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Digable Planets

DuranDuran

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When hip-hop trio Digable Planets emerged in the early ‘90s, their memorable moniker raised eyebrows. What, exactly, did it mean? The name sprang, they explained, from the notion that “every individual is a planet.” But the unique worlds that their tracks mapped out were not insular ones; as their Grammy-winning hit “Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" would prove, the Planets were primed to connect with audiences weary of the aggressive posturing of gangsta rap. Filled with literate lyrics, honey-smooth flow, and inventive arrangements, their albums Reachin' (A New Refutation Of Time And Space) (1993) and Blowout Comb (1994) redefined hip-hop, and set standards for the generation of soul poets and innovative producers that followed, as the new anthology Beyond The Spectrum: The Creamy Spy Chronicles effortlessly reiterates.

The group first took shape in the early ‘90s, in New York City. Former Seattle resident Butterfly (a k a Ishmael Butler) hooked up with Philadelphia native Doodlebug (Craig Irving), who was a member of New York collective Dread Poets Society, and Ladybug (Mary Ann Vieira), a Maryland denizen of Brazilian descent. Like the name chosen for their band, the new handles each member adopted also reflected a universal consciousness.

“Insects stick together and work for mutually beneficial causes,” Ladybug observed in Essence. Doodlebug added, “Humans are supposed to be the most intelligent beings on the planet, and yet we can’t seem to come together in a peaceful manner.”

On their 1993 debut, Reachin' (A New Refutation Of Time And Space), the threesome showed just how rich and vibrant the musical product of three distinctive minds working in harmony could be. Musically, they incorporated elements of funk, samba, and psychedelia into their street-savvy hip-hop; jazz, in particular, played a pivotal role. The group gave shout-outs to icons Charles Mingus and Charlie Parker, and sampled others, including Sonny Rollins and the Last Poets.

“Like hip-hop, they developed a language and style that was unique,” noted Butterfly of their jazz forefathers. “Those cats used their vernacular to communicate a new perspective.” With unabashedly intelligent lyrical references to everything from Karl Marx (on the reggae-tinged “Where I'm From“) and Jimi Hendrix, to feminist bell hooks and poet Nikki Giovanni, the Planets boldly followed suit.

Critics responded to the Planets’ debut platter enthusiastically. “Reachin' (A New Refutation Of Time And Space) is everything hip-hop should be: artistically sound, unabashedly conscious and downright cool,” proclaimed Kevin Powell in a four-star review for Rolling Stone. “And Digable Planets is the kind of rap act every fan should cram to understand.” The record would eventually hit #15 on the Billboard 200, break the Top 5 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and achieve Platinum sales status.

Buoyed up by a bubbling bass line and curlicues of brass (the latter lifted from a sample of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers), and peppered with finger-pops, the sublimely chill single “Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" became the album’s biggest hit. It peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, winning legions of fans across a variety of radio formats as well as in clubs. The track deservedly earned the 1993 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.

After touring extensively, accompanied by a live band, the trio returned to the studio, emerging in 1994 with their sophomore outing, Blowout Comb. Even more so than its predecessor, the Planets’ second full-length pushed stylistic boundaries. The group downplayed samples in favor of live performances: “Dog It“ juxtaposed animated sax and vibraphone turns (by Donald “Duck” Harrison and Bill Lounge, respectively) with a slightly harder vocal style, while sultry, summery singing on “Dial 7 (Axioms Of Creamy Spies)" evoked an air of vintage ‘70s soul. Special guests on the Blowout Comb sessions included Brooklyn rapper Jeru The Damaja (”Graffiti“) and pioneering female hip-hop DJ Jazzy Joyce (”9th Wonder (Blackitolism)“), who also toured with the group.

Although Digable Planets dissolved in 1996, all three members have remained active musically. Butterfly went on to form the band Cherrywine, releasing the album Bright Black in 2003. He also composed music for commercial clients including Pepsi and Fila, and ventured into acting, with roles in film (the 2002 Sundance fave I Am Ali) and Off Broadway. Mecca the Ladybug – now Ladybug Mecca – dropped her new solo album, Trip The Light Fantastic, in June, 2005 on her very own record label “Nu Paradigm Entertainment”. She also composed the score for a short film entitled “The Monster” courtesy of “Scenarios USA” - Kids Creating Social Change in 2001. A segment of the film was featured on ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. Working as Cee Knowledge, Doodlebug has been leading Philadelphia live hip-hop ensemble Cosmic Funk Orchestra since 2000. In addition Doodlebug is actively the CEO of the successful multimedia company “7 and a Cresent”. But most importantly for Digable Planets fans worldwide, the original trio reformed to play a number of well-received live dates (including Lollapalooza 2005), and begin work on their first album in over a decade.
 
