Digable Planets - Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space)
As we all prepare our decks and patios for summer 2020, we will need a few things: grill, furniture, firepit and a sound system. Whatever your outdoor sound system of choice, you will also need one particularly important thing, party music.
On February 9, 1993, a small, jazzy hip-hop group out of Brooklyn, New York named Digable Planets released their debut album Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space). The group composed of Ishmael “Butterfly” Butler, Mariana “Ladybug Mecca” Vieira and Craig “Doodlebug” Irving. The three shared an affinity for light, groovy, hip hop rhymes that sat atop a funky, jazz backbeat.
The group signed with Pendulum Records in 1992 and began work on their first record. When “Reachin” was released, it took off. The album’s single, Rebirth of Slick (Cool like Dat) helped to eventually bring the album to Gold status. The single itself also hit gold, taking the album with it all the way to #15 on the Billboard Top 100 in 1993. Digable Planets also landed a Grammy award in 1994 for best Hip Hop Performance.
Picture hot, sunny days grilling, eating and drinking with your friends. I find many of these gatherings end up including a ping pong game of “what music to play”. Almost every time the group cannot agree. As more libations are consumed, more requests for music are yelled across the patio. As the yelling continues, more disagreements are liable to persist. Reachin’ is set up to resolve these differences. The album’s mix of a jazz, stand-up Bass, with a low intensity drumbeat sitting below a grooving jazz piano, gives each party guest a little bit of everything. Take these three instruments and top them with soft, impressionable rhyme and you have got the perfect (relaxed) party music.
Digable Planets do an outstanding job of trading rhymes and incorporating male voices with Ladybug’s female fusion, giving the album a vibe that forces you to move and ask your host, “Hey, what is this?”
Despite the commercial hit of Rebirth of Slick (Cool like Dat), the album’s strongest tracks are arguably its first three, It’s Good to Be Here, Pacifics (Sdtrk “N.Y. is Red Hot”) and Where I’m From, where the band interestingly samples John Denver’s, Rocky Mountain High, putting the melody behind a simple bass and drum line. You will dance as you grab your second brew of the day. Watching the ice drip off the bottle as you squint to block the sun from your eyes, it will be difficult not to conduct your own head tilting, eye closing shimmy as this beat slowly climbs up your leg.
This album is the equivalent of an improvisational jam band album but buried in the hip hop genre. The lyrics are void of violence and point towards “doing what you feel”, having fun and hanging with your friends. They are not void of intellect. In fact, quite the opposite. The band carefully pieces words together that discuss their family upbringing, meshing them with culture and the future.
Another strong track is Escapism (Gettin’ Free). The band samples Herbie Hancock’s 1973 version of Watermelon Man, one of my favorites. When Herbie re mixed and re recorded his song in ’73, his percussionist blew into beer bottles, imitating a style of singing and whistle playing found in Pygmy music of Central Africa. This sound fascinated Hancock and he put it on the album. Digable Planets take this unique sound and lay it down like a smooth oriental rug sitting beneath a grooving beat that takes you through your day in the most relaxed state.
Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space) is a departure from gangsta rap. In the early 1990s there was a movement afoot on both the east and west coasts. Many folks agree that Digable Planets were on to something when they wrote and released this one.
I recommend picking this up. I selected this album because it aligns to my habitual desire to turn you on to new music. Even though this music is not new (1993), it is clearly something I never thought I would like. Guess what? I was wrong. Waaay wrong.
Liven up your summer party with this album.
Already have this album? Check out the band’s follow up release. Or pick up some merch to show your love for the early 90s.