This week, Zion-I kicks off a two-month tour supporting pop-reggae group Rebelution (and a few spot headlining dates).
January 11, 2010
December 16, 2009
The Plug One 50 2009: Top 20 Albums
This year’s crop of hip hop albums was an improvement over last year. But it didn’t come from the artists expected to dominate.
Around this time in 2008, everyone was buzzing about the “new school” of blog-hyped rappers. They injected the medium with an enthusiasm not felt in ages. So far, however, the results of this youth movement are decidedly uneven. Wale’s Attention Deficit drew mixed reviews; even fans of it must concede that it has plenty of decent rhymes, but lacks great songs. By contrast, Kid Cudi landed a few monster singles, particularly the undying “Day ‘N Nite,” but his Man on the Moon: The End of Day seemed monotone and self-indulgent. Blu and the Cool Kids mostly kept silent, and we all know what happened to Charles Hamilton.
With the jury still out on the so-called “freshman class,” the end of the aughts belonged to the veterans. With the notable exception of Nosaj Thing and Dorian Concept, all of the artists on this list are firmly established. Some mounted surprising comebacks after years of mediocre and sub-par work; others made solid follow-ups to classic albums. Unlike 2008 and Flying Lotus’ Los Angeles (and, I would argue, the Cool Kids’ The Bake Sale), these recordings didn’t establish new stylistic tropes. In a year when populism and stubborn class and racial traditions weighed down American culture, these works met expectations and buffered the status quo, whether it was the true-school ethos or the mainstream’s street-rap-as-blues credo.
That’s not to say that 2009 wasn’t an exciting time: it was. But hip hop music thrives on youth movements, and to see blog rap’s most promising rookies disappear in a cloud of weed smoke, meandering mixtapes and incessant corporate-sponsored tours and marketing campaigns was frustrating. It certainly didn’t convince the old heads from continuing to insist that the genre is a dead zombie walking. Of course, next year could be different. But for now, this is where we are.
I don’t know if this list is unique from any other, but I suspect there may be a few surprises. Perhaps the most contentious entry is for Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt II. It has topped many lists, but it certainly didn’t top mine. If my summary reads negative, it’s in reaction to the universal acclaim that has greeted it, some of which seems unwarranted. People love their action fantasies, and Raekwon’s triumphant return has some great crime narratives. But I think some consider it the year’s best because it fits stereotypes of what a great hip hop album is supposed to sound like; other entries on this list drew strong reviews, too, but they were often considered something other than “real hip hop.”
I don’t know what that “other” may may be. Maybe “alt-rap,” “backpacker,” or some nefarious micro-genre like “wobbly”? But lists such as the Plug One 50 will continue to be an anomaly until fans stop equating the genre with criminal activity and po-faced lyrical schemes, embrace a more complex universe of sounds, and live up to Afrika Bambaataa’s vision of hip hop as a perspective on the world instead of a region-specific, drug-infested street corner.
Yes, 2009 was a good year. We got consistently great music, but we missed the excitement that made 2008 seem like a promise of better things to come. Hopefully 2010 will combine not only the tried and true, but also the shock of the new.
July 24, 2009
Found: Zion-I’s “Coastin’”
Here’s the new video for Zion-I’s “Coastin’,” courtesy of Okayplayer.com.
April 28, 2009
Zumbi: “Let us make art”
This has been a tumultuous year for Zion I. In January, just as the group’s beloved Oakland was reeling from the murder of Oscar Grant by a BART police officer, which resulted in several protests and a highly publicized riot, Zumbi and Amp Live dropped their fourth album. The Take Over has both shocked and excited fans; its buoyant mix of electro jams, hyphy tracks and West Coast slanguage marks a long journey from the soulful beats ‘n’ bass of their acclaimed 2000 debut, Mind over Matter.
In part one of my interview with Zumbi, we discussed Oakland’s current problems, his new group the Burnerz, and their recorded response to the Grant shooting, “Cops Hate Kidz.” For this installment, we delve into the response to The Take Over, which has drawn surprisingly mixed reviews from print and online critics. (It currently has a rank of 58 out of 100 on Metacritic.com, an entertainment reviews aggregator, for “mixed or average reviews.”) “It’s going to have to grow on them,” says Zumbi of the album. “For us, for Zion I, we’ve gotta keep it creative, we’ve gotta keep it pushin’. We don’t want to regurgitate what we’ve done before and follow a formula.”
