Mind over Matter 's lead single, 'Creation,' is a track that combines choppy drum snares, razor sharp scratches, and great interplay between Zion and Bay Area rapper Planet Asia, and should appeal to hip-hop fans who are down with abstract rappers such as Blackalicious and Digable Planets. Zion I: Mind Over Matter is an experience. Zion I is the duo of MC Zion, vocals, and Amp Live, who handles the production end. Duos similar to these are not uncommon, but none seem to feed off each other as well as these two. Amp Live creates some of the most futuristic, electric, soulful sounding tracks to rhyme on that I have ever heard. May 30, 2000 Innovative and engaging, Zion I's Mind over Matter succeeds because of its impressive conceptual execution. The Bay Area trio of Zion, Amp Live, and DJ K-Genius set the tone with the old-school energy of 'Revolution (B-boy Anthem),' reawakening hip-hop's subversive impulses. Spiritual-not economic-uplift is the focus of this album, and Zion's meditative lyrics deconstruct materialist craving. Zion I is another group out of the prolific west coast underground scene. Ever since their 'Inner Light'/'Rap Degrees' 12' came out in 1998, I've been checking for a full length from them, and now 'Mind Over Matter' is here. The album opens up in a weak way with 'Revolution,' which is on some crazy up tempo, futuristic, b.
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*Zion I Mind Over Matter ZipZion I is another group out of the prolific west coast underground scene. Ever since their 'Inner Light'/'Rap Degrees' 12' came out in 1998, I've been checking for a full length from them, and now 'Mind Over Matter' is here. The album opens up in a weak way with 'Revolution,' which is on some crazy up tempo, futuristic, b-boy ish. It's also one of Zion's poorest performances on the album.
'Critical' follows this, and this is where it starts to get good. 'Critical' is a dope joint featuring Planet Asia where he and Zion I trade verses over some a hype beat. Another cut along the same lines is the posse cut 'All The Way.' 'All The Way' also has dope production and features some others from the west coast underground scene. However, my favorite skill-showing joint has to be 'Rap Degrees' which has a bangin' beat laced with a sitar sample, and some of Zion I's better rhymes.
'Mysterious Ways' is the token story-telling joint exploring encounters of the female kind. The beat on this one is nice, with an Arabian feel to it. The female in this particular song has decidedly different attributes than that of the typical female who is spoken of in most rap songs, however the premise is still quite trite.
On 'How Many,' Zion I starts each new sentence asking, 'How many times...' The whole gist of the song is how many times do we have to do all of these certain activities before we learn from them, and grow. All of this done over pretty tight production.
Another tight song is 'Silly Puddy' which features The Grouch. This is a track that's on the humble tip, as the emcees admit that they are God's silly puddy, and they ask him to help them do what is right. More nice production here.
The production on the album is consistently of a high quality, with most of the beats making you nod your head incessantly. The album sounds fresh throughout, due to the fact that most of the songs have distinctly different sounds to them. The beats are simply dope.
The album loses most of its points on the rhymes. Zion I's rhymes are on a conscience tip, trying to enlighten and educate. The album contains underlying Christian messages, and a definite, deliberate lack of cursing, which are good things in my eyes. Unfortunately, a lot of their messages are nothing new, and, on top of that, aren't told in any extremely fresh new ways lyrically or conceptually. The lyrics aren't bad, just not that impressive either. The songs are put together nicely, however, with good choruses, ill beats, and quality flows. The content is good, because most of the songs have a topic (can't say that for all rap groups nowadays), and Zion I stays on it. Zion I Mind Over Matter
Overall the album is quite good. The dope beats alone are enough to keep it in my rotation. The rhymes aren't groundbreaking, or super-lyrical, but they are enough to keep you interested. A good debut from a group with lots of potential...I say 'pick it up.'
