If you’ve never heard of Digable Planets, or if you only vaguely remember them as the group that made “cool like that,” then you absolutely, definitely, positively have to listen to their 1994 album, Blowout Comb.
For me, it’s one of those go-to albums that I can listen to at any time, regardless of my mood or the time of day. It somehow manages to boost my energy and relax me all at once. It opens with a fanfare of horns that seems to announce something big and exciting, like the coming of some kind of jazz army. But then the beat drops on the first track, and you spontaneously slide down in your seat so that you’re more horizontal than vertical, and begin an hour of contented head-nodding. It might be my favourite hip-hop album of all time.
Blowout Comb has a little bit of everything that I like most about hip-hop; great beats, obscure samples, lyrics that range from fiercely political to just-for-fun. And there’s something really neighbourhood-ish about it, too. The record is punctuated by ambient street noise, references to various New York neighbourhoods…the album art is even laid out like a community newspaper. As the record wraps up, you can’t help but feel like you’ve just spent an hour wandering the streets of Brooklyn on a late-summer afternoon.
But it’s this track, second on the album, that grabbed me from my first listen 20 years ago, and still pulls me in today.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. The mix of samples. The wonderfully mesmerizing main loop is from Grant Green’s “Luanna’s Theme,” although it’s significantly faster here. Its smoothness is contrasted by the funky syncopation of the drum loop, a sample from the legendary Meters.
2. The blend of voices. Whereas the Fugees felt more like a supergroup composed of three extremely different personalities, the three MCs in Digable Planets have such similar styles that they almost seem like variations of the same person. Like they’re wearing the same vocal uniform.
3. The final guitar solo. Played live by Huey Cox, it adds colour to the track while fitting perfectly with the vibe of the underlying sample.
Recommended listening activity:
Walking through your favourite city park.