This was posted on their Myspace page today:

Birthers, Deathers, TEA BAGGERS, and Angry People.... You didn't get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President.
You didn't get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate energy policy.
You didn't get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed. You didn't get mad when the Patriot Act got passed.
You didn't get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us.
You didn't get mad when we spent over 600 billion(and counting) on said illegal war.
You didn't get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq .
You didn't get mad when you saw the Abu Grahib photos.
You didn't get mad when you found out we were torturing people.
You didn't get mad when the national debt doubled under the previous President from $5.674 trillion to $10.024 trillion.
You didn't get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans and the President lied about it.
You didn't get mad when we didn't catch Bin Laden in Tora Bora.
You didn't get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed.
You didn't get mad when we let a major US city drown!
You didn't get mad when the deficit hit the trillion dollar mark.
You finally got mad when.. when... wait for it...............
When the government decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick.
Yes! Illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, are all ok with you, but helping other Americans... well that makes me mad!
 
Rebirth of Slick is the only song I know of them off hand. I know there was another one from them that was mmildly popular as well, but I cannot remember it. They were on VH1's where are they know not too long ago. Was the post on your Myspace page from a member of the group?

Thanks!
 
Ooohhhh! I understand. Reading is fundamental. :)

Thanks!
 
Friday, July 29, 2016 - By Paula Mejia - Village Voice
6a9f40df-4c63-4c5c-9cea-e271100e3d59.jpg

Craig Irving, Mary Ann Vieira, and Ishmael Butler

In the early nineties, a sharp young trio of Brooklyn dwellers — dubbed Digable Planets — brought jazz-laced hip-hop and interplanetary rhymes to us earthlings. While they emerged in the same golden age that bred De La Soul and Arrested Development, Digable Planets outshone many of their contemporaries through their prescient songs about reproductive rights and racially fueled violence. They also weren’t afraid to get weird: Their "Insect Theory" and a story line about the trio as "Creamy Spies" are integral to their albums.

The Planets parted ways after the release of their sprawling 1994 album, Blowout Comb, and briefly reunited in 2005. Now, the classic lineup of Mary Ann "Ladybug Mecca" Vieira, Craig "Doodlebug" Irving, and Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler, are embarking on their first tour together in eleven years, performing tracks from Blowout Comb and their debut, Reachin’. In the interim, they’ve each been pursuing their own formidable musical endeavors, with Butler helming one half of Shabazz Palaces; Vieira leading BROOKZILL! along with Prince Paul, Don Newkirk, and Rodrigo Brandão: and Irving returning to space with his own group, the Cosmic Funk Orchestra.

Ahead of the trio’s performance at Prospect Park’s Celebrate Brooklyn! on Saturday, we caught up with Craig "Doodlebug" Irving (who now goes by Cee Knowledge) to talk about the reunion, Digable Planets’ immortality, and the comic book series he’s now working on.

Did you ever think the Planets would realign right now, in 2016?
I always held on to hope. Every once in a while we’d bring up the idea but we never followed through, because other things were pertinent in our lives at the time. I guess 2016 just was the right time, the right place, the right space in time. Everything converged. I’m happy that people still hear what we’ve got to say and are excited about it. It makes us excited, you know what I’m saying?

Are you excited to return to your old stomping grounds, in Fort Greene?
It’s going to be good. It’s going to complete the trinity. We were in D.C., where I lived for a while. Tomorrow night we’re going to be in Philadelphia, which is where I was born and raised. Then Saturday is Brooklyn, where I was raised musically, and helped shape who I am today. It’s great going back to all those places that had a major impact in shaping in who I am as an MC and a person.

Do you have specific spots you’re looking forward to revisiting in Brooklyn, or is it mostly the show you’re doing this time?
I got friends I’m going to check out in Fort Greene, Williamsburg, Flatbush. I’m walking around the old neighborhood, seeing what it looks like. Every city I’ve gone to has just changed so crazy. Gentrification is mad real. It’s a whole new city! We walked through Adams Morgan [in D.C.] yesterday, Chinatown area, Northwest, Southeast. I was like, wow! I’m seeing people walk next to areas that used to be the drug market, these crazy fly futuristic Jetsons-looking buildings and shit. I can’t even imagine what Brooklyn looks like right now.

