From the opening bars of “Pacifics,” track two on Digable Planets’ groundbreaking 1993 debut, listeners knew this was something different.
This was no sample-heavy gangsta spin-off like so many songs saturating commercial radio at the time. These were smart, jazz-minded narratives about the concrete environs that produced Digable’s sophisticated sound. The album almost single-handedly elevated hip-hop’s standard for artistic wordplay by manipulating the trio’s informed city slang, and fusing it with the improvisational spirit of jazz.
Few rap groups at the time were “Reachin”‘ with the same creative ambition as Digable Planets, and even fewer achieved the success of Digable’s Top 20 hit, “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat).”
Then, like superheroes in crisis over their humanity, the proprietors of “acid jazz” disappeared from pop consciousness, leaving behind two important albums that sound as fresh today as they did a decade ago.
Now, Butterfly, Doodlebug and Ladybug are back together, playing small club dates and high-profile gigs like Friday’s opening slot at Denver’s Fillmore Auditorium with the experimental dance-rock group Sound Tribe Sector 9.
There’s even talk of a new album.
Speaking earlier this week from the road, Doodlebug, the Philadelphia-raised songwriter born Craig Irving, described the kind of early-career scenario that’s sunk many rookie entertainers.
“There were misunderstandings,” he said of the group’s breakup after 1994’s “Blowout Comb,” a tight sophomore album that never found as many listeners as “Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space),” but garnered as much or more critical support.
“Being immature, and also being the eclectic artists that we were, we had a lot of issues ranging from the label to management to personal,” said Doodlebug, who also goes by the stage name Cee Knowledge. “We didn’t really know how to handle it.”
After years of pursuing lesser-known solo projects, Digable Planets plans to handle their comeback by keeping the music and the business “in-house.” Doodlebug said they will likely record their new material at one of the members’ home studios. Beyond that, they plan to enter label negotiations with eyes wide open.
“We’re looking for (a label) that will feel our vision and put money into marketing and promoting,” he said. “We’re gonna work all our options, whether it’s an independent or a major label. Putting it out ourselves is our last option, but it’s an option.”
Doodlebug acknowledged that Digable Planets needs to prove itself all over again to fans and to the industry. And it doesn’t help matters much for this brand of high-minded hip-hop that rap radio currently seems to have an insatiable appetite for ‘crunked out’ artists.
The good news? Digable Planets is working all of this out on the road, “taking those bumps” in front of receptive crowds.
“Touring has helped us get that vibe back,” he said. “We hadn’t really been together for a long, long time. So this has given us a chance to regain that trust with one another.”
Staff writer Elana Ashanti Jefferson can be reached at 303-820-1957 or ejefferson@denverpost.com.
Sound Tribe Sector 9 Digable Planets opens for the dance rock group Sound Tribe
Sector 9 during the first show in a two-night Denver run. Cut Chemist opens for STS9 on Saturday before the band continues west.
DENVER|Fillmore Auditorium, 1510 Clarkson St.; 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday|$25-$28|through Ticketmaster: 303-830-8497 or ticketmaster.com.
AFTERPARTY|Hosted by members of Digable Planets |Cafe Nuba at The Walnut Room, 3131 Walnut St.; Doors open at 8 p.m. Friday |$10.
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS|Live PA set at Levelz, 1860 Ski Times Square; 10 p.m. Monday|
$25-$27|at All That Jazz, or through Ticketweb: 800-965-4827 or ticketweb.com.
ASPEN|Live PA set at the Belly Up, 450 S. Galena St.; 10 p.m.
Tuesday|$25|at the door or via bellyupaspen.com.
