Blogs

As Mumble and Emo Rap are being touted as the sound of a new hip-hop generation, the same generation struggles to rise from the record industry imposed monolithic pigeon hole of banal music.

Sitting in the control room at Area Twenty-Two, listening to the post mastering session playback of the various mixes of "The Concerto", The ZYG 808 realizes that he is entering the game with a very distinctive sound and style, that especially stands out from many of his contemporaries. "Everybody's trying t

The spirit energy that fueled Hip-hop can be found in the

 parks of The Bronx. The ZYG pays a visit to his musical roots and talks about the African, African American, and Caribbean oral and musical traditions that are at the roots of rap music.

BRONX, NY - Standing in Devoe Park, The ZYG finds himself literally at one of the significant crossroads ofHip-hop, where Sedewick Avenue and Fordam Road intersect. Many years ago in this same spot, Hip-hop pioneers like Grandmaster Caz, and DJ Whiz manned

Hip-Hop MC & child prodigy, master percussionist, The ZYG steps into the hip-hop game with a different sense of raps place in the continuum of spoken-word and the oral tradition.

Before he picked up a microphone, legendary Hip-hop MC, Rakim Allah, was a tenor sax player. His sense of phrasing and flow as an MC was clearly shaped by his exposure to and participation in playing jazz. Likewise is true for the 14 year-old MC , The Z.Y.G., who holds Rakim on the mantle among his other influences in MC