On May 30, 1993, I went to what was, I'm pretty sure, the only hip-hop concert I've ever attended outside of a festival. It was Digable Planets at the Palace in Los Angeles. THAT, alone, should be an indicator of how wildly popular their debut album was.
As with most of the hip-hop that I enjoy, Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space) was a sonic synthesis of jazz and hip-hop, featuring samples from Art Blakey, Herbie Hancock, Sonny Rollins, Curtis Mayfield, and others, and presented by three kicked-back, light-touch rappers. "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" even cracked the Top 20 of the pop chart.
You gotta remember: At the time, grunge rock — and alt-rock, more broadly — had just exploded the music industry back into something of a creative spurt. Radio was mimicking the eclecticism of MTV and labels were actually developing artists. I know. Hard to believe. But it's true. That's how “Rebirth of Slick” infiltrated rock, pop, and urban radio and propelled Butterfly, Ladybug, and Doodlebug to a GRAMMY win for Best New Duo or Group. But it's hardly the only bop on the joint.
AllMusic.com writes of the album, “Under the hood of inventive beats and well-placed layered samples are the ideas and attitudes of universal and cosmic spirituality combined with personal-consciousness expansion that crosses geographical and ethnic boundaries. Easily one of the most successful hip-hop records ever made and a must-have selection in most any collection.” Couldn't have said it better myself.
Hear the whole episode February 25 at 6 am, 12 pm, and 6 pm PT.
