History
Digable Planets' fusion of jazz and hip hop received excellent reviews and solid sales with the release of their debut album, Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space), in 1993, which was certified gold by the RIAA. The album's lead single, "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)," in 1993 became a crossover hit, peaking at #15 on Billboard magazine's singles chart, earning gold certification by the RIAA, and winning the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. The track peaked at #67 in the UK Singles Chart in February 1995.
The group's second album, Blowout Comb, was released in 1994 (see 1994 in music). This album departed from their debut by including feature appearances from outside artists, such as Jeru the Damaja and Guru of Gang Starr. Also in 1994, the group appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation album, Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool. The album, meant to raise awareness and funds in support of the AIDS epidemic in relation to the African American community, was heralded as "Album of the Year" by Time Magazine.
The trio subsequently broke up due to creative differences. An additional hardship hit group member Ladybug Mecca when she dealt with the deaths of both of her parents.
A retrospective album Beyond the Spectrum: the Creamy Spy Chronicles was released in 2005, mixing previously released material with remixes and b-sides.
From 2009 to 2011, Digable Planets' Doodlebug and Butterfly toured across the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Backed by a live band, Doodlebug's Cosmic Funk Orchestra, and often with Butterfly's Shabazz Palaces or hip hop duo Camp Lo as the supporting act, they continue to pack live concert venues around the globe with nostalgic oldschool hiphop lovers and a new generation of fans.
Digable Planets performed at Numbers, in Houston, Texas, on May 15, 2010, alongside the hip hop duo Camp Lo. During an interview with the Houston Chronicle near the time of this show, Doodlebug stated that a new single would be released, called "Fresh Out," and that a new album was planned for digital release in summer of 2010.
Digable Planets are currently touring and working on new music. Although original member Ladybug is no longer with the group, they tour with other female MCs to represent the female energy that has always been a core element of the group.
Digable Planets performed alongside hip-hop group The Pharcyde at the North by Northeast music festival in Toronto, Ontario on June 19, 2011.
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Famous quotes containing the word history:
“There is a history in all men’s lives,
Figuring the natures of the times deceased,
The which observed, a man may prophesy,
With a near aim, of the main chance of things
As yet not come to life.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Hence poetry is something more philosophic and of graver import than history, since its statements are rather of the nature of universals, whereas those of history are singulars.”
—Aristotle (384–322 B.C.)
“Every generation rewrites the past. In easy times history is more or less of an ornamental art, but in times of danger we are driven to the written record by a pressing need to find answers to the riddles of today.... In times of change and danger when there is a quicksand of fear under men’s reasoning, a sense of continuity with generations gone before can stretch like a lifeline across the scary present and get us past that idiot delusion of the exceptional Now that blocks good thinking.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)