Slick rhymes, jazz-infused beats and a laid-back sense of cool personified the 1990s hip-hop group Digable Planets.
Jazz music was already an integral element of hip-hop in the early ’90s, but the trio of Ismael “Butterfly” Butler, Craig “Doodlebug” Irving and Mariana “Ladybug Mecca” Vieira took things to another level with their debut single “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat).”
The song, from their debut album “Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space),” embodied a love for jazz and hip-hop like no other song in the genre.
Each member took a turn, flowing over the horn-laden track and its thick groovy bassline with confidence and bravado.
“Rebirth of Slick” became a crossover sensation, peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard Rap Chart before eventually climbing to No. 15 on the Hot 100.
The song went on to win a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1994, edging out rap heavyweights Cypress Hill, Naughty By Nature and the tandem of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.
Lyrically, the three emcees spit their raps at a high level, making it impossible to choose a weak link.
The mainstream success helped Digable Planets establish themselves as one of the new faces in hip-hop.
Vieira, now a mother of three, said she keeps her Grammy in a bookcase at her home.
The award represents more than just musical success, the vocalist said, during a phone interview last week: Viera is grateful that the success they had in their early 20s always brings them back together.
“(The Grammy) reminds me more of a time in my life; of how at 21 years old I was experiencing the extreme highest of highs and the lowest of lows, all at once,” she said. “Though I felt close enough, I did not break — and that makes me my mother’s daughter.”
Digable Planets will bring their feel-good rhymes to Blue Note Hawaii tomorrow and Saturday, for a first-ever appearance by the group in the islands.
TODAY, MORE than 25 years later, the horn riff sample by Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers featured on “Rebirth” is still one of the most recognizable samples in hip-hop.
Butler came up with the name Digable Planets and spearheaded the idea of starting the group. Their “bug”-inspired nicknames came about, he’s said, because of the notion that insects work together for the greater good.
Each member drew from their musical influences and political upbringings.
Butler, whose parents participated in the Black Liberation Movement in the 1970s, was a jazz connoisseur and huge admirer of Miles Davis.
Vieira, who is Brazilian, idolized MC Lyte and Queen Latifah. Her family was involved in liberation efforts in Brazil.
Irving was a huge Run DMC fan as a youth. His father was a member of the Black Panther Party.
Not only did their jazz/rap vibe and sound fit with the times, their chill personas made them a welcome addition to rap in an interlude between favored genres in hip-hop; soon, public tastes would shift from the “conscious” hip-hop of groups like Digable Planets, A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul to rugged street rap from artists like The Wu Tang Clan.
The group continues to inspire: “Reachin’” “is an enduring, inclusive work that helped usher in a wave of vibrant, oddball thinkers in rap, a funk dimension that envelops you and embraces all,” writes Sheldon Pierce, in a 2018 Pitchfork review, calling it “an album about freedom — from convention, from oppression, from the limits imposed by the space-time continuum.”
Viera also continues to be inspired by the group’s reach. “I feel most successful when someone shares with me that our music influenced them to learn something new, to understand themselves and or the world in an empowering way,” she said.
DIGABLE PLANETS released a second album, “Blowout Comb” in 1994, with “9th Wonder (Blackitolism)” and “Dial 7” serving as standout tracks.
A year later, the group parted ways. Aside from a reunion in 2005, they have mostly created music separately in the years since.
By most accounts, the chance of hearing new Digable Planets material is unlikely.
While the Digable Planets’ collective resume is brief, however, their legacy and popularity remain very much intact.
“Our bond is forever rooted in our music,” Vieira said. “Our relationship has forced me to build my business sensibilities in ways I had never imagined.
“My greatest memories are of the feelings I felt when writing our songs, of hearing my voice played back for the first time — and getting the news that we would open up for Sade.”
Vieira has had solo shows here in the past. Butler performed at the Doris Duke Theater with his group Shabazz Palaces in February, and at Nextdoor in 2012.
While performing four shows over two nights is no easy task, Vieira promises that the vibes will be genuine throughout.
“We keep it fresh by keeping it loose and by being free,” she said.
DIGABLE PLANETS
>> Where: Blue Note Hawaii, Outrigger Waikiki
>> When: 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday
>> Cost: $45-$65
>> Info: 777-4890, bluenotehawaii.com
