Digable Planets
Hip-Hop/Rap
The next Digable Planets concert is scheduled for Thursday, July 10, 2025 at Revel in Albuquerque, NM, United States. See all 8 upcoming concerts
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About Digable Planets
Hometown
Brooklyn, NY, United States
Formed
1992
Genre
Hip-Hop/Rap
In hindsight, Digable Planets—a crew comprising Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler, Craig "Doodlebug" Irving, and Mary Ann "Ladybug Mecca" Vieira—was as much an artistic philosophy as a name. Known for their sampling exploits, the Brooklyn trio understood that classical jazz records were worlds of their own. By digging into the crates and repurposing the sounds, they conjured engrossing jazz-rap atmospheres that evoked both their neighborhood and the Black musical tradition. Reachin' (A New Refutation Of Time And Space), their 1993 debut, established Digable Planets as a force of alternative hip-hop. Featuring tracks like the Honey Drippers–sampling "Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)," the project extracted all the most stylish elements of Black yesteryear while creating something altogether new. They expanded and refined the formula with Blowout Comb, a 1994 album that marked their last. Layered with misty soul, ambient basslines, and bubbling themes of political consciousness ("Black Ego"), the LP rendered disparate textures into something inimitable and cool, leaving listeners with no choice but to dig it.
Members of Digable Planets include, or have included, Ladybug Mecca, Doodlebug, and Butterfly.
Musical InfluencesDigable Planets's musical influences include Gang Starr, James Brown, Roy Ayers and more.
Influenced by Digable PlanetsDigable Planets has influenced the music of Awon, STATIK KXNG, Jill Scott and more.
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