Zion I are an eclectic hip-hop group from California’s Bay Area. Consisting of an emcee (ZION) and a producer (AMP LIVE), these two have a deep passion for music, spirituality and most of all, the power of liberation. They first gained underground support with their debut LP “Mind Over Matter”. After their label went out of business (Ground Control), they signed to the socially conscious label Raptivism Records. Together, Zion I and Raptivism are releasing “Deep Water Slang V2.0”. With hard hitting beats and live instrumentation, the rhythm washes over the listener as Zion’s slang penetrates deep into the psyche. Late one weeknight in March 2003, I had a phone conversation with both Zion and Amp Live. Prepare yourself for Zion I. Dive into “Deep Water Slang” with your mind, body and soul.

T.JONES: “How are you?”
ZION: “Cool, man!”

T.JONES: “The new album is titled ‘Deep Water Slang V2.0’. What is the meaning behind it and why 2.0?”
ZION: “It’s called ‘2.0’ because the original version was supposed to come out on Ground Control Records but they went out of business. So, we went back to the music. We had to get a label, another deal. Raptivism did that for us. Since we had some extra time to put out the record, we decided to do the little changes that we wanted to do. We wanted to make it super-tight and update some of the songs.”

T.JONES: “What were some of the brand new tracks you added to ‘V2.0’?”
AMP LIVE: “The song ‘Finger Paint’ and ‘Le Le Le’ and ‘Dune’. We added a song called ‘One More Thing’.”

T.JONES: “How is ‘Deep Water Slang’ different from your last LP ‘Mind Over Matter’?”
ZION: “This one is a little more emotional. It’s a bit more introspective, a bit more intense. It’s thicker and more refined.”
AMP LIVE: “I think that it’s more of a straight to the point album.”

T.JONES: “Why did you choose Raptivism Records for a label?”
ZION: “They were one of the few labels that stepped up with real talk. When they holla’d at us, they basically put everything in front of us. That’s basically how it is now. They were definitely straight up with what they had to offer. The whole intent of Raptivism Records is working to put out socially conscious music. I appreciated the fact that they weren’t trying to put up smoke screens.”

T.JONES: “How did Zion and Amp Live meet?”
AMP LIVE: “We met at Morehouse College in 1991 in Atlanta, Georgia. We were just hanging out at first. Zion and some friends rhymed or whatever and I did music. One semester, I brought my keyboard and we started doing stuff.”

T.JONES: “Zion, as an emcee, who are some of your major influences?”
ZION: “Rakim, KRS-One, early Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Kurtis Blow.”

T.JONES: “Amp Live, who are some of you major influences production-wise?”
AMP LIVE: “The normal cats like Dr. Dre, Timbaland, Jay Dee. DJ Premier. I like cats from different genres.”

T.JONES: “There is plenty of live instrumentation on ‘Deep Water Slang’. Was this a conscious effort or was it something that just happened?”
AMP LIVE: “It was a conscious effort. When we got a chance to do the 2nd version, we updated it.”

T.JONES: “What collaboration are you most proud of?”
ZION: “I think the ones with Susie Suh: ‘Finger Paint’ and ‘One More Thing’. She’s a brand new artist and she’s just about to start doing stuff.”

T.JONES: “Pep Love from Hieroglyphics is on ‘Warrior’s Dance’. How did you hook up with him and what was the collaboration like?”
AMP LIVE: “Pep is out here in Oakland. We vibed with him before, saw him at shows. We were around each other often so we decided to hook up. He’s an off-the-hook emcee. There are a lot of artists out here and everybody is in the same area so it’s easy to hook up with cats.”

T.JONES: “Are you going to re-release the ‘Mind Over Matter’ LP?”
ZION: “It’s already been released on Boiling Point Distribution. It’s already out in a lot of mom and pop stores.”

T.JONES: "What LPs or CDs have you been listening to often in the last couple of days?”
AMP LIVE: “I’ve been listening to some of these CD’s that I get at shows from underground artists. Overall, I listen to a lot of different rock stuff and different types of music. Sometimes the radio, but not too much hip-hop right now.”
ZION: That new Nas album, ‘God’s Son’, with the first joint ‘Get Down’ is phat.”

T.JONES: “In one phrase or sentence, how would you describe growing up in Penn?”
ZION: “I was born in Philly but I lived in like 5 different states.”

T.JONES: “You grew up in Pennsylvania. How did you end up in California?”
ZION: “Before I went to college in Atlanta, GA, I went to school in the Bay Area. When I came home from college on Christmas break, I noticed that the underground hip-hop scene was moving so fast. There were a lot of different cats putting it down at all of these shows. As we went thru our deal, the crew out in Atlanta broke up but Amp and I continued to make music. We checked out the scene and started handing out tapes. People dug us. We moved down there.”