Unfortunately, the drama didn’t stop after our phone interview ended. That night, during Zion I’s concert at Berbati’s Pan in Portland, Ore., the nightclub cut off the group’s sound in the middle of their set. “I’ve got to take time out to apologize to all our fans in Portland who witnessed us getting our set cut off by the venue (Berbati’s),” wrote Zumbi on his MySpace page, where you can read more about the situation.
In spite of it all, 2009 looks to be a productive year for Zion I Crew. In addition to the album, they’ve released several mixtapes, including the 420 Mixtape with International Turntable Federation champ Vin Roc. Amp Live is working on a compilation for Om Records, and Zumbi has the Burnerz. “Give us space to make music,” says Zumbi. “Let us make art.”
April 27, 2009
Zumbi: “I Don’t Want To See A Bunch Of Lovelle Mixons in Oakland”
“Damn, this is getting crazy for Oakland,” says Zumbi minutes before his group Zion I performs a soundcheck at Berbati’s Pan in Portland, Oregon. Like so many Yay Area residents, the veteran hip hop artist is concerned about the terrifying rise in confrontations between local police officers and residents – a trend that arguably resulted in the January 1 murder of Oscar Grant, who was shot in the back by a BART police officer; and the March 21 killing of four city police officers by Lovelle Mixon, who shot the cops (and was subsequently killed himself) in a vain attempt to evade arrest for a probation violation.
The two incidents drew national attention, and led to riots and protests in Oakland. Zumbi’s response came in the form of “Cops Hate Kidz,” an Internet track he recorded with the Are, a producer out of Houston best known for his work with K-Otix. (Not coincidentally, K-Otix made waves in 2005 with “George Bush Don’t Like Black People,” a remix of Kanye West’s “Gold Digger” that excorciated the former president’s lame response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster.) Released straight to the Internet under the guise of the Burnerz, “Cops Hate Kidz” bears a deliberately provocative title. But the song itself is reasoned and anguished, taking note of both sides – pro-law-enforcement and a community that feels it is under siege – before calling for a solution. It’s an approach that Zumbi feels compelled to take.
“I understand why people are saying fuck the police, those guys died,” he says in reference to Mixon’s deadly firefight with Oakland law enforcement. “But it’s not my sentiment personally. My thing is about people and community, and we’re all God’s children. We’re all here. All of our lives count equally.”
Zion I is currently on tour in support of its new album, The Take Over. But the first half of my interview delves into Zumbi’s feelings about what has already been a tumultuous year for his hometown. In part two, which I’ll post tomorrow, Zumbi discusses The Take Over, which has drawn decidedly mixed reviews, the difference between East Coast fans and West Coast fans, and forthcoming musical projects such as the Burnerz album. Meanwhile, you can download a copy of “Cops Hate Kidz” at the bottom of the page.
(May 2 update: A link to part two of my interview with Zumbi has been added.)
February 25, 2009
Zion-I tour dates
Tonight, Zion-I will begin supporting their solid new album The TakeOver with a series of West Coast concerts. Spread out over the next three months, the itinerary includes several colleges and a few all-important dates at SXSW. No word on when the Bay Area group will tour the East Coast.
January 1, 2009
Ten anticipated albums for 2009
Here is a speculative list of ten 2009 hip-hop albums. All of these titles are scheduled to drop sometime during the next 12 months. I omitted some perennial “coming soon” titles (Madvillainy 2, 9th Wonder’s The Wonder Years, Ghost & Doom’s Swift and Changeable, Big Boi’s Sir Luscious Left Foot and others). Not to say that they’ll never come out, but we’re moving on now.
November 7, 2008
Zion-I heralds “The Takeover”
Bay Area duo Zion-I has scheduled its fourth album, The Takeover, for January 27 on Gold Dust Media.
“Zion I has a reputation of being very spiritual and serious,” says MC Zion a.k.a. Zumbi in a press release. “I think The Takeover is a lot more fun than our past records. We still touch on serious subject matter, but this album shows the other sides of our personality.” Towards that end, Zion and producer Amplive have recruited Brother Ali, Devin the Dude and British rapper Ty for guest shots.
