Artist:
ZION-I
Label:
LIVE UP RECORDS/RAPTIVISM
Video:
“THE DRILL”
Director:
Miles Kinghorn
Add Date:
December 8, 2003

Happy Holidays everyone! It’s Andy Gesner and the staff at HIP Video Promo with another video that is completely worthy of your attention. Throughout the year we have supplied you with videos from practically every musical genre. It is with great pleasure that we present to you one of the most buzz worthy new artists creating mad noise in the urban/hip hop world

Zion-I is a genre-meshing extravaganza that combines hip-hop, soul, reggae and electronic eccentricity into an earthy, trans-auditory experience. The Oakland, CA based duo create organic, conscious rhymes utilizing layered grooves and electronic wizardry. Their new CD, Deep Water Slang V2.0 (Live Up Records / Raptivism) is a journey equal parts cosmic introspection and street-smart tenacity.

Zion and Amp Live, who first met when both were students at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA, were members of the group Metafour (Tommy Boy) before forming Zion-I in 1998. Influenced and inspired by artists such as Gangstar and Outkast, their debut album,Mind Over Matter, was named independent album of the year by The Source magazine. All of the enviable attention is fully warranted considering Zion’s rhymes and Amp’s beats bounce off of each other effortlessly, each bringing his own unique aesthetic to create a greater whole. Their synergy can also be seen on stage when Zion’s hyperactive and infectious energy merges with Amp’s thumping improvising on the drum machine and keyboard.

Visceral and gritty, the video for “The Drill” is a tight, grooving, colorful anthem for the downtrodden and misunderstood of the world. Zion-I gives us a rare gem of a thoughtful, socially conscious rap and present it with a strong admixture of dubwise reggae sensibilities. Visually engaging and unusually brief (2:47), “The Drill” readily lends itself to inclusion into most any programming format.

The video, directed by Miles Kinghorn from the highly touted Refused TV production company, combines emotive performance footage with cutting edge animation and some Jackson Pollack-like paint effects by James Mahfood that drive the point home hard and true. The message is lucid and passionate, delivered with an intensity and urgency that is riveting, massive…on the real. Depictions of hot women, expensive cars and flashy jewelry are not a concern for Zion-I…the real world of everyday struggles is what this musical tsunami is all about.

Here at HIP Video we are fully supplied with copies of the brand new Zion-I CD, Deep Water Slang V2.0 and the group will be touring throughout 2004. To schedule an interview or to arrange a video ID, call 732-613-1779 or e-mail info@HIPVideoPromo.com”>info@HIPVideoPromo.com. To find out more about Zion-I, visit Zion-I

Visit Raptivism	Visit Zion-I