Blowout Comb

In 1993, the Digable Planets, a trio of New York MCs with happy insect monikers (Doodlebug, Butterfly, and Ladybug) and nonthreatening auras, created manna for the pseudo-beatnik crowd. On Reachin': A New Refutation of Time and Space they melded jazz records, hip-hop beats, and rhymes--like Gang Starr and the Dream Warriors before them. Much to their dismay, the single "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)," which combined their be-boppy flows with a catchy Art Blakey loop, captured the clove cigarette contingent. Their sleeper follow-up, Blowout Comb was a De La Soul-esque reaction to their pop success. They forsook the bohemians (and probably scared them as well) by waxing poetic about the Black Panthers and Fidel Castro and giving shout-outs to their peeps in the Five Percent Nation of Islam. Loaded with live instrumentation, the album includes "Black Ego," an interpolation of a popular Meters composition laced with nice guitar plucks, and "K.B.'s Alley," where a schizophrenic trombone perfectly complements their wordplay. Despite strong guest spots by vet female DJ Jazzy Joyce, Guru, and Jeru the Damaja, it's the hidden messages, somber mood, and understated beats of "9th Wonder (Blackitolism)" or "Dial 7 (Axiom Of Creamy Spies)" that outshine the gloss of their debut. --Dalton Higgins