Reachin'

CD

Digable Planets deliberately disavowed the toughness of hip-hop culture: the trio's leader called himself Butterfly, his foil Ladybug purred like Eartha Kitt, and they produced hooks out of lines like "We're just babies, man." Despite occasional flashes of sorrow (like the pro-choice recitation "La Femme Fétal"), the group's happy and laidback on this debut, with tracks made out of old jazz records and finger-snaps, and words that draw on 50s hipster slang. Reachin' spawned the Grammy-winning single "Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)," and after this album, their joyous Blue Note-and-black-lights bounce lost some of its novelty. --Douglas Wolk