April 19, 2016
Best known for their 1993 hit "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)," alternative rap group Digable Planets has announced plans for a reunion tour starting with the Sasquatch Music Festival in Washington State at the end of May — according to hip-hop site Okayplayer.
So far, no date in Philly proper has been announced, but the tour does hit Ardmore Music Hall on July 28.
Digable Planets is known as a Brooklyn group, but founders Craig "Doodlebug" Irving and Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler actually met in Philadelphia, where they would practice in Irving’s grandmother’s basement. The two soon enlisted Brazilian-born rapper Mary Ann "Ladybug Mecca" Vieira and moved to New York in 1992.
A refreshing alternative to then-booming gangsta rap scene, the trio became known for its jazzy beats and chill rhymes.
Their 1993 record Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space) went gold, thanks to the crossover appeal of “Rebirth of Slick” which enjoyed steady rotation on MTV. They followed it up with 1994’s challenging Blowout Comb, but disbanded the following year.
The group has reunited before, releasing 2005’s Beyond the Spectrum: The Creamy Spy Chronicles and playing a few shows. But this is the first time all three members will tour together in more than a decade.
