Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)

"Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" is a song by American hip hop trio Digable Planets, released as the first single from their debut album, Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space), in November 1992. The black-and-white music video was directed by Morgan Lawley.^[1] The song contains a sample from "Stretching" by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers.^{[original research?]}

"Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)"
Single by Digable Planets
from the album Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space)
Released	November 9, 1992 (1992-11-09)
Genre	Jazz rap
Length	4:19
Label	Pendulum, Elektra
Songwriter(s)	Ishmael Butler, Craig Irving, Mariana Vieira
Producer(s)	Butter Fly
Digable Planets singles chronology
"Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" (1992) "Where I'm From" (1993)
Music video
"Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" on YouTube

"Rebirth of Slick" peaked at No. 15 on the US Billboard Hot 100 during the week of March 6, 1993, becoming the group's only top-40 single. During that time, the song also topped the Hot Rap Singles chart. The single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on March 16, 1993, for sales of 500,000 copies. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 36th Grammy Awards. In 2021, Cleveland.com ranked the song as number 142 of the best 200 rap songs, calling it "the pinnacle of jazz rap."^[2]

Track listing

US 12-inch single^[3]

A1. "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" (Crashing Giant Step mix) – 4:34

A2. "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" (Crashing Instymix) – 4:34

A3. "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" (7-inch mix) – 4:05

B1. "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" (Uh-Oh Planet Earth Albumix) – 4:22

B2. "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" (Uh-Oh Planet Earth Instymix) – 4:22

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1993) Peak position New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[4] 8 UK Singles (OCC)[5] 67 US Billboard Hot 100[6] 15 US Dance Club Play (Billboard)[7] 20 US Hot R&B Singles (Billboard)[8] 6 US Hot Rap Singles (Billboard)[9] 1 US Maxi-Singles Sales (Billboard)[10] 1 US Top 40/Rhythm-Crossover (Billboard)[11] 12

Year-end charts Chart (1993) Position US Billboard Hot 100[12] 81 US Hot R&B Singles (Billboard)[13] 56 US Hot Rap Singles (Billboard)[14] 2 US Maxi-Singles Sales (Billboard)[15] 17

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[16]	Gold	500,000[17]

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	November 9, 1992	7-inch vinyl 12-inch vinyl cassette	Pendulum Elektra	[16]
United Kingdom	January 25, 1993	7-inch vinyl 12-inch vinyl CD cassette		[18]