLock
