Planets realigned

Ishmael “Butterfly” Butler, having spent many years with the psychedelic hiphop team Shabazz Palaces, reunited with his earlier band, Digable Planets, for their first tour since 2005. They land at Belly Up on August 20. Butler answered his phone for a few questions.

Who inspired you to start rapping?

“Rakim. The single that had ‘Eric B. Is President’ and ‘Check Out My Melody.’ That was pretty much it for me [laughs]. I used to listen to television commercials. I liked sitcom melodies, movie themes.”

Did you have any favorite sitcom themes?

“I liked ‘Welcome Back Kotter,’ ‘Happy Days,’ ‘Felix the Cat,’ I liked a lot of Looney Tunes score music.”

Digable Planets is very jazzy. Who are your go-to jazz musicians?

“Well, if you say Art Blakey, then you gotta say all the Jazz Messengers that played on his songs! Miles Davis...”

What are the major differences between the two Planets albums?

“We moved from a home studio to a serious studio with a nice board in it, so sonically we had a lot more available. It made the sound richer and a little more mature. We had toured a lot, seen things we hadn’t seen before. Our perspectives had been stretched and broadened. I think those overall differences trickled down into everything else: arrangements, artwork, all that stuff.”

Any strange or wonderful San Diego stories?

“I have had strange and wonderful things happen to me there. But they’re all kinda personal [laughs].”

How’s the crowd response to the reunion?

“We sold out all the shows. Medium-sized venues, intimacy, everything is sonically pretty clear, everybody gets a good sightline. Camp Lo is opening; they’ve been killin’ it. A good night for people to listen to music and see some shit, you know?”

Is a new Planets album in the works?

“Not in the works yet. But part of shit being in the works is thinking about it and talking about it.”