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Digable Planets 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.
Jazz rap is a fusion of jazz and hip hop music, as well as an alternative hip hop subgenre, that developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. AllMusic writes that the genre "was an attempt to fuse African-American music of the past with a newly dominant form of the present, paying tribute to and reinvigorating the former while expanding the horizons of the latter." The rhythm was rooted in hip hop over which were placed repetitive phrases of jazz instrumentation: trumpet, double bass, etc. Groups involved in the formation of jazz rap included A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets, De La Soul, Gang Starr, and Jungle Brothers.
Brand Nubian is an American hip hop group from New Rochelle, New York, composed of three emcees, and formerly three DJs. Their debut studio album, One for All (1990), is one of the most popular and acclaimed alternative hip hop albums of the 1990s, known for socially conscious and political lyrics inspired by the teachings of The Nation of Gods and Earths. In 2008, About.com placed the group on its list of the 25 Greatest Rap Groups of All Time.
DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince were an American hip hop duo from West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consisting of rapper Will Smith and turntablist Jeff Townes. Active full time from 1986 to 1994 and occasionally thereafter, the duo became just the third rap group in recording history to receive platinum certification, after Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys. The group received the first Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance in 1989 for "Parents Just Don't Understand" (1988), though their most successful single was "Summertime" (1991), which earned the group their second Grammy and peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Will Smith and Jeff Townes have remained close friends and claim they never split up, having made songs together under Smith's solo performer credit. DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince have sold over 5.5 million albums in the US. Their latest performance dates back to November 2023.
Jeffrey Allen Townes, known professionally as DJ Jazzy Jeff, is an American DJ and producer. He was one half of the hip hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, along with rapper-turned-actor and fellow Philadelphia native Will Smith. He is credited, along with DJs Spinbad and Cash Money, with popularizing the transformer scratch.
Deidra Muriel Roper, known professionally as DJ Spinderella or simply Spinderella, is an American DJ, rapper and producer. She is best known as a member of the hip-hop group Salt-N-Pepa. Roper occasionally appeared in The Salt-n-Pepa Show, a reality TV series focusing on reforming the group and which aired on the VH1 network in 2008.
Casandra Elizabeth Ventura, known mononymously as Cassie, is an American singer, dancer, actress, and model. Born in New London, Connecticut, she began her musical career after meeting producer Ryan Leslie in late 2004, who signed her to his record label, NextSelection Lifestyle Group. She was then discovered by rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs, who signed her to a joint venture with his label, Bad Boy Records, to commercially release her 2006 debut single, "Me & U". The song marked the first of her two entries on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number three.
Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space) is the debut album by alternative hip hop group Digable Planets released on February 9, 1993, by Pendulum/Elektra Records. The album has been certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.
John Byas, also known as The Original Jazzy Jay or DJ Jazzy Jay, is an American hip hop DJ and producer.
"Summertime" is a song by American hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, released in May 1991 by Jive and RCA as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Homebase (1991). The song was produced by Chicago-based producers Hula and K. Fingers, and it won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 1992 Grammy Awards. It spent a week at number #1 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart, as well as reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also became the duo's first single to enter the top ten of the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #8.
Frederick Crute, known professionally as Kool DJ Red Alert, is an Antiguan-American disc jockey who rose to fame on WRKS 98.7 Kiss FM in New York City and is recognized as one of the founding fathers of hip hop music and culture. His weekly radio show airs on WBLS 107.5 FM from Monday to Saturday at 6pm EST.
"Planet Rock" is a song by the American hip hop artists Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force. The song was produced by Arthur Baker and released by Tommy Boy Records in 1982. The recording came together after DJ and producer Baker met with Bambaataa and the two bonded over the idea of creating a song about their mutual appreciation for the band Kraftwerk. Baker and Bambaataa had worked together previously on the song "Jazzy Sensation" and decided to compose a more electronic based version of the hip hop song, as opposed to the more disco-oriented work popular at the time. Along with musician John Robie, the group recorded the single at Intergalactic Studios in New York. Robie duplicated the sound on the record and had Bambaataa's rappers in the Soul Sonic Force rap over it. To create the raps, the lyricist of the group, Emcee G.L.O.B.E., had to develop a style he called "mc popping", which involved rapping off time, an unusual style at the time.