T.JONES: “Growing up, were you good kids or bad kids?”
ZION: “I was one of those mischievous kids who never got in trouble.”
AMP LIVE: “I was good but into some stuff that was bad but nothing too bad.”

T.JONES: “Amp, when did you first begin DJ-ing or making beats?”
AMP LIVE: “When I was like 15 or 16.”

T.JONES: “Do you have a favorite sampler or drum machine?”
AMP LIVE: “My dad bought an EPS Sonic Sampler and I kind of took it from him. So, that was actually my first keyboard.”

T.JONES: “Zion, when did you first start rhyming?”
ZION: “I think the first rhyme I wrote, I was 16. The thing about rhyming is... I used to memorize all my favorite songs when I was a little kid. I was memorizing raps back then. When I started writing rhymes, I had to find my own voice.”

T.JONES: “How do you think Sept. 11th affected hip-hop?”
ZION: “Good question. The way it affects us is that promoters are taking more of a chance when they throw a party so therefore; they don’t want to pay that much money. It’s harder to get transportation now, especially with airplanes. Before, single sales were strong for underground hip-hop. Now, sales of singles are really down especially in the indie scene. It was a direct effect of 9-11. The economy got hit and busted us. It didn’t take long for it to trickle down. Times are rough.”

T.JONES: “How’s ‘Cheeba Cheeba’ doing as a single?”
AMP LIVE: “It’s doing pretty good. It came out last year and people are still bumping it.”
ZION: “It was #1 on Urban Network.”

T.JONES: “What’s the next single going to be?”
ZION: “’The Drill’ b/w ‘Flow’.”

T.JONES: “What was the last incident of racism you experienced?”
ZION: “Good question, man! Nobody ever asked me that. The thing about racism is that the society is so racist that I think at this point, brothers don’t even realize the real overt sh*t. The little glances and looks happen almost everyday. One real obvious incident happened in Whistler, Canada. After the show, we rocked it with these snowboard cats who had money. After the show, these cats said stuff like ‘Hey man, dope show. I would never call a n*gger, a n*gger.’ I just looked at him. I didn’t even get mad, it was just so ignorant. Racism pretty much happens all the time.”
AMP LIVE: “I can’t remember the last time. Maybe like 2 or 3 years ago, I got stopped by some cops. Like Zion says, there are all types of forms of racism and all types of people.”

T.JONES: “Abortion – Pro-Life or pro-choice?”
ZION: “Another good question. I feel like people should have a choice to do what they want with their own body. If it was my personal choice, I would choose to have a child but I don’t think you should tell people what to do with their lives. How far can it go? Then, they may tell us that we cannot read books, that we cannot write.”
AMP LIVE: “I’m pro-life but I think it’s okay in certain incidents. If the girl is raped or molested, she should have the choice.”

T.JONES: “Death penalty – For or against?”
ZION: “I’m not feeling that, man. I don’t agree with the way they deal with criminal activity. You kill a cat, so you kill him? If you send him to jail, you make him worse. If it was fair, like if the Enron cats got the death penalty too. The Enron people f*cked up more people’s lives that one man on death row. It’s unequal how they distribute the punishment and it makes it hard to believe in the system.”

T.JONES: “What does ‘Jahmbo’ mean?”
ZION: “’Jahmbo’ is like a greeting. It means ‘Hello’. We did a play on words with ‘Jah’ like ‘Jah Rastafari’.”

T.JONES: “What are some emcees you would like to collaborate with in the future?”
ZION: “A lot of cats. Andre 2000 and Del The Funky Homosapian.”
AMP LIVE: “I’d like to work with Prince.”

T.JONES: “What is the song ‘Finger Paint’ about? I was thinking that it was about the power of creativity.”
ZION: “Exactly! When you finger paint, they give you a bunch of paint and a big ass piece of paper. You make something out of being free. That’s what that song is talking about, the energy of being in that state and how it can empower you.”

T.JONES: “Zion, do you have your rhymes pre-written when you go into the studio, or do you write them when you hear the beat?”
ZION: “I always write the rhymes after I hear the beat. That’s just the kind of writer I am. I tried to bring in pre-written rhymes sometimes but it usually does not work out. It doesn’t fit the beat the way I would like it to so I just write something right there on the spot so it can go together. I would always rather complement the music.”

T.JONES: “Amp, do you do pre-production or do you create in the studio?”
AMP LIVE: “Both. A lot of times, I meditate on making the beat before I’m in the studio but sometimes, the ideas just come while you are making something up in the studio. A lot of stuff is pre-conceived.”

T.JONES: "What advice do you have for up and coming underground / independent emcees or artists who are coming up in the music industry?”
ZION: “2 things. First, hone your craft. Know your style. Sit in the lab and let your friends hear it. If your friends like it, then let people who you don’t really know hear it. If they like or at least think it’s cool, then, bring it to the marketplace. I think a lot of cats go into it half-cocked. They have to develop what they are doing. Second, learn the business. Learn how much it costs to print up pieces of wax. Learn how much it costs to hire a publicist, how important promotion and marketing is. Take the business end very seriously. If you have good music, what good is it if people don’t know about it or where to buy it? You have to set up a whole foundation.”

