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artist : Zion I
title : Flow
year : 2003
label : Raptivism
cat : RPV0017
url : www.raptivism.com
date : May-29-2003
genre : Hip-Hop
quality : 192kbps / 44.1kHz / Full Stereo
source : Late Vinyl
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a1 Flow
a2 Flow (instrumental)
a3 Flow (fluid mix instrumental)
b1 The Drill (edit)
b2 The Drill (instrumental)
b3 Flow (fluid mix)
6 tracks | 25:08 min | 34,6 MB
.......................................................................
"As easily as most of the hip hop massive missed out on Zion I's
2000 debut, Mind Over Matter, let's face it - this
gourmet-prepared, nutritional offering on their sophomore release,
Deep Water Slang V 2.0, isn't going to easily lure the average
listener away from their customary quick-fix of processed
chart-toppers. Instead, the slow and patient development of Zion
I's hand-crafted musical and lyrical floetry pushes them into
becoming near-masters of a new revolutionary direction, similar to
cats such as Common, Dead Prez, Blackalicious, and Talib Kweli. On
this fine-tuned LP, the Oakland-based duo of producer Amp Live and
emcee Zion, prove to fans of their previous work, that they're
indeed on a quest for something holy and somewhat heavenly. To help
in this pursuit for the afterlife of true hip-hop achievement,
they're meticulous in using homegrown talents such as Goapele, Pep
Love, and Martin Luther, just to name a few.
Slightly cosmic, yet powerfully driving Oakland's 'black-panting'
trunk of funk, the album's pushy first tracks, "The Drill" and
"Warrior's Dance" featuring Pep Love's unhidden lyrical weaponry,
charge forward with a bass-full force that never looks anywhere but
straight ahead at its opponent - anything resembling oppression.
Zion's flow is so passionate on these tracks, that the periodic
mentions of names like 'Hannibal,' 'Nat Turner,' 'Stokely' and
'Huey' pelt you back into a time wen Blackexploitation themes were
necessary like the Afro-pick. What's so amazing about the depth of
their slang is that, as militant as this early picture may seem, we
are introduced to a world so beautifully depicted by surreal sounds
on cuts like "Finger Paint" featuring songstress Susie Suh and
emcee Dust. Her coffee house alternative tones, together with
splashes of electric guitars make this one of the album's most
infectious. Still their abstract artfulness exposes itself, as
Zion's emotional nakedness lay bare for the drip-drop colors of
melodic violins to pin-stripe his conscious into stillness on
"Sorry". Keep your head nodding to the yoga-styled "Kharma", where
Zion tells stories of how a little boy is on the wrong path in
life, and that payback is inevitably going to fall right back in
his own lap.
Although Zion I's lead single, "Cheeba Cheeba" featuring Aceyalone
was the one to hit you over the dome first, it's one of the few
cuts, with others like the beat-boxing "Kick Snare" or bonus track
"Rock Ya'll," that float the closest to the ear's surface. Outside
of these shallow attempts (hey, nobody's perfect), you'll honestly
wear-out the laser optics when shooting this CD up your veins
listening to Goapele's vocals on "Flow," also featuring The Grouch.
Whispering her incense burning smoke-patterns throughout the
atmosphere, she rinses your heart with a soulfully hip chorus-hook
on "Boom Bip", that's ideal to spark one to. Speaking of sparking
one, hit the West Indies with their international communication as
they re-program the SP-1200 into a vicious dancehall riddim on
"AEIOU," a wicked, wild and versatile taste for the curry crab &
dumplings crew! And as if this weren't enough reachable power in
connecting to markets beyond the red, white and blue, they dive
deeper on "Mind Blow," their follow-up to 2000's "Inner Light"
which perfectly blends Drum + Bass with Hip Hop - mashing it up
every time, seen! Overall another solid release from the Zion I
massive."
--hiphopsite.com
The crackle on Flow is part of the track itself, not shitty vinyl
or shitty ripping.
Man, this release is dedicated to the USPS for sending the record
from Las Vegas to the east coast back to the left coast. Three
weeks in the making, here it is. Enjoy.
.......................................................................
CERTiFiED QUALiTY iNC 2003
shouts: kw - sb - soup - ftd - tr - cms - igr - nuhs - dps - ube