DIGABLE PLANETS — Blowout Comb (review)

DIGABLE PLANETS — Blowout Comb album cover Album · 1994 · Jazz Related Electronica/Hip-Hop Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
Rokukai
I was thrilled and surprised to see Digable Planets available to stream, with a comprehensive bio and all. "Blowout Comb" is one of those rare albums that can turn a non rap fan into a curious rap invesigator.

I was in high school when "Cool Like Dat" was on the radio, and I remember the kids making fun of it in gym class. Growing up in NE Wisconsin, not surprising. Yet I was mesmerized by the rhythm, the smooth vocal phrasing and the infectious beat of the song. Needless to say, Digable Planets was never thrown into our steady rotation of Motley Crue, Ozzy Osbourne, ACDC, Metallica, Tom Petty, and the Violent Femmes.

15 years and too many Dave Matthews Band bootlegs later, when I (re)discovered the genius of the young artists, I wonder why we never threw Digable Planets into the CD player in high school. Man, both of their albums are awesome! The beats, the rhymes, the creativity is beyond any of their contemporaries I've ever heard. In essence, "Blowout Comb" is a logical extension of an almost fully realized debut.

More jazzy interludes, plenty of electronic samples, extended songs with plenty of variety within the genre. Highlights include the May 4th Movement, Black Ego, and Axiom of Creamy Spies. The closing number, "For Corners" is a perfect end to the Digable Planets legacy. I can't even describe it, progressive electronica perhaps. Anyways, it's damn entertaining.

I don't consider myself a rap or electronica fan, but this is one of the glowing members of my collection. I don't listen to it much, but if I'm having a domino 40 party in the backyard, Blowout Comb will be blasting through the speakers. Ultra chill, happy, and friendly.

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