Blackitolism

I think I was a junior in high school when my friend Kyle introduced me to Digable Planets. I remember looking at the album cover and it was a huge hair pick. The record was called Blowout Comb. The music was like no other hip-hop I had ever heard. Of course, I already knew the jazzy beats of A Tribe Called Quest and others, but this was different. This was vastly superior to anything I had ever heard before or since!

A handful of groups rode the jazz vibe in the late 80s and early 90s, but I have never heard anyone as laid back as this. Of particular interest to me is the song '9th Wonder (Blackitolism)'. In my estimation, it is in the top 5 all-time greatest hip-hop songs ever recorded!

Truly, if you want to hear the kings (and queen) of jazzy hip-hop then you need to dig Digable Planets!

Perhaps some of their charm and power comes from the fact that they only made two albums. They burst on the scene with a fresh, cohesive sound and within a few years they were gone. If you dig the sound of Blowout Comb dig their first album: Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space). Criminally neglected hip-hop masterpieces!