Zion I

"Starship EP" redirects here. For other recordings, see Starship (disambiguation).

"What U Need" redirects here. For the JoJo song, see Good to Know.

Zion I was an American hip hop project founded by MC and producer Baba Zumbi (real name Stephen Gaines) in Oakland, California.^[2] K-Genius and Amp Live were also project members.^[3]

Zion I
Amp Live (left) and Baba Zumbi (right).
Background information
Origin	Oakland, California, U.S.
Genres	Alternative hip hop[1]
Years active	1996–2021
Labels	Ground Control Raptivism Live Up Gold Dust
Past members	Baba Zumbi (deceased) K-Genius Amp Live
Website	www.zionicrew.com

Career

Originally formed as a group, Zion I released the debut studio album, Mind over Matter, in 2000.^[4] It was nominated for "Independent Album of the Year" by The Source.^[5] Deep Water Slang V2.0 was released in 2003.^[6]

In 2005, Zion I released True & Livin'.^[5] It featured guest appearances from Gift of Gab, Talib Kweli, and Aesop Rock.^[7]

Heroes in the City of Dope, the first collaborative album with The Grouch, was released in 2006.^[8] In 2009, Zion I released The Takeover.^[9]

In 2010, Zion I released Atomic Clock.^[10] Heroes in the Healing of the Nation, the second collaborative studio album with The Grouch, was released in 2011.^[11] In 2012, Zion I released Shadowboxing, which was included on SF Weekly's "10 Best Bay Area Hip-Hop Records of 2012" list.^[12]

In 2015, Amp Live left the group, and Zion I became Baba Zumbi's one-man project.^[2]

In 2016, Zion I released The Labyrinth, their first studio album not to include Amp Live.^[13]

Death of Stephen “Baba Zumbi” Gaines

On August 12, 2021, Gaines checked himself into the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center for a mental health examination.^[14] He had reportedly also contracted COVID-19 roughly three weeks prior.^[14] On August 13, 2021, he died of initially unknown causes at the age of 48.^[15][16][17] On August 20, 2021, the Gaines family announced that they hired attorneys to investigate what they believed was a suspicious death.^[18]

In May 2022, the Alameda County Coroner’s Bureau finalized a report detailing Gaines's death.^[14] According to officers and hospital staff, Gaines experienced a panic attack which involved him chasing hospital staff for fifteen minutes and putting a security officer in a "choke hold." The report stated that Gaines died after being held down by three hospital security guards and handcuffed by officers from the Berkeley Police Department while unconscious.^[19]

Members

• Baba Zumbi – rapper (1996–2021)
• K-Genius – DJ (2000–2002)
• Amp Live – producer, DJ (1996–2015)

Discography

Studio albums

• Mind over Matter (2000)
• Deep Water Slang V2.0 (2003)
• True & Livin' (2005)
• Break a Dawn (2006)
• Heroes in the City of Dope (2006) (with The Grouch)
• The Takeover (2009)
• Atomic Clock (2010)
• Heroes in the Healing of the Nation (2011) (with The Grouch)
• Shadowboxing (2012)
• The Labyrinth (2016)
• Stay Woke (2016) (with Mikos Da Gawd)
• The Tonite Show with Zion I (2018) (with DJ Fresh)
• Ritual Mystik (2018)

Compilation albums

• Curb Servin': The Mixtape Sessions (2003)
• Politicks: Collabs & B-Sides (2004)
• Family Business (2004)
• The Alpha:1996–2006 (2006)
• Science of Breath (2006)
• Street Legends (2007)
• The Search & The Seizure (2008)
• Bringers of the Dawn (2009)
• Zion I Sampler (2010)
• Live at KEXP Vol. 5 (2009)
• Hella Fresh Fest (2013)
• The Rapture: Live from Oaklandia (2015)
• Street Legends Volume 2 (2017)

EPs

• Enter the Woods (1997)
• New Dimensions (1998)
• Starship (1998)
• Chapter 4 (1999)
• The Vapors (2013)
• The Masters of Ceremony (2014)
• Libations (2014)
• The Sun Moon and Stars (2015)
• Wake Up (2017)

Singles

• "Inner Light" (1998)
• "Critical" b/w "Venus" (1999)
• "Revolution (B-Boy Anthem)" (2000)
• "Boom Bip" b/w "Le Le Le" (2001)
• "Cheeba Cheeba" b/w "Kharma" (2002)
• "The Drill" b/w "Flow" (2003)
• "Salt in the Game" b/w "Break Rap" (2005)
• "Bird's Eye View" b/w "Luv" (2005)
• "Temperature" b/w "The Bay" (2005)
• "Act Right" b/w "Target Practice" (2006)
• "One" b/w "Trippin" (2006)
• "Hit 'Em" (2006) (with The Grouch)
• "Lift Me Up" (2007) (with The Grouch)
• "Count It Down (Nomak Remix)" (2007)
• "Juicy Juice" (2008)
• "We Don't Wife 'Em" (2016)
• "Saving Souls" (2016)
• "Peace" (2017) (with Locksmith)
• "End Times" (2020)
• "2 Eyes" (2021)
• "Stay Focused" (2021)

Guest appearances

• Linkin Park – "Plc.4 Mie Haed" from Reanimation (2002)
• The Planets – "Can't Stop" from The Opening (2002)
• Triple Threat – "Hit 'Em Off" from Many Styles (2003)
• Goapele – "The Daze" from Even Closer (2004)
• Relic – "Trust Yourself" from Note to Self (2004)
• Rico Pabón – "Pa 'Fuera" from Louder Than Fiction (2006)
• Ty – "Oh!" from Closer (2006)
• DJ Deckstream – "Spread Love" from Soundtracks (2007)
• Omina – "Keep Move'n" from Bust (2007)
• Crown City Rockers – "B-Boy (Remix)" (2007)
• Guru – "For Ya Mind" from Guru's Jazzmatazz: Back to the Future (2008)
• Ise Lyfe – "Thigh Bone" from Prince Cometh (2008)
• CLP – "Rockin' Wiz Us" from Supercontinental (2008)
• The Jacka – "Dream" from Tear Gas (2009)
• Jern Eye – "Get Right" from Vision (2009)
• Webcam Hi-Fi – "Promised Land" from Livity Is My Temple (2009)
• Bicasso – "Party Metroid" from Rebel Musiq (2009)
• Pro the Leader & Dopestyle – "Back Wit a Vengence" from Hip Hop Depression (2010)
• Rebelution – "Safe and Sound Remix" from Remix EP (2011)
• Minnesota – "Float" from Altered States LP (2012)
• Latyrx – "It's Time" from The Second Album (2013)
• Matisyahu – "Built to Survive" from Akeda (2014)
• Bassnectar – "Lost in the Crowd" from Noise vs. Beauty (2014)
• Unified Highway – "Same Thing Coming" from Unified Highway (2016)
• Bassnectar – "The Antidote" from All Colors (2020)