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The realignment of Digable Planets

Digable Planets had solved the jazz/hip-hop riddle: How does an art form based on improvisation work in an art form born out of repetitive loops? The group created hits and won a Grammy. Then it disappeared. After a 10-year hiatus, the hip-hop trio of Cee Knowledge (aka Doodlebug), Ladybug Mecca and Butterfly have reunited for a comeback tour.

The group’s 1993 breakout single, “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like That),” spurred a gold debut album, Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space). Digable Planets earned a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist and a win for Best Rap Performance by a group.

Did the Grammy win make staying together difficult? “No,” says Cee Knowledge. Then he reconsiders and says yes. “The Grammy put pressure on us to put out hits. Success came quick, and it wore us down a bit. Executives wanted us to keep putting out ‘Cool Like That’ songs.”

What execs got instead was 1994’s Blowout Comb, an even better, albeit less pop CD. Digable Planets used a live band to lay down studio tracks - common in hip-hop now, but altogether new then. Perhaps more important, when playing live, the band went out of the loop and into new, textured territory rather than blowing the hooks that were sampled on the first CD. While Reachin’ may have spawned world tours for Digable Planets, Blowout Comb wasn’t a strong seller.

Whenever an overnight success suddenly calls it quits, outsiders suspect ego problems. The one-time Best New Artist nominee found itself with the same old story: a breakup because of creative differences and industry frustrations.

Cee returned to his native Philadelphia, founded the heavily jazz-influenced Cosmic Funk Orchestra, and works to develop homespun artists searching for a break. Using the name Cherrywine, Butterfly broke way north to Seattle, and released Bright Black in 2003. Meanwhile, Ladybug’s Trip the Light Fantastic, a CD from the indie Nu Paradigm label, is scheduled to drop June 28. She sings and raps on the solo debut, which draws on the sounds of her Brazilian heritage.

“We never left the game,” says Cee. “All three of us were doing stuff individually.” A meeting in Manhattan last year led to the decision to regroup and go on tour. As yet unsigned, Digable Planets have not recorded a new CD. For now, the group’s working on new ideas on the tour. Supplying the grooves are former Gil Scott-Heron keyboardist Brian Jackson, drummer Richard Williams, and bassist Lawrence Sims, as well as Los Angeles-based DJ Jedi.

This time around, the recording industry may be swinging around to Digable Planets’ favor. An online music world that was barely imagined when the group split now makes getting the word out a little easier. “There’s a whole new vibe to the music industry,” says Cee, who already promotes artists through www.ceeknowledge.com. “With the Internet, it is now up to us as artists to understand the business and more importantly, make good music.”

Cee says the reception to Digable Planets, even 10 years out, has been positive. The group even nabbed a spot on the now-stationary Lollapalooza concert next month in Chicago, and the curiosity of a 10-year hiatus has piqued the interest of many, including NPR, which profiled the group and its return May 5. “Fans appreciated what we did,” says Cee. “Ten years later, we came back. If fans didn’t appreciate it, then we wouldn’t see the turnouts we’re getting. Record executives will come and go, but tours stay true.”

music@creativeloafing.com