Digable Planets deliberately disavowed the toughness of hip-hop culture: the trio's leader called himself Butterfly, his foil Ladybug purred like Eartha Kitt, and they produced hooks out of lines like "We're just babies, man." Despite occasional flashes of sorrow (like the pro-choice recitation "La Femme Fétal"), the group's happy and laidback on this debut, with tracks made out of old jazz records and finger-snaps, and words that draw on 50s hipster slang. Reachin' spawned the Grammy-winning single "Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)," and after this album, their joyous Blue Note-and-black-lights bounce lost some of its novelty. --Douglas Wolk

It's not clear why they didn't just call this a "greatest hits" compilation since it so clearly is one. That said, it does a decent job of pulling out the best songs from the DP's two mid-90s albums (though one should ask: can a two-album group really qualify for "greatest hits" status?). The seminal "Rebirth of Slick" is on here, as are other slices of jazzy mellowness from Reachin', like "Nickel Bags" and "Dial 7." It's good to see how much material is here from the underrated Blowout Comb, which features superior musical and lyrical material such as the deliciously dark "Dog It" and the light-hearted charm of "Jettin'." The album also features some exclusive material such as unreleased songs ("Three Slims Dynamite"), "Dedicated" (which only appeared on the B-side of a single) and remixes for both "Where I'm From" and "9th Wonder." --Oliver Wang

Digable Planets deliberately disavowed the toughness of hip-hop culture: the trio's leader called himself Butterfly, his foil Ladybug purred like Eartha Kitt, and they produced hooks out of lines like "We're just babies, man." Despite occasional flashes of sorrow (like the pro-choice recitation "La Femme Fétal"), the group's happy and laidback on this debut, with tracks made out of old jazz records and finger-snaps, and words that draw on 50s hipster slang. Reachin' spawned the Grammy-winning single "Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)," and after this album, their joyous Blue Note-and-black-lights bounce lost some of its novelty. --Douglas Wolk

Digable Planets deliberately disavowed the toughness of hip-hop culture: the trio's leader called himself Butterfly, his foil Ladybug purred like Eartha Kitt, and they produced hooks out of lines like "We're just babies, man." Despite occasional flashes of sorrow (like the pro-choice recitation "La Femme Fétal"), the group's happy and laidback on this debut, with tracks made out of old jazz records and finger-snaps, and words that draw on 50s hipster slang. Reachin' spawned the Grammy-winning single "Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)," and after this album, their joyous Blue Note-and-black-lights bounce lost some of its novelty. --Douglas Wolk