After releasing the consciousness raising track and subsequent video for "Tech $" and mixtape, Stay Woke, Oakland-based MC Zion I (aka Zumbi) is finally ready to drop his album, The Labyrinth, on his own imprint, Mind Over Matter Records. The project features guests spots from MCs Deuce Eclipse and Codnay Holiday, as well as production from Ariano, Mikos the Gawd, Teeko, and Decap.
On his first full-length album minus former producer Amp Live, the new project finds Zumbi delivering plenty of insightful lyrics and soul-bearing revelations. Most notably, the track "Not Ur Fault” was written the night his father passed in 2015. In the song Zumbi thinks about his own role as a father to his three young son as he pays tribute to the man who raised him. On the other hand, "Let Me Be” explains his opinion on the current state of Black America. "From hip hop, to the executions of black males by police, we are at crossroads," Zumbi said in a press release. "As father of three, I have to do my best to prepare my children for the world they will inherit."
He gets rowdy on "Wake Up,”as he commands, "Wake up in the morning like Ooowwwww!” "That's the feeling I have everyday when I wake up and realize that I make music and perform for a living,” Zumbi adds. With its hard-hitting beat, "Wake Up" is the perfect kickstart to any day. The album drops October 21.
By Kyle Eustice