T.JONES: “What classic hip-hop song would you like to do a re-make of?”
ZION: “There are so many phat ass songs but I think Public Enemy’s ‘Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos’. When I first heard that, I went to one of my homies and said, ‘You got to listen to this!’ I played it again and we sat there like ‘Oh sh*t! What’s he talking about?’ To me, that song meant a lot to me and other brothers struggling in America. We love it and hate it at the same time.”
AMP LIVE: “Probably something like an X-Clan song. I forgot the name of the song.”

T.JONES: “Word association time. I’m going to say the name of an emcee or group and you say the first word that comes to your head. So, if I said ‘Public Enemy’, you may say ‘revolution’. Okay?”
ZION: “Cool.”
T.JONES: “Pharoahe Monch”
ZION: “Witty.”
AMP LIVE: “Insight.”
T.JONES: “Hieroglyphics”
ZION: “Flow.”
AMP LIVE: “Persistence.”
T.JONES: “Wu-Tang Clan”
ZION: “Grimey.”
AMP LIVE: “Fell off.”
T.JONES: “Boot Camp Clik”
ZION: “Flow.”
AMP LIVE: “Dirty.”
T.JONES: “Outkast”
ZION: “Innovative.”
AMP LIVE: “Classic.”
T.JONES: “Eminem”
ZION: “Dope.”
AMP LIVE: “Tight.”
T.JONES: “The Coup.”
ZION: “Militant.”
T.JONES: “50 Cent”
ZION: “Tight.”
AMP LIVE: “True Thug.”

T.JONES: “What is hip-hop missing these days?
ZION: “Creativity? Well, hip-hop isn’t missing anything really. It’s just the portrait that most people and we see hip-hop in is missing a lot. Companies come in and tell us to do this and do that because that is what they think is going to sell. Everybody wants to make money. Hip-hop needs to be creative and maintain the self-expression. Hip-hop should free you. If you are not liberated by being able to speak out, you’re missing out. I think hip-hop needs more liberation in the presentation.”

T.JONES: “What would you be doing if you weren’t Zion I?”
ZION: “I would probably be in grad school, trying to figure out what I want to do.”
AMP LIVE: “I would be in the medical field.”

T.JONES: “What is the biggest mistake you made in your career?”
ZION: “That’s a f*cking real good question! Back in the day, we were in this group called Metaphor and one of our homies got put on with Erick Sermon at the time. They wanted him to be apart of Def Squad. We in the crew, were like ‘Nah, nah! You can’t do it! That would f*ck up the crew!’. In hindsight, he should have done it. He would have gotten his shine on and it would eventually have gotten back to us. We were insecure. We were holding on too tight. It’s a good lesson.”
AMP LIVE: “I think we should have done a music video for ‘Critical’.”

T.JONES: “What are some major misconceptions about ZION I?”
ZION: “I think people think that we are Zen Buddhists. We try to be good people but we are just like everybody else. We experience pain, joy and everything in-between. Once people hear some of the songs on ‘Deep Water Slang’, it will reflect that. When they hear the music, they may not give it a chance but when they catch our show, they will say to themselves ‘Oh! That sh*t was phat!’. Don’t just listen to just one song.”

T.JONES: “Raptivism Records and Zion I are considered socially-conscious forces in hip-hop. Are there any major things you would like to address or tackle?”
ZION: “The main thing right now is the war in Iraq. It’s a difficult time. Our allies aren’t even really backing the war. It’s just a real strange time. I think people should speak up. Whatever way they feel about it, speak up about it. Don’t just sit there and be quiet. When people do not stand up and exercise their civil rights, we may lose them.”

T.JONES: “What do you want on your epitaph (your gravestone)?”
ZION: “That’s crazy. I haven’t thought about that. I don’t even want to think about it.”
AMP LIVE: “Here lies a good man.”

T.JONES: “What can we expect from Zion I in the future?”
ZION: “I just hope this album does well and we can get another deal or establish our own distribution through major channels as well as developing our own labels and artists. Our attention now is mainly on this album but we are also developing artists.”

T.JONES: “Any final comments for the people reading this?”
AMP LIVE: “Good interview. Yeah, it was tight. Thanks, man.”
ZION: “Check zionicrew.com. It was a dope interview, man! God bless!”

THANK YOU ZION I!!!!
-Todd e. Jones

For more info on ZION I, goto their website at:
http://www.zionicrew.com

For the complete un-edited version of this interview, goto
http://hardcorehiphop.cjb.net

TODD E. JONES aka The New Jeru Poet
toddejones@yahoo.com