Is that a bittersweet thing, walking around your old neighborhood in Fort Greene?
A little bit. It’s good to see progress, but you don’t want to see progress at the expense of other people. That’s a hard balance to make, you know what I mean? I’m not a businessman, so I’m not looking at it from a real estate investor perspective. I’m just looking at it from the perspective of another human being. They’re not thinking about other people. They’re thinking about money.

On a lighter note, I often think of the ethos in Digable Planets’ "Creamy Spy Theme," in that you say the "cream always rises." Do you feel that way, given that the barrier to entry has been broken to making music? Is it harder for the cream to rise because there’s just so much out there?
In a way it’s a gift and a curse, this breaking down the barriers. Now it’s allowing people that never had the opportunity to get heard worldwide. But now the curse is that we’re so inundated, it’s so hard to keep up with everybody.

I think you as an artist have to figure out how to market yourself, how to promote yourself, figure out your niche market, get to those people. And some people are better artists than marketers, so they don’t get heard. They get lost in the sauce. And some people are better marketers than artists, and they get all out there.

Your Creamy Spy name is Agent Duke Togo Renegade. Where is that from?
[Laughs] It’s Creamy Spy Agent Duke Togo. Duke Togo was a character from a classic Japanese animation cartoon called Golgo 13. That was his code name, and Duke Togo was his real name. He was almost like a super James Bond–type dude. I related to him on an animated, fun, hyped-up kind of level. We try to find different things that illustrate your wild style or wild flow. That character just resonated with me. You gotta see the cartoon; the cartoon is a beast.

So I guess people don’t call you Doodlebug anymore much these days?
Yeah. People who know me from the group say that. Most people call me Cee, or Cee-Know. Or if they really really know me, they call me Craig.

I heard you’re writing a comic, The Epic of Heaven and Earth. Can you tell me about it?
It’s a comic book based on the story line of Afronauts versus the Wretchin. The Afronauts are the protagonists of this place called the seventh dimension. Wretchin are this evil entity based off of corporations. They just want to collect things. [There’s also] a big twelve-member council of monks, who protect something called the twelve jewels. And the Wretchin think those are actual jewels, things that are worth money. But it’s just information — knowledge worthy of understanding. So they’re on a quest to try and catch and conquer the seventh dimension and try and gather the twelve jewels.

A lot of the characters are based on musicians and friends of mine in the music world I know. I’ve been working on it for years. I’ve always loved comic books, graphic novels, animation. But hopefully next year we can let the world see what we got. I’m not trying to rush it, because I want it to be right.

Are Digable Planets members characters in the comic?
Oh, no doubt! I mean, the Creamy Spy Agency is a real thing in this comic book. And we’re the main Creamy Spy Agents. We’re like the veterans. I based a lot of our history in the music industry in the comic book; it’s related.

So what is your superpower?
I’m kind of like a Yoda type. I have martial arts skills, ESP like Professor X, on that. I’m like the older veteran character. The storyline goes back and forth. It starts in the here and now, but it tells stories of the old days of the Creamy Spy Agents and the seventh dimension and how the war started between the Afronauts and the Wretchin, and myself, Butterfly, and Ladybug are veterans who were old-school, on the front lines of the heyday of the revolution, when the Wretchin were trying to conquer.

And in the here and now, we’re trying to recruit and train new Afronauts and Creamy Spy agents. So that’s basically my role in it, and trying to develop new, younger characters and honing new talent. New MCs. But you also want them to be privy to your experiences.

Do you have any recurring dreams?
Why you getting deep? You getting like Dr. Phil on me here. I have a dream where I’m flying around and saving the world. I don’t know why I always have that. I don’t know if it’s because of my fascination with comic books and superheroes, but I definitely have those dreams a lot.
 
I'm not gonna lie, I didnt read your entire post Duran, (but I will), but I have to say
that the guy on the right in the above picture is not the same guy who sang on Rebirth of Slick,(Cool Like Dat).

Yeah, I use to listen to this all the time back in the day. :) As a matter of fact, I was just listening to it this past weekend. (truth).

Another song I was researching, (' Who'?, can be answered in the "What are You Listening to thread) led me to Digable Planets. .

Thanks Duran!

Yes, reading is fundamental. Lol!
 
Although Digable Planets dissolved in 1996, all three members have remained active musically. Butterfly went on to form the band Cherrywine
Click to expand...

Oh em geeee! Maybe that is the same guy. :eek: Clearly, to me, not. (The one in the middle.)