Amplive has built a reputation in recent years as an out-the-box remixer, reworking tracks by Jamie Lidell, Linkin Park and others for mixtapes (2006’s Beats, Remixes & Mashups) and online consumption. A planned Radiohead remix effort, Rainydayz Remixes, drew a lot of press when Radiohead threatened legal action against him. (It’s currently available via Amplive’s MySpace page and elsewhere.) However, it also earned Zion-I some of their first mainstream notice in years. Before then, Zion-I was acclaimed in the urban world — their 2003 album Deep Water Slang drew a Source award nomination for Best Independent Album — but mostly ignored in the pop press.
Buoyed by Amplive’s Radiohead remix controversy, Zion-I’s challenge will be to use that increased attention and make The Takeover a breakthrough release. “We try to make music that falls into a crack and fills a void for us as fans of music,” says Zion.
The track listing for The Takeover is below. The group is currently on tour with the Mighty Underdogs.
February 12, 2008
Zion-I tours with Mistah F.A.B., Amplive frees Radiohead remixes
Today, in a pleasantly surprising turn of events, Zion-I producer Amplive has decided to release his Radiohead remix project, Raindayz Remixes, after all.
As has been widely reported, Amplive planned to offer an EP’s worth of remixes of Radiohead’s new album, In Rainbows. However, before he could issue them via his MySpace page, Radiohead’s management stepped in and threatened legal action. The project seemed dead, but today Amplive announced that he has been given permission to release the remixes after all.
A statement posted on One Seven Six Six, the site for Zion-I’s management company, reads:
After a cease & desist put the breaks on Amplive’s Radiohead In Rainbows remix project, the online music community reasonably wondered if the tracks would ever see the light of day. Well, here they are.
While the Oakland producer/DJ acknowledges that he probably should have contacted Radiohead (who were not involved in the project) to seek approval prior to making his interpretations publically available, an agreement has been reached between all involved parties and Amplive has been granted permission to release Rainydayz Remixes for free to the general public. Effective immediately, the eight-track record is available here.
You can download Rainydaz Remixes at One Seven Six Six.
Since that controversy has been resolved, Zion-I can go back to focusing on better things, like their upcoming tour with Mistah F.A.B. Dubbed the Fresh Coast Tour, it finds the Bay Area veterans touring around the West Coast with a slew of special guests, including the Grouch from Living Legends. But few in the mainstream media who covered Rainydayz Remixes acknowledged Zion-I’s existence. It seems like the group needs to tour the rest of the country, too, if only to show that Zion-I’s appeal runs deeper than a Radiohead mashup.
In the meantime, the tour dates are below.
- 2/20: UC Riverside, Riverside, CA
- 2/29: The Avalon, San Jose, CA
- 3/01: 28th & B Skatepark Hangar, Sacramento, CA
- 3/02: Whiskey Dicks, South Lake Tahoe, CA
- 3/03: Whiskey Creek, Mammoth Lakes, CA
- 3/06: El Rey Theater, Los Angeles, CA
- 3/07: The Brickhouse, Phoenix, AZ
- 3/13: Emo’s, Austin, TX
- 3/15: The Sandbar, Vail, CO
- 3/16: Abbey Theater, Durango, CO
- 3/18: Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT
- 3/19: The Other Side, Missoula, MT
- 3/20: Chop Suey, Seattle, WA
- 3/21: WOW Hall, Eugene, OR
- 3/22: Fez Ballroom, Portland, OR
2/20-3/22: w/Mistah F.A.B.
2/29-3/01: w/the Grouch
3/06: w/Amad Jamal
3/13: SXSW
3/22: w/DJ Quest
Plug One review: Zion-I & the Grouch, Heroes in the City of Dope
www.myspace.com/zioni
www.myspace.com/amplive
January 30, 2008
Amplive tangles with Radiohead over “Raindayz Remixes”
In the grand Plug One tradition of reporting stories long after they cooled, we take a look at the unfortunate debacle surrounding Zion-I producer Amplive and his aborted project, Radiohead: Rainydayz Remixes.
Last November, Amplive began leaking tracks from the remix project, and promised an all-star cast that included Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Too Short, and Chali 2na. He planned to make it available on January 10 to those who purchased In Rainbows via Radiohead’s historic online offering. Only fans who had a email receipt from Radiohead’s W.A.S.T.E. site would be sent a copy of Raindayz Remixes.
As the tracks circulated through the blogosphere, the media picked up on the story, and the New York Times ran a brief item on it. All of that attention, however, led to Amplive receiving a cease-and-desist letter from Radiohead’s publisher, Warner-Chappell Music.
