daleo79 Now, that’s the kind of thoughtful reply I was hoping for! Well thought out, excellent comparisons, and better yet, you might be right. I originally posted my disdain for the current state of hip hop because I currently listen to all modern forms of music, and enjoy the progression for the most part. R&B, Neo Soul, Modern Rock, and Electronic music are all genres that have made huge strides in developing their sound. For the most part, it’s hip hop that frustrates me the most because I find that most current artists are lazy when it comes to production, beat making, cadence, and most of all, lyricism. As I mentioned in one of my posts, I absolutely love what Kendrick, Run The Jewels, Open Eagle Mike, and Childish Gambino are currently doing. It’s progressive, clever, and is clearly the product of hard work with a finger on the pulse of what sounds good. The bulk of Trap however, is mundane, lazy, and void of the energy that the great hip hop artists brought to the table back in the Kate 80’s, early 90’s, and even with a handful of artists today. Now, as you mentioned, this could simply be based on my taste and that hip hop has simply passed me by (in my old age). Maybe. I’d certainly agree with this if I was in the minority, but unfortunately I’m not. Ask any hip hop head that knows a thing or two about the genre (Questlove, Q Tip, Black Thought, Ebro from Beats one, Redman...) and they’ll express similar sentiments. What I want to make crystal clear is that I’m not complaining for the sake of complaining, or that I don’t enjoy progression and change. Both simply aren’t part of my outlook on music. I’m merely adding my opinion as someone who absolutely adores hip hop from past to (sometimes) present. As someone who wants the genre to flourish and change for the better. And from what I’ve noticed, sadly it isn’t. Maybe this is just my opinion, and I’ve been wrong before. What I’d encourage you to do is ask some fellow hip hop heads who listen to all eras, if hip hop is currently in a good place. If you do this objectively, you’ll find the truth. Ps. My apologies for lashing out at you with the ‘sarcasm’ rebuttal. You clearly have a solid grasp on change within the realm of hip hop. I just don’t like short, punchy comments that don’t include a lot of insight (much like the current state of rap music, lol).
@@brianshickey thanks for the comprehensive reply. I was pointing out that digable planets had a unique claim to this type of music. It was different to the roots, de la soul, tribe called quest etc. As I mentioned, I still chill out to their music. Cool like dat is still cool like dat 😎🎶👌🏽
I first saw them when this episode aired. I developed the biggest crush on her. She was the epitomy of beauty, funkiness, and sophistication. LADYBUG MECCA ♥️🧡💛💚💙💜
its awesome... i wish rap took off from their genre... its so classic and no obscene.... unfortunately bigger money funded gansta rap during this time and i feel thats what prevented groups like this to take off
Not sure why they weren’t more popular tbh…there was tons and tons of solid hip hop acts flooding the airwaves at this point in time. But DP’s will always be one of my all-time favorites
@@larryelefante My brother plays in a band called "Down North" in the Seattle area. Their drummer Conrad also drums for Digable Planets and is an amazing drummer. I wish them both the best. Down North plays no rap or hip hop but alternative funk. I like Digable Planets even though I don't care too much for rap.
Paul Shaffer and the Late Night band was the best band in the business for many years. They could back up anyone, any genre, from Jazz to Rock and and everything in between.
This is my favorite song from their debut album. Such a talented group I wish they had done more than just two studio albums. Ladybug Mecca got one of the best flows of any female MC.
Yo if videos this beautiful had 10 million views and all the stuff with that many views had far less, the world would be a better place....a shame really
That took a lotta guts to just go in and play with the house band on national TV. That band is serious pros but they didn’t necessarily understand a hip hop groove. But DPs rocked it.
this is smart, urban, stylish cool hip hop. Each is good looking, clean, highly listenable ... they have to use profanity every other word. Paul's band's backing is super tight too, great performance by all. I love these guys, just saw them at Blue Note Waikiki in Hawaii, they're still dope.
Hip-hop was pruned by the music industry to eliminate these types of offspring and to produce a more predictable/profitable brand of mainstream "rap". Sad to see...
