Oakland duo Zion I has been heralded by critics as one of the best artists to come out of the Bay Area’s legendary underground world. Now after the critically acclaimed Mind Over Matter and Deep Water Slang 2.0 the group is set to release True & Livin’.
The album features the likes of Talib Kweli, Gift of Gab, Del The Funky Homosapien, Aesop Rock and social activist Fred Hampton Jr. and fuses rap, soul jazz and blues to create an album of substance. Lyrically the album tackles subjects like relationships, social injustice and whether the love of hip-hop is really worth the struggle to make music and survive doing it.
The album will also feature live instrumentation coupled with their sample driven production. “This is the type of production that I have always wanted to do,” explains Amp Live, Zion I’s producer. “For production on True & Livin’ I used gritty samples, live music and bangin’ ass drums, topped off with a little electro sauce. It really all came together perfectly on this record.”
The groups sophomore album Deep Water Slang garnered nominations for Source and Vibe “Best Independent Album of the Year” while the group has been a mainstay on the MTV 2/Mountain Dew Circuit Breakout tour the last two years.
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True & Livin’ drops April 19, 2005.
