Unless you hail from the Bay, Zion I may be the best hip-hop duo you’ve never heard of.  Navigating the underground since 1997, Oakland born and bred, Amp Live and Bab Zumbi have been filling musical voids with experimental tracks and an uncommon positivity, staying true to the messages of their muses, E-40, Run-D.M.C., and Q-Tip.  Amp’s the muscle of the group, tossing around his weighty beats from varied instrumentation, unafraid to manhandle the melody.  Spitting rhymes since high school, Zumbi provides soul-searching, thought-provoking lyrical overlay, speaking to the social ills of communities that pride themselves on progression.

Zion I’s breakout album, 2000’s “Mind Over Matter,” launched them as legitimate, and the duo has subsequently released four full-length albums, two on their own label, Live Up Records, tearing up charts and airwaves with singles like “The Bay” in 2005 and “Spinning” in 2006.  Tapped to collaborate with legends from Lyrics Born to Gift of Gab to Trackademics, Amp and Zumbi’s 2009 release is aptly named “The Takeover,” heralding a new era for fans of hyphy.

Check out what they have to say for themselves.