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MVRemix Urban | Online Hip Hop Magazine | US and Canadian Underground Hip Hop - exclusive interviews, reviews, articlesZion I Mind Over Matter MediafireAmp Live (left) and Baba Zumbi (right).Background informationOriginOakland, California, U.S.GenresAlternative hip hop[1]Years active1996–presentLabelsAssociated actsWebsitewww.zionicrew.comMembersBaba ZumbiPast members
*K-Genius
Zion I is an American hip hop project founded by Baba Zumbi (born Steve Gaines).[2] K-Genius and Amp Live were the project's members.[3]Career[edit]
Originally formed as a group, Zion I released the debut studio album, Mind over Matter, in 2000.[4] It was nominated for 'Independent Album of the Year' by The Source.[5]Deep Water Slang V2.0 was released in 2003.[6]
In 2005, Zion I released True & Livin'.[5] It featured guest appearances from Gift of Gab, Talib Kweli, and Aesop Rock.[7]
Heroes in the City of Dope, the first collaborative album with The Grouch, was released in 2006.[8] In 2009, Zion I released The Takeover.[9]
In 2010, Zion I released Atomic Clock.[10]Heroes in the Healing of the Nation, the second collaborative studio album with The Grouch, was released in 2011.[11] In 2012, Zion I released Shadowboxing, which was included on SF Weekly's '10 Best Bay Area Hip-Hop Records of 2012' list.[12]Zion I Mind Over Matter Review
In 2015, Amp Live left the group, and Zion I became Baba Zumbi's one man project.[2]
In 2016, Zion I released The Labyrinth, the first studio album not to include Amp Live.[13]Members[edit]Current[edit]
*Baba Zumbi – rapper (1996-present)Former[edit]
*K-Genius – DJ (2000–2002)
*Amp Live – producer, DJ (1996–2015)Discography[edit]Studio albums[edit]
*Mind over Matter (2000)
*Deep Water Slang V2.0 (2003)
*True & Livin' (2005)
*Break a Dawn (2006)
*Heroes in the City of Dope (2006) (with The Grouch)
*The Takeover (2009)
*Atomic Clock (2010)
*Heroes in the Healing of the Nation (2011) (with The Grouch)
*Shadowboxing (2012)
*The Labyrinth (2016)
*The Tonite Show with Zion I (2018) (with DJ Fresh)
*Ritual Mystik (2018)Compilation albums[edit]
*Curb Servin': The Mixtape Sessions (2003)
*Politicks: Collabs & B-Sides (2004)
*Family Business (2004)
*Street Legends (2007)
*The Search & The Seizure (2008)
*Bringers of the Dawn (2009)
*Zion I Sampler (2010)
*Live at KEXP Vol. 5 (2009)
*Hella Fresh Fest (2013)
*The Rapture: Live from Oaklandia (2015)
*Street Legends Volume 2 (2017)EPs[edit]
*Enter the Woods (1997)
*New Dimensions (1998)
*Starship (1998)
*Chapter 4 (1999)
*The Vapors (2013)
*The Masters of Ceremony (2014)
*Libations (2014)
*The Sun Moon and Stars (2015)
*Wake Up (2017)Singles[edit]
*'Inner Light' (1998)
*'Critical' b/w 'Venus' (1999)
*'Revolution (B-Boy Anthem)' (2000)
*'Boom Bip' b/w 'Le Le Le' (2001)
*'Cheeba Cheeba' b/w 'Kharma' (2002)
*'The Drill' b/w 'Flow' (2003)
*'Salt in the Game' b/w 'Break Rap' (2005)
*'Bird's Eye View' b/w 'Luv' (2005)
*'Temperature' b/w 'The Bay' (2005)
*'Act Right' b/w 'Target Practice' (2006)
*'One' b/w 'Trippin' (2006)
*'Hit 'Em' (2006) (with The Grouch)
*'Lift Me Up' (2007) (with The Grouch)
*'Count It Down (Nomak Remix)' (2007)
*'Juicy Juice' (2008)
*'We Don't Wife 'Em' (2016)
*'Saving Souls' (2016)
*'Peace' (2017) (with Locksmith)Zion I Mind Over Matter ZipGuest appearances[edit]Zion I Mind Over Matter Cd
