Digable Planets – Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)
Description
“Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)” is a song by American hip hop trio Digable Planets, released as the first single from their debut album, Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space), in November 1992. The black-and-white music video was directed by Morgan Lawley. The song contains a sample from “Stretching” by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers.
“Rebirth of Slick” peaked at No. 15 on the US Billboard Hot 100 during the week of March 6, 1993, becoming the group’s only top-40 single. During that time, the song also topped the Hot Rap Singles chart. The single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on March 16, 1993, for sales of 500,000 copies. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 36th Grammy Awards. In 2021, Cleveland.com ranked the song as number 142 of the best 200 rap songs, calling it “the pinnacle of jazz rap.”
Digable Planets (/ˈdɪɡəbəl ˈplænəts/) is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987. The trio is composed of rappers Ishmael “Butterfly” Butler, Mariana “Ladybug Mecca” Vieira, and Craig “Doodlebug” Irving. The group is notable for their contributions to the subgenres of jazz rap and alternative hip hop.
History
Origins
Butler and Irving met in Philadelphia in the late 1980s. Originally from Seattle, Butler was interning at Sleeping Bag Records in New York and would visit his grandmother in Philadelphia, where he met local native Irving, who was rapping with a group called the Dread Poets Society. Irving had in turn met Vieira, who was originally from Silver Spring, Maryland, while attending Howard University in Washington, D.C. The initial demos recorded under the name Digable Planets featured only Butler, but after a brief stint with two other members, Butler began collaborating with Irving and Vieira in 1989.
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Digable Planets
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Digable Planets performing at Aggie Theatre on December 11, 2010, in Fort Collins, Colorado
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.; Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1987–1995, 2005–2011, 2015–present |
| Labels | Pendulum, Blue Note, EMI |
| Members | Ishmael “Butter Fly” Butler Craig “Doodlebug” Irving Mariana “Ladybug Mecca” Vieira |