Blowout Comb is the second and final studio album by American hip hop group Digable Planets, released October 18, 1994, on Pendulum/EMI Records. The album was written and recorded in Brooklyn, New York, where the group moved, with recording sessions beginning in 1993 and finishing in 1994. On Blowout Comb, Digable Planets abandoned the radio friendly style of their debut album and worked with a more ambitious, stripped-down sound. The album features a diverse range of samples and live instruments, and contains lyrical themes of the inner city and black nationalism. It also features guest appearances from Guru of Gang Starr, Jeru the Damaja, and DJ Jazzy Joyce.
Lance Taylor, also known as Afrika Bambaataa, is an American DJ, rapper, and record producer from South Bronx, New York City. He is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro tracks in the 1980s that influenced the development of hip hop culture. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the originators of breakbeat DJing.
Survival of the Fittest is the debut album by jazz/funk quintet the Headhunters, released in 1975 on Arista Records. It features the track "God Make Me Funky", from which its drum break has been sampled numerous times by prominent rappers. The album was re-issued on compact disc by BMG France in 2001, which was digitally remastered from the original master tapes in 24-bit by Jean-Pierre Chalbos.
Toi Crystal Jackson, known professionally as Sweet Tee, is an American rapper who was signed to Profile Records in the 1980s. Her first single in 1986 was the hit "It's My Beat" featuring DJ Jazzy Joyce. Sweet Tee would be part of the crew of producer Hurby Azor’s "Idol Makers". She scored minor chart success with her debut album, "It's Tee Time", in 1988, which peaked at No. 31 on the US Billboard R&B chart. She scored four chart hit singles from her debut album. These included "I Got da Feelin'", "On the Smooth Tip" and "Why Did It Have to Be Me". In the UK, "It's Like That Y'All" peaked in the Top 40. JMJ Records a subsidiary of Def Jam Recordings signed Sweet Tee and in 1995, Sweet Tee released the single "What's up, Star?" under the moniker Suga. The song appeared on Russell Simmons presents The Show: The Soundtrack. UK-based act Tin Tin Out's 1994 debut single, "The Feeling", was a piano-based house track that sampled Sweet Tee's lyrics from "I Got da Feelin'". The song reached No. 32 in the UK Singles Chart. It is credited to Tin Tin Out featuring Sweet Tee.
Cocoa Chanelle is an American DJ, recording artist and radio DJ/host currently broadcasting on Audacy's 94.7 in New York City. She has worked as an on-air personality and mix show DJ on New York City's Hip Hop radio station HOT 97 and Kiss FM. She has worked in television, being the first DJ to be employed by BET Networks for the weekly teen talk show "Teen Summit."
Hip hop music in Washington, D.C., has been an important part of the culture of the area.
Raheem Devon Gibson, also known as Rah Nyse, is an American record producer and songwriter. He produced "Let Me Find Out" for the hip hop trio Naughty By Nature as well as "I Want the World to See" for the rapper G-Dep, which appeared on his album Child of the Ghetto (2001).
Ishmael Reginald Butler is an American rapper, record producer and songwriter. He is best known for his work with such groups as Digable Planets in the 1990s and Shabazz Palaces in the 2010s.
References
- ↑ "I LOVE IT". ASCAP. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Stancell, Steven (1996). Rap Whoz Who: The World of Rap Music, Performers, Producers & Promoters. New York: Schrimer Books. p. 72. ISBN 0028645200.
- 1 2 DJ Jazzy Joyce at allmusic.com
