Sometimes when you go to shows you just can’t wait to hear one line. “93 million miles above these devils” or “we be to rap what key be to lock”
They aren’t particularly revolutionary words but to all who have been fans of Digable Planets, the delivery is just so smooth, they could be the gospel. My strongest years for hip hop were just out of high school when I bought my 69 Chrysler Newport Lowrider and dropped in a bumpin system. I’ve always listened to all types of music but groups like Digable Planets, The Coup, and The Goats rarely left the changer.
Most kids new Reachin’ when it came out cuz “Cool like Dat” was getting heavy rotation on MTV. It was a breath of fresh air. Really, that’s what it felt like. With the smooth jazz cut, horns, and organic feel, it felt like you were part of a backyard BBQ where everyone was throwing their tiki mugs and forties in the air.
Monday’s show at the House of Blues in Hollywood lived up to what the sold out crowd had waited a decade for. Martin Luther started things of with a soul set reminicient of a time when soul music wasn’t about violence and mass corporate appeal. Grab a guitar, get a couple friends to hold down the rhythm section and make it happen. With a given name like Martin Luther, you know there’s some pride and determination necessary to hold your own. Check out his Rebel Soul Music site here. It’s got some great tunes and will hopefully get you out the door to check out his next show when he comes passing through.
After an insanely long wait crammed toward the front of the crowd, Digable Planets hit the stage and lit it up. Backing them for the first song, and to return later, were a drummer, bass man, and an computer/keyboardist. Outside of a handful of memorable tracks from Reachin, “Nickel Bags” and “Where I’m From”, the highlights were the more poignant cuts from Blowout. It’s been a decade and they still sounded fresh. Ladybug, Doodlebug, and Butterfly all had it going on with the up and down funk of “9th Wonder”. “Graffiti” made noise, noise, noise, noise while “Dog it” had everyone popping their junk. The one track I kept waiting for was Dial 7 (Creamy Spies). There were quite a few solo cuts from new material by Ladybug and Cee Knowledge/Doodlebug that I would have traded up for. A couple were nice but damn, stick with what the crowd paid to see.
The encore was when they really lit it up. The band was back and the hits were rollin. “Cool like Dat” was what most of the crowd was waiting for. The band even took the liberty of battling amongst each other and the DJ. With many thanks to the crowd and Guru the last thing I remember is hearing a packed house yelling “LA is Red Hot”. And thanks to Digable Planets, it was.
