A close-up, dramatic live performance shot of a person with a grey-flecked beard and short hair singing into a microphone. They are wearing a light pink windbreaker with a teal collar over a brown button-down shirt and a long beaded necklace. The scene is bathed in atmospheric blue and red stage lighting, with a second microphone stand visible in the blurred background. — Digable Planets at Gasparilla Music Festival in Tampa, Florida on Feb. 17, 2024.
Credit: Ysanne Taylor / Gasparilla Music Festival

Digable Planets‘ mainstream success stopped on the Grammys stage. Collecting two awards in the 1994 ceremony, the emcee trio from Philly—Ishmael “Butterfly” Butler, Craig “Doodlebug” Irving, and Mary Ann “Ladybug Mecca” Vieira—used their speeches to call out hypocrisy in the music industry.

“We’d like everybody to think about the people right outside this door that’s homeless,” Butler told the crowd. “As you sit in these $900 seats … they out there not eating at all. Also, we’d like to say to the universal Black family that one day we’re gonna recognize our true enemy. We’re gonna stop attacking each other, and maybe then we’ll get some changes going on.”

The Planets’ sophomore album, Blowout Comb, carried the same tone, spreading antifascist messages to stand up for Black Americans. Unsurprisingly, it got virtually no label support and was considered a commercial flop, leading to the group’s breakup. Somewhere along the way, its message and complex production made Blowout Comb a cult classic. Thirty years later, the group is back together, and St. Pete is part of an extended anniversary tour.

Tickets to see Digable Planets play Jannus Live in St. Petersburg on Thursday, Feb. 12 are still available for $28 and up.

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This article appears in Feb. 05 – 11, 2026.