Zion I is a group of 3 men: MC Zion, producer Amp Live, and DJ K-Genius. Their futuristic sound is one I have yet to hear reproduced. They originate from Atlanta and have since moved to Oakland. They combine hip-hop, drum n' bass, techno, and god-knows-what to create a musical soundscape unparalleled in maybe all of music.  
 
"Mind Over Matter" starts with "Creation" which is, simply, a sampled reading of The Bible's Genesis that describes God's creation of light. I'm an athiest, so this immediately had me questionable, but this should not stop anyone from continuing with the album.  
 
"Revolution" is the first single off of the album. An incredible club-banger that has MC Zion dropping pure hiphop lyrics that talk about everything there is while still making it a party track. The production is revolutionary. Scratching, violin sounds, a chopped bassline. Listing them cannot convey the way that they merge so beautifully on this track. "I'm a b-boy, that's all that I am/step into the party with a fireproof plan/I'm a b-boy, that's all that it is/step into the party, got up with the pyramids." I usually prefer high-vocabulary strewn lyrics but this music is hip-hop as its very purest. Oldschool and futuristic simultaneously.  
 
The next song, "Critical" has lyrical mad-man Planet Asia trading verses about the mission of the emcee over a beat that sounds like the whole song is a sample, the way it thumps and repeats and stops. To quote Planet Asia, "My brother hit me on the game/Said that we original man/And we manifested here to spit slang/I thought a minute, and let it sink /Deep like the Titanic /We wider than the ocean of Atlantic/Pacifical mythical styles /In the west it's gettin' wild/I'm chillin' like the Sphinx upon the Nile/  
Reverberating/Why is you hatin' hip hop we creatin?/Across the desert sands we be bakin'/My melanin/The key to lock rock spots and flocks /Walk the rugged avenue with my B-Boy bop/It's evolution toss a pebble at the devil and smile/  
I'm rebellion while propelling freestyles" Sure, it seems haphazard at first, but you need to understand the state of mind these emcees are entering to comprehend.  
 
"Mysterious Wayz" has MC Zion telling of a love story with a mid-eastern Asian woman that hypnotizes him with her exotic flair. The beat seems to come straight out of that region of the world, with flutes and the sound of what must be some kind of magic dust being dropped. ??? Hard to describe. "She's from a land of sand/where pyramids dwell/and angels blow their breath through sea shells/Like Isis, Oshun, and Ausset/Mysterious lady that I can't forget." Mystic words from a man that seems to seperate from his confining human form when rhyming.  
 
But this supernatural vibe doesn't last forever as the truth of reality strikes us. "Tha Choice" is a spoken word piece by a poet that, after waking up after the time with the mysterious lady, speaks of the horrible life in an urban setting. Sounds from the city whisper in the background until... With a harsh thumping syncopation, MC Zion starts the next track "Koncrete Jungle," telling of this same pain. The track is pretty much about how he hates the city and such an existence. "Dark streets/swoll feet/where massive trash heeps/You speak/Most weep/SORROW/runs deep/Pain/Escape through cocaine..." he goes on in a staccato tempo that freakishly embodies the city's moral horrors. I'm from NYC and this song always hits me when I hear it. The city theme continues as the musical geniuses sample Mos Def's lines "Metropolis...Who on top of this" over a long-running instrumental DJ-capade of city-sorrow. Techno-paced snaps and crackles convey the pace of life in the Metropolis, building on the two tracks before.  
 
"Trippin'", what many consider the best track on the album, has a tint of that southern influence with a beat that is ... intergalactic. I can't find another word. MC Zion tells of the pains of living in itself, the world and its self-inflicted crimes. "Seem like everybody trippin/Or is it me?/Being normal nowadays, It'll drive you cra-zy/Go to work 9 to 5 everyday, no retreat/You got to have a dollar  
Just to get somethin' to eat/It seem like everybody trippin'  
Or is it I?/ Crazy lady walkin around. Shoutin curses at the sky/Instrumentals be the lullaby/Rhyme stimuli,/ now come along, And vibe as we praise most high/You be trippin'/  
Why is you trippin, why is you trippin'?/" Yes, it has the religious tint to it, but it does not, in any way, take away from the track.  
 
"How Many" has the topic of before revisited in a more poetic way with lucious piano keys being stroked for the beat and the occasional organic guitar whine. MC Zion poses so many of life's questions in the form of "how many?" Truly beautiful song.  
 
"Elevation" is one of the more techno influenced tracks with a repitive beat that can send you to sleep, but in a good way. MC Zion talks of days of before and days in the future. Again, the content is incredible. Anyone who believes that hiphop has no morals deserves to be proved wrong. Use this track against them!  
 
And then the moral anger of Zion I is unleashed. The topic of $/$ is tackled from so many angles. "A Little Cash" samples Brooklyn respectable emcee AZ as MC Zion asks for "a little change." He means it in both ways, ironically. The intelligence is on another level. This topic continues with "Fools Gold" where the DJs sample rappers talking about money... from Rakim's "Paid In Full" to Jay-Z's "Money Ain't A Thing."  
 
And then sex. See the pattern? Violence, Money, and now Sex. MC Zion talks about "Venus," that Greek goddess of love and criticizes her wiley ways, greed, and the way she treats everyone, as well as how she has been treated. A great extended-metaphor, a conceit, creates this track. Original, indeed.  
 
The criticisms are pretty much done, and now "Rap Degreez." MC Zion is pretty much doing that "I am MC" thing, talking about the powers of the MC, bragadaccio rhymes, mystic powers, etc. and pulls it off without seeming cocky. And the beat is ...OFF THE HOOK. I think they sample the music from the lava level from Nintendo 64's "Mario 64" for the beat. HA!  
 
"Silly Puddy", with super-introspective emcee The Grouch talks about the human being and how we are influenced by everything. Our flaws and abilities, and our nature as a whole. As The Grouch says, "No one to claim Creator yet the masses are perplexed/Cause by life we're so impressed, we all wish we had a next." The beat is space-age satellite influenced, as you can tell, and the two emcees' contrasting flows fit perfectly over the beat.  
 
"Inner Light" is as positive as you can get about us. It covers humans again, but our possibilities and good aspects. This second single has a magnificent violin and flute and god knows what else. A true masterpiece of music. What does this album NOT cover?? Definitely one of the best tacks  
 
Then there's "All Tha Way," a blazing battle track similar to "Twince inna lifetime" from Blackstar's album the way it's set up, featuring Eclipse 427 and Rasco. Then "One" ends the album on a techno beat once more, as Zion I closes this book with an appropriate epilogue.  
 
Best Tracks: Inner Light, Mysterious Wayz, Revolution, Rap Degreez  
Worst Tracks: Big Ups  