*Linkin Park - 'Plc.4 Mie Haed' from Reanimation (2002)
*The Planets - 'Can't Stop' from The Opening (2002)
*Triple Threat - 'Hit 'Em Off' from Many Styles (2003)
*Goapele - 'The Daze' from Even Closer (2004)
*Relic - 'Trust Yourself' from Note to Self (2004)
*Rico Pabón - 'Pa 'Fuera' from Louder Than Fiction (2006)
*Ty - 'Oh!' from Closer (2006)
*DJ Deckstream - 'Spread Love' from Soundtracks (2007)
*Omina - 'Keep Move'n' from Bust (2007)
*Crown City Rockers - 'B-Boy (Remix)' (2007)
*Guru - 'For Ya Mind' from Guru's Jazzmatazz: Back to the Future (2008)
*Ise Lyfe - 'Thigh Bone' from Prince Cometh (2008)
*CLP - 'Rockin' Wiz Us' from Supercontinental (2008)
*The Jacka - 'Dream' from Tear Gas (2009)
*Jern Eye - 'Get Right' from Vision (2009)
*Webcam Hi-Fi - 'Promised Land' from Livity Is My Temple (2009)
*Bicasso - 'Party Metroid' from Rebel Musiq (2009)
*Pro the Leader & Dopestyle - 'Back Wit a Vengence' from Hip Hop Depression (2010)
*Rebelution - 'Safe and Sound Remix' from Remix EP (2011)
*Minnesota - 'Float' from Altered States LP (2012)
*Latyrx - 'It's Time' from The Second Album (2013)
*Matisyahu - 'Built to Survive' from Akeda (2014)
*Bassnectar - 'Lost in the Crowd' from Noise vs. Beauty (2014)
*Unified Highway - 'Same Thing Coming' from Unified Highway (2016)References[edit]
*^Weiner, Erik (September 3, 2013). 'SUPERB Fall 2013 Lineup'. The Daily Californian. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
*^ abJohn, Matt St. (February 28, 2018). 'The Reawakening of Zion I's Baba Zumbi'. East Bay Express. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
*^Keast, Darren (June 14, 2000). 'Changing the True School'. SF Weekly. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
*^Phaneuf, Whitney (October 24, 2012). 'Zion I Fully Embraces the EDM Craze'. East Bay Express. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
*^ abBraidwood, Stefan (May 11, 2005). 'Zion I: True & Livin''. PopMatters. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
*^Drumming, Neil (February 21, 2003). 'Deep Water Slang v2.0 (2003) - Zion I'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 23, 2014. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
*^Mudede, Charles (May 18, 2005). 'Wonder Twins'. The Stranger. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
*^Brown, Marisa. 'Zion I & the Grouch Are Heroes in the City of Dope'. AllMusic. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
*^Berry, David (February 1, 2009). 'Zion I: The Take Over'. PopMatters. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
*^Maine, David (January 12, 2011). 'Zion I: Atomic Clock'. PopMatters. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
*^Faraone, Chris (May 6, 2011). 'Zion I & the Grouch - Heroes In the Healing of the Nation'. The Phoenix. Archived from the original on April 24, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
*^Palmer, Tamara (December 21, 2012). 'The 10 Best Bay Area Hip-Hop Records of 2012'. SF Weekly. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
*^Dandridge-Lemco, Ben (April 17, 2017). 'Zion I's 'Wake Up!' Video Is A Call To Action'. The Fader. Retrieved September 4, 2019.Zion I Mind Over Matter DownloadExternal links[edit]Zion I Mind Over Matter Zip
*Official website
*Zion I discography at DiscogsRetrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zion_I&oldid=964456832'