Sheesh.. you ain't never lied, sis! This man threw a whole monkey wrench in my love life for a minute. He became the prototype of what I physically NEEDED in a man. Nothing less would do! But the way his specific genetics is set up... yeeehhhh... ..lets just say I was lonely as h*ll waiting around for THAT duplicate😩🤣🤣
Cool name and hot group. Had a crush on ladybug she was very beautiful without showing skin. I miss them. I wish someone would invent a time machine and i can go back to 1990s. Heck im 52 now ill be 52 going back instead of 24. Thats how much i love that time. Everyone enjoy your youth it goes by quickly
Peace, peace, peace y'all Strange Real strange, real strange An overdose, a nickel bag of funk Now move on, move on yeah Hey man are you ready to go Boogie jive and rap is life where I'm from Where I'm from, Ahmed play with Izzy where I'm from Where I'm from, it be like run your coat black Jupiter, keeps her fat beats by the pack Where I'm from, nappy hair is life We be reading Marx where I'm from The kids be rocking Clarks where I'm from You turn around your cap, you talk over a beat And dig some sounds booming out a jeep Where I'm from, cocoons hide the youth, swoon units hundred proof You want some beef, they will cut you some where I'm from The beats is infinite where I'm from Voodoo, ashubani, gangsta lean where I'm from I'm interplanetary, my insect movements vary It's kinky if it's hair, G where I'm from The fire hoses blow It's purple when it snow I do a hit and go, split It's hip, what's hip When hip is just the norm Cause Planets pledge allegiance to the funk in all its forms The kinks, the dance, the prints in all the shirts My grandmother told my Mama that it's Africa at work On vibes, we freak, them universal beats You find it at the spot you hit at ends of every week We twist, exist, to spin the maddest hits Up here funk is our neighbour so we paid her a visit The lip we sip can't house the nine zips For rock we can't do nothing, for this we come equipped Off disc, off tape, rap blasting til from eight The really truly fat the fly on the flip Cocoa gotta know, how Planets gotta roll Speak the mega cool, get funky as a goal It's calm, relax, we're only some new jacks That acts from the funk but don't play the role Where you from Weekend Dig Plans got T's where I'm from Where I'm from, it's Clarence 13 where I'm from Where I'm from, brothers took the beats and got fly (Why?) That's most asked by 85, where I'm from Faking the funk you get did Projects, tenements, pyramids where I'm from We living off the boom boom crack It's that hip-hop rockers, jazz when I max Peace be the greeting of the insect tribe Pestilent forces can't catch the vibe We live to love and we love to rock mics We speak in ghetto tongue cause ghetto's the life Food for thought so get a buffet plate The lyrics are so fat you might gain weight So just watch me step alone, into the sunset Left foot right foot 1-2 mic check Brewing funk inside my soul kitchen So pull up a chair, here's a bib, have a listen Of hardhead intervene, damn I know you're fluent Yeah, cause Doodle ain't having it and Butterfly knew it Where you from Venus acts a fool at the square right, yeah Doctors engineer in a pair right, yeah Hip-hop made a point last year right, yeah But Planets is the joint this year right, yeah Planets got the dubs and live to grass-hop Duck out from the fuzz, that sweat the hip-hop Rising like we foam, get it from the dome I'm from where the fat beats stretch for mad blocks We can get a kit, without no thread Feeling funky beats go straight to the head Fall into a club, dig on what we love It be past six before we reach bed Butter freaks on relics we say those are fat Doodle, Mecc, and Silk, the quad where it's at We need to stack a sack, for rap to take us dap So we treat our clips, just like busting caps Rip it till dawn, kick it till dawn Hip-Hop is the fix or else we be gone People thought they canned it Rap is not by bandits Digable Planets got it going on Everywhere, every everywhere, everywhere Everywhere, every everywhere, yeah ...
Paul Shaffer and the World's most dangerous band. Straight putin down the hip-hop beats for real. This is a live show people. Quest love is a magician these days no question. But Paul Shaffer is a founding father.
Great story where the group was worried about telling their band that Paul and the band was going to play on the show. They were worried it would be corny and their Berkelee trained band would make fun. Instead they were all hyped that Paul was doing the backing and explained how insane this band actually was. The rest is this…which is history
Isaiah V Indeed it still does. Kendrick, Run the Jewels, Childish Gambino, Little Simz, Rapsody, Vince Staples and another handful are doing amazing things within the genre however the amount of talent pales in comparison to the plethora of artists that emerged in the late 80’s to the mid 90’s. Quite frankly, dozens of iconic albums dropped every month making the genre a literal wonderland of talent and excitement. That’s what I’m referring to in asking ‘what happened?’ It’s somewhat of a rhetorical question as the answer is quite clear.. Like with most raw, underground music, when it is infiltrated with money, and commercialism, record labels begin to micromanage their artists and dictate what they’re to release. That’s why we don’t see any more hip hop groups (think Digable Planets, Heiroglyphics crew, A Tribe Called Quest, Gang Starr, The Roots, Leaders Of The New School, Outkast, Goodie Mob, RUN DMC, Beastie Boys, Wu Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, Pharcyde, De La Soul, Main Source, and on and on..). They’re too difficult to control. This is why single artists have taken over as they are far more malleable and profitable. The downside is that the artistry begins to suffer which is why the explosion of artistic talent we used to see in the early 90’s doesn’t exist today. Trust me, as a DJ, a vinyl collector, and as a die hard fan of the genre, I continue to dig. I suppose my point is that I’m finding myself digging much deeper and often coming up short. Maybe I’m wrong, and maybe hip hop is just in an evolutionary plateau. I just hope that artists like Kendrick and RTJ can hold it down or better yet, spark the flame to reignite the talent that used to dominate the airwaves. Let’s hope, right? Thanks for the reply. I’m always down for a discussion around the genre I love so dearly.
Brian Hickey Exactly. I believe the same. However, I don’t expect anything of substance from the mainstream. But then again the biggest artists in this genre are the ones who do have substance and talent and stay around for the longest.
Brian Hickey Also with radio becoming less and less important in this era, does it really matter who’s on anymore? The internet is at your access and that is where you can find tons of great artists coming out today.
Isaiah V Great replies and I agree with almost everything you said. No, the mainstream isn’t where you find authentic hip hop, and it isn’t where I found all of my favourite groups in the 90’s (De La Soul, Digable Planets, Main Source..). What concerns me is that the bulk of today’s hip hop in general (mainstream or underground) is hurting when compared to their predecessors. As mentioned, there used to be an overwhelming abundance of incredible hip hop whereas today it’s difficult to find the same caliber of rap that existed not long ago. As I stated, I believe this is due to the disappearance of hip hop collectives (Native Tongues, Def Squad, Heiroglyphics, Soulquarians, Quannum,..) and due to the emergence of single hip hop artists. ?uestlove of the Legendary Roots Crew, wrote a book called Mo Meta Blues and discusses this phenomenon in detail. If you’ve yet to read it, and are a big fan of the genre, then I highly recommend it.
![Digable Planets - Where I'm From [2-17-93]](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
