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I’m realizing more and more that the terms east-coast and west-coast are losing their meaning in hip hop.  In the 90’s they had two distinct sounds. The east brought us jazzier, more musical compositions, charged with politically conscious lyrics.  The west brought us gansta rap and Dr. Dre’s legacy of horror-film-esque synth lines.  Now we have a whole onslaught of hip hop artists on the west coast producing sounds that follow in the footsteps of the legendaries of the east.  Using regions to describe different styles of hip hop can still be useful, but I take it with a grain of salt.  We can’t confidently identify a hip hop artist that we haven’t heard before as belonging to a certain geographical location anymore.

That brings me to Zion I, a duo out of Oakland California. To me, they have an undeniably “east-coast” sound.   Amp Live is a Producer and DJ, and Zion an emcee with a solo career.  Together they are electric.  

Zion I has been in the game for a decade. Since 1997, their sound has evolved to become more robust with each release.  My personal favorite is their 2005 LP, True n’ Livin’.

Temperature - featuring Talib kweli
Doin’ My Thang
Luv

Family Business (2004) and Break A Dawn (2006) are also worth checking out.

Salt in the Game
Target practice - featuring Deuce Eclipse and D.u.s.t.