Reachin [CD], Digable Planets, CD

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 such as "We're just babies, man". Despite occasional flashes of sorrow (like the pro-choice recitation "La Femme Fetal"), the group is happy and laid back 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 BlueNote-and-black-lights bounce lost some of it's novelty. -Douglas Wolk