Digable Planets

Digable Planets

Digable Planets is a hip-hop group from Brooklyn and Philadelphia that forms in 1992 and remains active until 2011. The group’s core members are Butterfly, Ladybug Mecca, Doodlebug and Silkworm. It works at the intersection of acid jazz, alternative hip hop, boom bap, conscious hip hop and jazz rap.

Formation and lineup

The group first takes shape in New York City in the early 1990s. Butterfly, also known as Ishmael Butler, connects with Doodlebug, also known as Craig Irving, and with Ladybug, also known as Mary Ann Vieira. The lineup is associated with Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. in its early development, and the group name is matched by insect-based stage names intended to suggest cooperation and shared purpose.

Recording career

Digable Planets debut with Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space) in 1993. The album blends street-level hip-hop with funk, samba, psychedelia and, especially, jazz. The group references figures such as Charles Mingus and Charlie Parker, and samples artists including Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Curtis Mayfield and the Last Poets. Its lyrics also include references to Karl Marx, Jimi Hendrix, bell hooks and Nikki Giovanni. The record reaches number 15 on the Billboard 200, enters the top five of the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and earns platinum sales status.

The single Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat) becomes the group’s best-known track. It reaches number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100, appears on hip-hop, pop and alternative rock radio in the United States, and wins the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1993.

The follow-up album, Blowout Comb, appears in 1994. It moves further from sample-heavy production and makes greater use of live performance, including saxophone and vibraphone parts. Guests on the album include Brooklyn rapper Jeru The Damaja on “Graffiti” and DJ Jazzy Joyce on “9th Wonder (Blackitolism)”.

Break-up, reunion and later activity

The group breaks up in 1995 and reunites in 2005. After the split, Butterfly forms Cherrywine and releases Bright Black in 2003. He also writes music for commercial clients including Pepsi and Fila, and acts in film and off-Broadway productions. Ladybug Mecca releases the solo album Trip The Light Fantastic on her own label, Nu Paradigm Entertainment, and composes the score for the short film The Monster for Scenarios USA. A section of that film is featured on ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. She also appears in Snoop Dogg’s video for “Candy”, after one of her lyrics is sampled in the track.

Doodlebug performs as Cee Knowledge and leads the Philadelphia live hip-hop ensemble Cosmic Funk Orchestra from 2000. He also runs the multimedia company 7 and a Cresent. The reunited Digable Planets perform live dates including Lollapalooza 2005 and begin work on a third album. A compilation titled Beyond the Spectrum: The Creamy Spy Chronicles appears while fans wait for new material.