:scratch:
digable-planets-rebirth-of-slick.jpg
 
OK. I'll take your word for it. My question was on the one in the middle of the picture above
and on the right in the other picture that you posted. Even in the videos he looks so different.
The others still look the same to me.

Thanks Love. :)
 
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Ladybug is so beautiful. I love Snoop's song "Candy". Thanks to a youtube comment, I recently found out "You want em I got em, dripping like water." is from Digable Planets' track "9th wonder". :)
 
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<section class="addInfo grid_5 variscroll-active"> Mike Pizzo - Wed, Aug 17, 2016 - Las Vegas Weekly
</section>
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On Friday, August 19, Brooklyn Bowl will (fittingly) play host to the original borough’s own Digable Planets, who have reunited to tour together for the first time since 2005. Despite releasing just two (classic albums)—1993’s Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space) and 1994’s Blowout Comb—the group left an indelible mark on the golden era of hip-hop, with its unique brand of jazz- and funk-layered hip-hop.

Digable’s performance will be backed by a full live band, in lieu of the standard DJ setup of many hip-hop acts. Member Ladybug Mecca spoke to the Weekly about the tour and the band’s legacy.

How have the shows been so far? We’re going to these little places where I don’t expect anyone to show up, and the crowd is just dancing and having a good time. It makes the energy in the room so electric. I’m just walking away from every show blown away.

You have a band that plays with you on tour? Yeah, they’re great guys. When we were out in the early 2000s, the Turner brothers [Thaddeus and Gerald] were with us back then. Then we have [drummer] Conrad [Real], we call him “Superman”—and if you ever see us perform, you’ll understand why (laughs). He’s a younger kid, and he’s just incredible. Darrius [Willrich] is on keys; he’s amazing. And then we have Tendai [Maraire] from Ish’s [aka Butterfly’s] group, Shabazz Palaces. It’s working out really well.

What does it take to fall back into the groove to perform as Digable Planets after being broken up for so long? It’s not complex or complicated at all. It’s just very natural and smooth. It’s not even something we think about. We did it for quite a long time, and we were around each other like that for a lot of the ’90s. As we’ve gotten older, we’ve matured. It’s different; it’s better. No one is being disrespectful; no one ever has. It’s always been a family vibe, no matter what band we have. Nothing’s changed.

What did it take to start this conversation to get everyone back together for this tour? It was about just the right timing. The timing was right for all of us in our separate, individual lives.

It doesn’t seem like Digable Planets left a lot of unreleased music out there. There’s “Three Slim’s Dynamite” on the Beyond the Spectrum greatest-hits record, and “Little Renee” from the Coneheads soundtrack. Was more left on the cutting-room floot? From Reachin’ there’s this one song called “Brown Baby’s Funk” that we actually wanted to be the first single. That never saw the light of day. It’s great. I don’t know if anyone has it.

There’s nothing else floating around. We started a few things, pre-production wise, but nothing that we saw to the end and just didn’t use. Back then, studio time was extremely expensive, so when we went in, we went in to work and get it done. We just focused on concentrating on the album material. Another thing that may have contributed to creating less music—especially during Blowout Comb—is that I was traveling a lot at that time. My mother was about pass away, so if I wasn’t recording vocals, I was on an Amtrak train to spend as much time with her as I could.

Do you look at this reunion tour as just a tour, or is there the possibility that you might record another record together? Well, right now, I’m just focusing on the moment, and taking it day by day, not really looking that far to the future. If we get there, I’m open to it, for sure. Right now, we’re more focused on getting to know each other again and just connecting and seeing what happens from there. Do we talk about it? Yeah we do. But for the most part, we’re stepping lightly and being present.

Let’s talk about E-40 sampling “Rebirth of Slick” for “Yay Area.” “We be to rap what key be to lock.” I was just as surprised as you … and honored, because E-40 is so incredible. I love him as a person. When we did Snoop’s “Candy” video, he was like “We gotta have Ladybug in the video.” But yeah, that was cool. I was happy to hear that.

I have to ask you about something that has been bothering me for a long time. VH1 did this special called One Hit Wonders a while back and named Digable Planets as one. I remember being so pissed; even the people on the show were defending you guys. Did you see that? Yeah, I’ve seen it. I kind of laughed. … I don’t know, everyone has their opinion. I know that we’re not just one-hit wonders, that we actually are creative people to the core. Just because we didn’t have a top hit on whatever chart, it doesn’t define us. We never made music to be on the radio or MTV, we were blown away that “Rebirth of Slick” did what it did. If people gravitated to it, then wow, what a blessing.

