Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | February 9, 1993 | |||
Recorded | 1992–1993 | |||
Studio | Palatial Sound Doctor Studio & Resort (North Bergen, New Jersey) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 56:35 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler Shane "The Doctor" Faber Mike "Launching An Attack" Mangini | |||
Digable Planets chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space) | ||||
|
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. [2]
The album was produced by Digable Planets' Ishmael Butler ("Butterfly") and features raps from Butler, Irving and Viera. [3] The production leans heavily on jazz samples, Butler explaining that "it was all about resources, really...I just went and got the records that I had around me. And a lot of those were my dad's shit, which was lots of jazz. The whole concept of 'We're a jazz group' didn't go down like that. Except that DJ Premier was a big influence, and he sampled a lot of jazz." [4]
Lyrically, the tone of the album is less overtly political than its successor Blowout Comb , but still touches on issues such as abortion rights ("La Femme Fetal") and the drug abuses of jazz musicians ("Last of the Spiddyocks"). The album title derives from A New Refutation of Time , an essay by Argentinian author Jorge Luis Borges, as well as the tendency of earlier jazz musicians in naming their albums ( Moanin' , Cookin' , etc). [5] Butler and Irving give a track-by-track account of the album and its production in Brian Coleman's book Check the Technique . [4]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Chicago Tribune | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | B+ [7] |
Los Angeles Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
NME | 8/10 [9] |
Pitchfork | 8.7/10 [10] |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 9/10 [13] |
The Village Voice | A [14] |
The single "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" became a hit in 1993, breaking into the Top 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart [15] and winning Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1994. [16] In 1998, Reachin' was listed in The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums. [17] In 2008, "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" was ranked number 62 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop. [18] The song "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" was used for a Tide commercial in 2009.
All music is composed by Digable Planets.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "It's Good to Be Here" | 5:06 |
2. | "Pacifics" | 4:31 |
3. | "Where I'm From" | 4:35 |
4. | "What Cool Breezes Do" | 3:22 |
5. | "Time & Space (A New Refutation Of)" | 3:33 |
6. | "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" | 4:22 |
7. | "Last of the Spiddyocks" | 4:28 |
8. | "Jimmi Diggin' Cats" | 3:42 |
9. | "La Femme Fetal" | 4:36 |
10. | "Escapism (Gettin' Free)" | 3:24 |
11. | "Appointment at the Fat Clinic" | 2:58 |
12. | "Nickel Bags" | 3:19 |
13. | "Swoon Units" | 4:00 |
14. | "Examination of What" | 4:44 |
Chart (1993) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canadian Albums ( RPM ) [19] | 40 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [20] | 22 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [21] | 50 |
US Billboard 200 [22] | 15 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [23] | 5 |
Chart (1993) | Position |
---|---|
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [24] | 34 |
Richard Martin Lloyd Walters, better known as Slick Rick, is an English-American rapper and record producer.
The Chronic is the debut studio album by the American hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre. It was released on December 15, 1992, by his record label Death Row Records and distributed by Interscope Records. Recording sessions took place in June 1992 at Death Row Studios in Los Angeles and at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood.
The Great Adventures of Slick Rick is the debut studio album by hip hop recording artist Slick Rick, released on November 1, 1988.
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, The Roots, Jungle Brothers, and Dream Warriors.
Acid jazz is a music genre that combines elements of funk, soul, and hip hop, as well as jazz and disco. Acid jazz originated in clubs in London during the 1980s with the rare groove movement and spread to the United States, Japan, Eastern Europe, and Brazil. Acts included The Brand New Heavies, D'Influence, Incognito, Us3, and Jamiroquai from the UK and Buckshot LeFonque and Digable Planets from the U.S. The rise of electronic club music in the middle to late 1990s led to a decline in interest, and in the twenty-first century, the movement became indistinct as a genre. Many acts that might have been defined as acid jazz are seen as jazz-funk, neo soul, or jazz rap.
"Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" is a song by British jazz-rap group Us3, originally released in October 1992 as the lead single from their debut album, Hand On the Torch (1993). The song was recorded as a demo a year before the group's first release and features a sample of Herbie Hancock's song "Cantaloupe Island". Another sample, the announcement by Pee Wee Marquette, is taken from the Blue Note album A Night at Birdland, Vol. 1 by The Art Blakey Quintet. "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" did not chart in the group's native UK, but in the US, it reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the group's only top 40 single. It was subsequently re-released in UK where it peaked at No. 23. The song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on March 25, 1994 for selling over 500,000 copies.
The Lords of the Underground (L.O.T.U.G.) is an American hip-hop trio based in Newark, New Jersey. The group is composed of Dupré Kelly, Al'Terik Wardrick and Bruce A. Colston.
My Ghetto Report Card is the ninth studio album by American rapper E-40. It was released on March 14, 2006, by BME Recordings, Sick Wid It Records and Warner Bros. Records. My Ghetto Report Card was supported by two singles: "Tell Me When to Go" featuring Keak Da Sneak, and "U and Dat" featuring T-Pain and Kandi Girl.
The Last Poets is the debut studio album by spoken word recording artists The Last Poets. It was released in 1970 through Douglas Records. Recording sessions took place at Impact Sound Studio with production by East Wind Associates, managers of The Last Poets at the time of recording. The album peaked at #29 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and at #3 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in the United States.
American rapper Lil Wayne has released thirteen studio albums, one collaborative album, three compilation albums, five extended plays, and twenty-nine mixtapes. Wayne made his album debut in 1999, with Tha Block Is Hot, which was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. His later albums, Lights Out released in 2000, and 500 Degreez, released in 2002, attracted minor attention. In 2004, he released the first of his infamous Carter series, with Tha Carter. In 2005, Tha Carter II was released. In 2006, Wayne released a collaborative album with rapper Birdman, titled Like Father, Like Son. In 2008, Wayne released his best-selling album so far, titled Tha Carter III. Certified triple platinum by the RIAA, Tha Carter III won the Best Rap Album award at the 2009 Grammy Awards. Lil Wayne founded record label Young Money Entertainment and released a collaborative album featuring rappers signed to the label, We Are Young Money, in 2009, followed by his debut rock music album Rebirth in 2010. While serving an 8-month prison sentence in New York he released another album entitled I Am Not a Human Being, in September 2010. The next addition to Tha Carter series, Tha Carter IV, was released on August 29, 2011. In 2013, Wayne released a sequel to his 2010 album I Am Not a Human Being, titled I Am Not a Human Being II, followed by two compilation albums with his labels, Rich Gang (2013), and Young Money: Rise of an Empire (2014). After years of legal battles, his 12th studio album Tha Carter V was released on September 28, 2018. Lil Wayne released another album, Funeral, on January 31, 2020.
Blowout Comb is the second 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.
Love Forever Shines is the eighth studio album by American singer Regina Belle. It was released by Pendulum Records on May 13, 2008 in the United States. The album became Belle's highest-charting album since Reachin' Back (1995), peaking at number three on the US Top Gospel Albums and number 15 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The album's first single "God Is Good" peaked at number 34 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
Survival of the Fittest is the debut album by jazz/funk quintet the Headhunters, released in 1975 on Arista Records. It features the stand out track "God Make Me Funky", in 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.
"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.
The 1994 Soul Train Music Awards were held on Tuesday, March 15, 1994, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The show was hosted by Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight and Johnny Gill.
Beyond the Spectrum: the Creamy Spy Chronicles is a compilation album by Digable Planets. The album contains remastered songs in addition to previously unavailable songs and remixes. The album contains their 1993 top ten hit "Rebirth of Slick ". Indicating the group's appreciation of jazz history, the album was released by the jazz label Blue Note Records.
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.
Michael Mangini is an American record producer and owner of Mojo Music, a production and artist management company. He has worked with Digable Planets, Imani Coppola, and Baha Men, among others.
Jazz Ishmael Butler, professionally known as Lil Tracy, is an American rapper and singer. He was also known under the name Yung Bruh during the beginning of his career. Tracy is best known for his collaborations with the late rapper Lil Peep, specifically "Awful Things" which peaked at 79 on the Billboard Hot 100, and for being a prominent member of the "SoundCloud rap" and underground rap scene.