Interestingly, the date of letter is December 18, but Amplive didn’t announce that the project would be halted until January 3, which indicates that there may have been some backroom negotiations. Nevertheless, on January 3 Amplive sent out a MySpace bulletin titled “Amplive vs. Radiohead”:
First and foremost I would like to thank everyone who has been digging my remixes. I put a lot of time and hard work into them and I am glad people are appreciating them. I was especially excited about the exclusive verses I was able to get from Del the Funky Homosapien, Chali2na from Jurassic 5, the soul singer Codany Holiday, and K.Flay, who were all also super excited about contributing to the project. I really feel if Radiohead’s team was able to hear these remaining remixed songs, they would feel differently. So I am writing this letter to ask that if you have any post/streams/mp3s of the songs from Rainydayz Remixes that you remove them immediately. Complying with the cease and desist, these remixes can’t be publicly distributed or made commercially available. Even though I was offering them for free in conjunction with the In Rainbows download and had good intentions because of my appreciation for their music, the powers that may be are not seeing it the same way. Hopefully I can find a way for Radiohead to support this FREE release made available only to those who purchased their album. For now I am cooperating with the “C & D” only because it has come from Radiohead’s team and I will respect that. BUT if that changes I am happy to resume my release plans. Again, I appreciate your support in posting them, but because of the situation at this time, it is illegal. Thanks for you help. – Amp Live
Amplive planned to release a free zip file of the remix record on January 10th to all those who forwarded an email receipt of In Rainbows purchase to amplive@onesevensevensix.com. In addition to unveiling the tracklist (which can be found below), Amp had planned on expanding the release model to allow those who had deleted their W.A.S.T.E. emails to reserve a copy of the album by forwarding receipt of a donation – in any amount – to Friends of the Earth, a charity Thom Yorke has officially backed on the band’s Dead Air Space blog. If and when the release is allowed to move forward, all those who have forwarded receipts from W.A.S.T.E. or Friends of the Earth will receive a copy of the album. Tracklist, and more info on the charity below.
Amplive then posted a track listing of the remix project. He also posted a YouTube video explaining the situation. The track listing and a link to the video are listed at the end of the story.
In a January 4 interview with Gigwise, Radiohead manager Bryce Edge commented on the situation:
“A main problem was that he (Amplive) did a cut and paste of a photo of Thom and put it on his website which inferred he was involved in the project. When we heard that you had to send a confirmation email from W.A.S.T.E to get the album, we thought ‘That’s a bit naughty!’
“It wasn’t a case of someone simply posting some remixes on a website, he was suggesting that the band were involved and that’s why the publishers decided to take this action.
“Amplive had never even come to the band telling them about his idea, which would have been nice. I know he had good intentions, but I just think he’s misled people.”
Give props to Amplive for complying with the cease-and-desist order. In contrast, when Danger Mouse was presented with a cease-and-desist order for his classic The Grey Album mashup of Jay-Z’s The Black Album and the Beatles’ The White Album, he organized “Grey Tuesday,” and called on music fans to download the album for free. Amplive could have easily launched a similar, highly-publicized protest. Perhaps he should have.
At any rate, with the media blizzard having moved on to other pressing matters, like Lil Wayne’s umpteenth drug bust, Amplive is free to continue his career as part of Zion-I (a great group that got little to no mention in all of the Radiohead vs. Amplive stories). He has already begun to post mashups of other artists on his MySpace page.
It appears that Raindays Remixes was sent to members of the press, so it’s possible that it may be floating around on to the Internet. Two tracks, “Nudez” (Amplive remix) and “Weird Fishez” (Amplive remix), are still posted on Stereogum’s website. Good luck finding it.
Here’s the track list:
- 1. “Rainydayz”
- 2. “Video Tapez” (feat. Del the Funkee Homosapien)
- 3. “Nudez” (feat. MC Zumbi of Zion I and Too Short)
- 4. “Weird Fishez”
- 5. “All I Need”
- 6. “15 Stepz” (feat. Codany Holiday)
- 7. “Reckonerz” (feat. Chali 2na)
- 8. “Faustz”
And here’s the video:
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Plug One review: Zion-I & the Grouch, Heroes in the City of Dope
www.myspace.com/zioni
www.myspace.com/amplive
