Grammy Award winning talent, Ladybug Mecca ("Rebirth Of Slick (Cool
Like Dat)", 1993) formerly of the rap group Digable Planets is currently
in the studio recording her new solo debut set to be released in late Fall
2003.
Ladybug
Mecca, possibly rap’s most notorious voice of her time with the group Digable
Planets in the early 90’s, is now back for her first solo project after a
long layoff and start of a new family. Rebirth of Mec, which showcases
among other things, Ladybug’s soulful versatility, is due out in stores in
late 2003.
On Rebirth of Mec, she bares her soul and explores her journey from
innocence into sense. She pairs her thoughtful words with an eclectic blend
of music: breezy Afro-Brazilian rhythms cross-pollinate with hip-hop beats,
fiery rock riffs and post-bop blue notes meet and prosper. Co-produced and
overseen by Mecca and Nu Paradigm CEO Nkosi Gray, the set features Hitman,
from Dr. Dre’s Aftermath camp, and producers include Shane Conry, Isreal,
Sa-Ra and Martin Luther, from San Francisco-based Good Vibes.
The track "Hit & Mec" details what makes the albums only match
up work over trunk rattlin beats and a dazzling soundscape. Hitman, who has
rhythmed with Dr. Dre and Eminen in the past, puts it this way, "Im straight
gutta, shes straight profound." Another song, "Step Up Wise",
boom-bangs to a message about education and empowerment. "If you want
the truth," Mecca explains, "you have to step up wise."
Prominent in Meccas history is her role in Digable Planets, a communal clan
of poet-rappers that made hip-hop bebop popular in the 90s. Alongside her
two male partners she burst onto the scene like a quiet storm, blowing away
expectations and defining a new stance for ladies who followed on the mike.
"Mecca The Ladybug makes great strides in proving women in rap dont need
to scream and swagger in order to be tough and assertive," wrote Larry
Flick in Billboard magazine. "Mecca never raises her voice but
always is a commanding figure," he continued.
The crews 1993 unveiling, Reaching (A New Refutation of Time and Space),
sold platinum and included samples from Curtis Mayfield, Sonny Rollins and
other pacesetters. The single Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat) was
a Top 10 smash that won a Grammy award for Best Rap Performance by a duo or
group. The trio also scored one Billboard award, among other accolades,
and toured the world as the opening act for Sade. Its follow-up, Blowout
Comb, followed the groups creative light to another singular level of
inspiration.
"I want listeners to come into my world," says Mecca of her solo
debut, Rebirth of Mec, on the independent, self-determining Nu-Paradigm
Entertainment. "I’d like them to feel they’ve entered into a new dimension,
somewhere they’ve been before but can’t remember yet. All in all, Rebirth
celebrates life."
As Mecca told writer Cheo Hodari Coker (Vibe Magazine), "Creating
music is like giving birth, and your baby is a gift to the world."