Re: The Digable Debatable

John Schauer (john_schauer@development.uchicago.edu)
Fri, 08 Dec 95 16:02:48 CST


To me, what killed the Blowout Comb LP was their tiny insect voices,
no matter what they talking about. Whether or not, as some have
claimed, Blowout represented the "real" Digables, the more spare
production on Reachin.. worked well with their quiet, half spoken,
rhymes.

The replayed "Love Rollercoaster" on the first single from Blowout was
nice but their voices couldn't compete at all. Being "revolutionary
Marxists" is all well and good, but if nobody can hear you....

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Subject: Re: The Digable Debatable
Author: MIKE_E1@sfov1.verifone.com at internet_mail
Date: 12/7/95 3:35 PM

I agree w/ grandblk on this one - the entire Digables Blowout Comb package
was a departure from any of the tired "posturing" I've seen before and was
a refreshing change of pace - there rhymes are likewise radically different
and all that.

I confess however that I haven't listened to all that much other rap in the
last few years.

Question: What other musicians are employing the Digable-style rap "flow"? I'm
always looking to broaden my horizontals!

Mike
-----------------------------------------------------------
From: IN%"grandblk@grove.ufl.edu" "Anthony Lamar Rucker" 7-DEC-1995
11:06:08.64
To: IN%"acid-jazz@ucsd.edu" "acid jazz"
CC:
Subj: RE: DIG PLANS

On Wed, 6 Dec 1995 SoulJazz@aol.com wrote:

> Apparently, Ish (aka Butterfly) has decided to
> flutter off on his own and to focus his energy on producing.

Where did you hear this?

> I think this may be a good idea, because I love a lot of the tracks on
> that disc, but the rhymes are annoying with their incessant references
> to "BVOOKLYN" and the pseudo-black nationalist posturing which was so
> blatantly an grasp for "street credibility."

Welll......for better or worse, a lot of rappers make it a point to
give shouts to their city. "Borough Check" is the jam.

I must strongly disagree with your statement that the lyrics on Blowout
Comb were an attempt to "be hard" and didn't truly represent them. If you
read past interviews, even before Blowout Comb was released, you'd see
that nothing about Blowout was fake. They are straight-up revolutionary
Marxists.

>Their manufactured rage had a hollow tone and negated
> what made them such a breath of fresh air on their first disc, which was that
> they came across as honest and real and positive.

Actually, they had that vibe from when they first came out, but they knew
that probably wouldn't fly from the get-go, that's why they put out that
happy-sounding debut, complete with those silly insect names and all. I
don't know anyone who even plays Reachin' after hearing Blowout Comb -- it
is just a way better record. Unfortunately, you sound like part of the audience
that only likes "happy" rap (with whatever social and political
implications that might bring), and the DPs probably set out to alienate
this segment of their (so-called) fan base, similar to what Sly Stone did
with There's A Riot Goin' On.

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Subject: Re: The Digable Debatable
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