Do you ever expect to “Rebirth of Slick” to be that big? It’s still popping up in places, like the film Dope last year. I could have never predicted that. I remember when we first recorded it, I knew it was special. I could feel it in my body. But I didn’t translate that into “This is going to be a hit and last forever.” I just knew how it made me feel.

Tell me your Prince story. This had to been about 1994. I was rolling with Rosie Perez and a couple of other people. We went to this Prince show and after the show, there was a private party. I was kind of playing the wall, because I am not a club person. Then we made eye-contact; he was literally all the way across the room. He stuck his finger out and summoned me to him. (laughs). I’d never been star-struck before or anything, but I don’t know what happened, I just floated over there like, “Oh my God, what just happened?” Then in his deep voice, he’s like “Hey. How are you doing? How are the guys?” It was an out of body experience. It was amazing.
 
02/12/2017 By Todd Van Luling Huffington Post

Donald Trump attended the 36th Grammys with then-wife Marla Maples on March 1, 1994, at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

Trump had been pushing to keep the show in the city, telling USA Today a few years earlier that he wished the event would make Manhattan its permanent home. According to multiple reviews published right after this ‘94 show, Trump made an impression on viewers, as a camera captured his and his wife’s reactions to a performance by hip-hop group Digable Planets.

“From their expressions, you’d have thought they were watching the Martian String Quartet,” said a Los Angeles Times recap.

The Chicago Tribune wrote, “For every sublime moment, however, there were at least a half-dozen ridiculous ones. Among them: Donald Trump’s mystified reaction after Digable Planets’ performance of ‘Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)’ with jazz master Clark Terry.”

A representative for the Grammys declined The Huffington Post’s request to review footage of Trump’s reaction during the Digable Planets performance.

Digable Planets member Ishmael Butler had this to say about the 1994 moment when contacted by HuffPost via email: “I don’t mind DJ Trump not liking our music for he is entitled to his tastes. I’ve seen some of his performances and had similar reactions to the ones he had to mine.”

“Trump, like most lottery winners, is bewildered by and unequipped for the realities of the situation he finds himself in now,” Butler said. “I feel Trump is the perfect American leader for where we are as a country but I hope this reflection forces us to realize and choose different desires &#8213; not just money, power, fame, jealousy and fear.”

As this email exchange occurred just a few days after the Super Bowl, Butler also addressed Trump’s interview with Bill O’Reilly, where the president brushed off the recent history of Russian political dissidents turning up dead under suspicious circumstances. “His quotes during that segment were monstrous.”

Later in the ‘90s, Trump would appear to come around to hip-hop &#8213; partying with many notable figures in the scene and even making a brief appearance on Method Man’s 1998 album, “Tical 2000: Judgement Day.” Many of the acquaintances Trump made at this time have since disowned the association, at least publicly. Russell Simmons, for example, has referred to Trump as an “old friend,” but has also chastised the president for inciting hate.

Butler concluded his message with a direct response to Trump’s reaction from the ‘94 ceremony.

“I don’t remember that night too much &#8213; I remember performing with Clark Terry tho, it was unreal,” he wrote. “So if DJT can sad face Clark Terry he’s a ****in’ square.”



UPDATE: Ladybug Mecca of Digable Planets gave HuffPost a comment after the Grammys aired. Here it is in full:
It’s easy to lose oneself in the frenzy happening around us because of the distractions and solicitation to do so.
Within this madness largely ignored are poverty and homelessness, two of the most pressing issues facing America. Homeless people go unseen every day and many people don’t stop to think, “who’s son or daughter is this?”

Perceptions do vary and yes some people are empathetic enough to give spare change or food yet the issue remains. In addition, we have many homeless and poor people that are psychiatrically ill and desperately in need of treatment. The ACA via Medicaid expansion makes treatment for mental health available to millions in this demographic.

Unfortunately we are now having to resist cronyism and fascism where the super rich whom aren’t exposed to experiences of being poor operate and react as a result of their distorted world view. Many have a lack of social obligation and are ignorant of certain realities which influences their moves to repealing the ACA instead of fixing the weaknesses.

Yes, the fight for humanity and fairness never ends, may we be inspired by injustice and villainy.
​
 
Pitchfork • September 5, 2018

Bursting onto the rap scene in 1993, Digable Planets arrived with an afrofuturist aesthetic, rooted in the art and philosophy of the Black Panthers. Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space) still remains a classic, channeling the moment in hip-hop before gangster was the norm.
 
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