Digable Planets refuted time and space, taking the Belly Up back to the land of the honey-dip lovelies with Ric Scales

Digable Planets landed on the scene in 1992 with the genre-defining singles like Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat), Where I’m From, and Nickle Bags anchoring their instant classic debut album Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space) early in ’93. However, it was 1994’s Blowout Comb (characterized by dense, organic instrumentation and Afrocentric, Marxist-leaning lyricism) that established the trio’s dedication to deeper jazz integration and Brooklyn-centric sonic aesthetics. Continuing the album’s 30th anniversary tour at the Belly Up recently, the Insect Crew took the packed house on yet another journey into the world of contemporary jazz-rap and Afrofuturism.

Saddled with task of warming up the crowd, rapper Ric Scales and producer chuck m00n laid out the local hip hop flavor as the duo 18Scales. Ric’s penchant for crowd work helped get the nostalgia-seeking audience hyped on some of the modern sounds of the San Diego hip hop community. Bringing up guests Seefor Yourself, Shawn Christopher, Red Moore, and Shea Givens added to the abundance of local artistry on display in the warm up slot, leaving the crowd primed for main event.

The modern incarnation of Digable Planets features, as always, the vocal stylings of Ishmael “Butterfly” Butler, Mariana “Ladybug Mecca” Vieira, and Craig “Doodlebug” Irving but also benefits from the addition of The Culprits. This five-piece backing band features Darrius Willrich on keys, Carlos Overall on saxophone, Kassa Overall on drums, Brian “Tugboat” Turner on bass, and Thaddeus “Thaddillac” Turner on guitar. While Butterfly still holds down some of the group’s original samples and loops on the MPC, the live dynamics of The Culprits backing the classic lyricism of the three MCs has helped reshape the Digable Planets sound for modern palettes.