Digable Planets/ Yani Mo/ D.R.E.S. tha Beatnik & DJ Majestik: Live at The Masquerade
Digable Planets first broke onto the Hip Hop scene with their debut LP, Reachin’
(A New Refutation of Time and Space), and their Grammy award winning single from that album, “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)”. The year was 1992. I was a child in the Golden Age of Hip Hop, so you know a Digable Planets cassette was definitely in my deck at one time or another. Fast forward to the present day, Digable Planets (Mariana “Ladybug Mecca” Vieira, Ishmael “Butterfly” Butler, and Craig “Doodlebug” Irving) are still touring and bringing their personal brand of funk/unorthodox jazz/hip hop/alternative hip hop to a venue near you. I was lucky enough to catch them playing to a nearly sold out crowd at The Masquerade, in Atlanta, with two local favorites, the legendary D.R.E.S. tha Beatnik & DJ Majestik and Yani Mo as the opening support.
D.R.E.S. tha Beatnik & DJ Majestik kicked off the night for the crowd by giving us a powerful and energetic performance that included many classic hip hop hits from over the years. D.R.E.S., real name Andre Lett, is a Philly native, but now resides in Atlanta where he became known as a human beatbox phenomenon. From the City of Brotherly Love to the Dirty South… there is no other way to go if you want to be in the middle of a hip hop mecca. Check out some music from D.R.E.S. tha Beatnik by following this link
to his ReverbNation page.
Another local darling, Yani Mo, was next up giving the crowd some local fair that was due! Atlanta is full of up and coming MCs from all walks of life. Yani Mo is one of those MCs that deserves to have her story heard. Her profound debut LP, The Moment, was released in 2017 and it was one of the most overlooked albums last year. Please check out some of Yani Mo’s music over at her Official Soundcloud page today and see what you think.
Once the band walked on stage, we all knew it was time for Digable Planets to come out and play! Throughout the night, I noticed a Lazy Boy type chair on stage but no one ever sat on it until now. “Ladybug Mecca” was in a walking boot and could not stand long. So she performed all night while being very comfortable –which was just deserved since she actually continued to do this tour while having this health issue. Digable Planets played a nearly two (2) hour set that included all their classic hits, such as; “Where I’m From”, “Nickel Bags”, and “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)”. This was probably the best performance by Digable Planets since I first saw them back in the early 2000’s. You can listen to Digable Planets by following this link to their Official Soundcloud page right here.
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Remember don’t think about it, just buy the damn ticket! As always, hope to see you at a show or festival soon!