Prominent in Mecca's history is her role in Digable Planets, a communal clan of poet-rappers that made "hip-hop bebob" 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 don't need to scream and swagger in order to be tough and assertive," wrote Larry Flick in Billboard magazine.