Blowout Comb

Performer: Digable Planets
Engineer: Dave Darlington
Producer: Dave Darlington; Digable Planets
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Digable Planets: Butterfly, Ladybug, Doodlebug (rap vocals). Additional personnel includes: Chegua (vocals); Dave Darlington (guitar, keyboards, fretless bass); Huey Cox (guitar); Beth Russo (cello); David Lee Jones (alto saxophone); Gerald Brazel (trumpet); Tim "T-Bone" Williams (trombone); Bill Lounge (vibraphone); Davey Chalice (bass, background vocals); Carl Carter, Alan Goldsher, Duane Burno (bass); Sulaiman (scratches); Beneficent, Eye Cee, Stilleto, Lavish, Lee Love, The Dust Daughters, Mood Dude, Yvette Sugar, Afu The True (background vocals). Recorded at Bass Hits Recording Studio, New York, New York. Personnel: Chegua (vocals, rap vocals); Mood Dude, Brooklyn, Seven Karat, Eye Cee, Lee Love, Dave the Prince, Afu the True, Lavish, J. Truth, Myrtle Ave Nigs, Yvette Sugar, Trim Ken Slim, Stilletto, Beneficent, Malik, Crescents (vocals, background vocals); Trim, Jahsun, Decky, Dust Daughters, Guru, Sara Webb, Davey Chalice, Jeru the Damaja, P.O.W.E.R. (vocals); Dave Darlington (guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, fretless bass); Huey Cox (guitar, acoustic guitar); Beth Russo (cello); Donald Harrison (flute, tenor saxophone); David Lee Jones (alto saxophone); Gerald Brazel (trumpet); Tim "T-Bone" Williams (trombone); Bill Lounge, Shi Reltub (vibraphone); Sulaiman (scratches, background vocals). Audio Mixer: Dave Darlington. Liner Note Author: Brother Junior Plus. Recording information: Bass Hits Recording Studio, New York, NY. Photographer: Daniela Federici. Unknown Contributor Role: Trim Ken Slim. Arranger: Digable Planets. Digable Planets was one of the first rap acts to introduce rap's jazzier side to mainstream America. Now they're back to show their roots with BLOWOUT COMB. The band that was "hip like that" and "grooved like that" while fronting a live jazz band on their debut embraces their afrocentric roots and Brooklyn heritage throughout the grooves on BLOWOUT COMB. Digable Planets' nucleus of rappers Butterfly, Ladybug and Doodlebug have relaxed their style to sound less slick, but it works and the feel is noticeably more comfortable. Possibly it's Digable Planets' love for their home Brooklyn that makes BLOWOUT COMB so immediately familiar and accessible. Proving that neighborhood pride equals nationalism for many rap acts, Digable Planets' politics are obvious but not overbearing. Mentions of Brooklyn's numerous neighborhoods weave themselves in and out of Digable Planets' pro-black, community pride aesthetic. With liner notes advertising Digable Planets block parties next to calls-to-action to free political prisoners, BLOWOUT COMB ranks as one of the most community-centered rap albums of the year.

Rolling Stone (12/1/94, p.127) - 3 Stars - Good - "...Trippy urban dreamscapes, detailed imagery and production grounded in funky '70s jazz....Digable Planets have taken admirable chances, and a slew of superb live players breathe life into tracks..." Spin (12/94, p.76) - Ranked #5 in Spin's list of the `20 Best Albums Of 1994' - "...Digable's platform has turned fiercely nationalistic, the trenchant politics oddly at ease with the peaceful vibe of its sound....A giant leap forward..." Entertainment Weekly (10/21/94, p.66) - "...the overall tone is so laid-back you might nod out to the ambient-jazz grooves and stoned-soul stylings..." - Rating: B+ Option (3-4/95, p.99) - "...finds the trio using leaner arrangements....the music has a meandering quality as though the group has no particular place to go....this one sounds like an album Digable Planets made for themselves and some friends during a few shared laidback moments..." Musician (11/94, pp.86-87) - "...taken a step back from jazzbo posturing, opting instead for a messier, more funk-oriented approach..." Village Voice (2/28/95) - Ranked #34 in the Village Voice's 1994 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll.

With the release of their 1993 debut, REACHIN': A NEW REFUTATION OF TIME AND SPACE, New York City's Digable Planets attempted one last infusion of positivity and enlightened conciseness into mainstream hip-hop before gangsta rap took over for good. The group's mix of Native Tongues-style Afrocentrism with classic jazz samples and a thoughtful approach to issues in the black community won them a Grammy in 1994. Unfortunately, the Planets' sophomore album, BLOWOUT COMB, though critically acclaimed, wasn't nearly as successful as their debut, and it effectively marked the band's end. The three members went on to various side projects, but in 2004 they reunited and began touring and working on a new album.

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