Zion I (pronounced "Zion Eye") are a hip hop duo from Oakland, California. The duo consists of producer and DJ Amp Live and emcee Zion. The two are highly respected and acclaimed underground artists, famous for Amp's futuristic production techniques, using a mix of live instrumentation and samples, and Zion's poetic, positive and socially conscious lyrics. Zion I debuted in 1997 with the locally distributed cassette-only EP Enter the Woods. Their first single on Indie label Ground Control Records ("Inner Light") paved way for an album deal and in 2000, they released the critically acclaimed Mind Over Matter. In total, they have released five studio albums, 2000's Mind Over Matter, 2003's Deep Water Slang V2.0, 2005's True & Livin', 2006's Break a Dawn (a Japan exclusive), and also in 2006 a collaborative album with The Grouch, Heroes in the City of Dope.

With four albums under their belt, Zion I’s history in the hip-hop scene is a long and colorful one. Most recently, Heroes in the City of Dope (2006) a release they recorded with Living Legends member, The Grouch, was hailed by the press including The Source, 944, Scratch, Vapors, among others. This summer the track “Hit Em” from Heroes in the City of Dope, was featured on EA’s Madden NFL 08 video game sound track, one of the biggest selling video games in history. Of course, making beau