I love nineties hip hop and in my opinion that era has produced the genre’s best music. So when I heard that the Digable Planets are going to reunite for a tour I was very excited. The group will kick off a 13 day tour on the 28th of May this year at the Sasquatch Music Festival and will wrap up on the 18th of July in Salt Lake City, Utah where they’ll perform with Pusha T.
Now, I won’t make it to their shows coz I’m thousands of miles away from any of the places they’re going to perform but the prospect of one my favorite rap groups excites me nonetheless. I’m interested in seeing the type of energy they’ll bring to the stage and whether they still have the magic. Even if they don’t have it the nostalgia that will certainly be sparked by tracks like Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat), Where I’m From and 9th Wonder (Blackitolism) will be worth it. After all everything makes it online these days, so chances are that the group’s live performances will become available whether on YouTube or some other platform.
Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat) was a massive hit for the group in the early nineties and helped them sell over 500,000 copies of their debut LP Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space). To this day that track still gets me excited but not more than Where I’m From which is actually the first song that I heard from the group. Their sound had me hooked from the first listen, not to mention that I had a crush on Ladybug Mecca at the time too.
Anyway all that aside, this will not be the trio’s first time doing a reunion tour. After they broke up in 1995 they reunited in 2005 which ultimately led to the release of a compilation album titled Beyond the Spectrum: The Creamy Spy Chronicles. Butterfly also formed a duo with Tendai "Baba" Maraire called Shabazz Palaces in 2009 and has been active since then.
You can see the complete list of the reunion tour dates below.
Tour Dates:
May 28, 2016 - George, WA @ Sasquatch Festival
July 2, 2016 - New Orleans, LA @ Essence Festival
July 16, 2016 - Chicago, IL @ Pitchfork Festival
July 18, 2016 - Cincinnati, OH @ Woodward Theater
July 19, 2016 - Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel
July 20, 2016 - Birmingham, AL @ The Saturn
July 21, 2016 - Nashville, TN @ The Exit In
July 22, 2016 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
July 23, 2016 - Charleston, SC @ Music Farm
July 24, 2016 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle
July 26, 2016 - Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club
July 28, 2016 - Ardmore, PA @ Ardmore Music Hall
August 18, 2016 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Pioneer Park
