Song · Digable Planets
“Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)” by Digable Planets
From the album Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space) (1993)
“Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)” by Digable Planets appears on 5 radio countdowns from 4 stations between 2020 and 2025. It was first released in 1993 on the album Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space). Its best result is #201 on The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #8,171 indie & aaa song of all time and #234 of the '90s.
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Video from YouTube (DigablePlanetsVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" arrived in November 1992 as the first taste of Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space), the debut from the hip-hop trio Digable Planets, and it made jazz sound like the coolest thing on the block. Butterfly produced and arranged it, building the groove on a sample of "Stretching" by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers, and all three members, Butterfly, Doodlebug and Ladybug Mecca, wrote the words and take the mic.
The payoff was big: number 15 on the Hot 100, the top spot on the Hot Rap Singles chart, a gold record by March 1993 and the Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. It stayed their only top-40 single. Morgan Lawley directed the black-and-white video, and Cleveland.com later hailed the song as the high point of jazz rap.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 1924 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2021 | 385 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s | 908 |
| 2022 | 410 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s | 900 |
| 2023 | 201 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s | 893 |
| 2025 | 347 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs | 800 |
Also listed as: Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat); (Rebirth Of Slick) Cool Like That.
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