The Komasket Music Festival has dug up another popular ‘90s hip hop group to play at this year’s event on the west side of Okanagan Lake July 29 to 31.
Following in the footsteps of 2009, when Atlanta hip hop collective Arrested Development headlined Komasket, this year, New York’s Digable Planets is scheduled to perform.
Originally made up of members Ishmael “Butterfly” Butler, Craig “Doodlebug” Irving, and Mary Ann “Ladybug Mecca” Vieira, Digable Planets is back on the scene with their alternative jazz, hip hop fusion.
Although, original member Ladybug Mecca is no longer with group, the two remaining members continue to tour with other female MCs to represent the female energy that has always been a core element of the group.
Recently performing alongside hip-hop group The Pharcyde at the North by Northeast music festival in Toronto, Digable Planets is probably best known for its 1993 debut recording, Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space).
The album’s lead single, Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat) became a crossover hit, peaking at #15 on Billboard Magazine’s Hot 100 singles chart, earning gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America and winning a Grammy award for best rap performance by a duo or group.
The group’s second album, Blowout Comb, released in 1994, departed from its debut by featuring appearances from outside artists, such as rappers Jeru the Damaja and Guru of Gang Starr fame.
The album, meant to raise awareness and funds in support of the AIDS epidemic in relation to the African-American community, was heralded as album of the year by Time Magazine.
The trio subsequently broke up after Ladybug Mecca, now known as Lady Mecca, left the group.
A retrospective album, Beyond the Spectrum: the Creamy Spy Chronicles, was released in 2005, mixing previously released material with remixes and B-sides.
Since 2009, Digable Planets’ Doodlebug and Butterfly have toured across the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Backed by a live band, Doodlebug’s Cosmic Funk Orchestra, and often with Butterfly’s Shabazz Palaces or hip hop duo Camp Lo as the supporting act, they continue to pack live concert venues around the globe with nostalgic old school, hip hop lovers and a new generation of fans.
Digable Planets will take the Mountain Stage at Komasket Music Festival July 30 at 11:30 p.m.
Also scheduled to perform that night are Canadian First Nation artists George Leach, Buffy St. Marie, South Africa’s Nkulee Dube, and Australia’s OKA among others. For a full weekend schedule visit komasketmusicfestival.com.
Weekend passes are available at the Ticket Seller in the Performing Arts Centre (250-549-7469, www.ticketseller.ca) and the Bean Scene coffee house.
