![](http://cdn.hiphopdx.com/images/features/200901FZION_160x240.jpg)
There’s an old saying that goes, “If you don’t rap for something, you’ll fall for anything.” Okay, so maybe those aren’t the exact words. They’re still ones that have served as the foundation over the last decade for Zion I, a progressive Hip Hop duo made of emcee Zumbi and deejay/producer AmpLive.
Underground legends in Oakland, Zion I has won over hearts and car stereos with social-awakening bars and forward-thinking beats. It’s no exaggeration to say that where Bay Area icons Del tha Funkee Homosapien and Souls of Mischief left off, Zion I picked up with CDs like Mind Over Matter, True & Livin’ [click to read] and this month's The Take Over. But hey, Amp and Zumbi aren’t mad that the masses aren’t terribly familiar with their sound. They just don’t necessarily want to hear the complaints either about the lack of diversity in music when they’ve been rapping something different since ’97.
Continued at hiphopdx.com...