Jazz drummer, producer, bandleader, and rapper Kassa Overall takes Digable Planets’ “Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)” and gives it a new interpretation. Overall speeds things up and takes the funk, opting for a straight jazz feeling. The song combines his longtime love of jazz and hip-hop. He had plenty of time to learn every quirk of the song as a fan and as an opening act for Digable Planets and their drummer for a year. He broke down the methodology in a press release.

“It nods to Digable Planets’ smooth flow and Art Blakey’s ‘Stretching.’ Knowing the song so well, I was able to flip the script with odd time rhythms and utilize many elements from the original, from vocal parts to production details. This one is high energy and still crispy.”

The song is among a collection of hip-hop covers that will be on Overall’s forthcoming album, CREAM, which is his fourth. The forever conversation between jazz and hip-hop is still alive and Overall’s passion for both will be fully unleashed on CREAM. The album comes out September 12 on the Warped label and he will start his next American tour before its release. You can see all of the dates and buy tickets on his website.

Shabazz Palaces has revealed a video for “Exotic BOP” featuring  Purple Tape Nate the album’s title track. Ishmael Butler stands tall like a king with a bird resting on his hand. The dreamy echo-heavy soundscape matches the visual and fits Shabazz Palace’s penchant for creating cinematic moments instead of formulaic music videos. Butler’s constant envelope-pushing bubbles up into a collage of interstellar trap music and techno. Exotic Birds Of Prey is available on CD, Vinyl, and streaming.  The rap legend is touring the United States this summer with his other group Digable Planets. 

Watch Ish from Shabazz Palaces and Royce The Choice rhyme in the video for “Binoculars.” The latest look from the Seattle artists is the first official video from Shabazz Palaces’s Robed in Rareness, which will be released on October 27th. 

Digable Planets is headlining BRIC’s Hip-Hop 50th Anniversary celebration this summer. The bohemian rap legends are currently on tour observing the 30th birthday of their Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space) debut album. Southern rapper Kari Faux who just saw her debut REAL BITCHES DON’T DIE, will open for Digable Planets. The show is on August 11th at the Lena Horne Bandshell in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Fans can RSVP now.