''Heroes in the City of Dope'' is the first collaborative studio album by

Zion I Zion I was an American hip hop project founded by MC and producer Baba Zumbi (real name Stephen Gaines) in Oakland, California. K-Genius and Amp Live were also project members. Career Originally formed as a group, Zion I released the debut s ...

and The Grouch. It was released on

Om Records Om Records is an American record label, established in 1995, which releases electronic music, dance music and hip hop. The label was founded in San Francisco in 1995 by Chris Smith. Om Records releases both artist albums and compilations, incl ...

on October 10, 2006. It peaked at number 29 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Heatseekers Albums Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...

chart, as well as number 34 on the

Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' maga ...

chart.

Critical reception

Kevin Jones of ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' gave the album a favorable review, saying: "With no shortness of inspiration, Zion I and the Grouch ensure that not a minute of this record goes to waste, matching engaging auditory pleasure with words that actually amount to something." Marisa Brown of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

called it "partially introspection, partially consciousness, and partially hyphy-inspired dance music." Eric K. Arnold of ''

East Bay Express The ''East Bay Express'' is an Oakland-based weekly newspaper serving the Berkeley, Oakland and East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is distributed throughout Alameda County and parts of Contra Costa County every Wednesday. The ''E ...

'' wrote: "This collaborative effort presented an alternate view of Bay Area rap, one more concerned with quality-of-life issues than grill-pieces and rims."

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes. *

Zumbi Zumbi (1655 – November 20, 1695), also known as Zumbi dos Palmares (), was a Brazilian quilombola leader, being one of the pioneers of resistance to slavery of Africans by the Portuguese in colonial Brazil. He was also the last of the kings ...

(Zion I) – vocals *

Amp Live Amp Live is an American alternative hip hop producer and DJ from California. He was one half of the duo Zion I, but left the group in 2015 amicably. He has remixed works by Radiohead, Tokyo Police Club and Jamie Lidell. Life and career Born and ...

(Zion I) – production (except 3, 4, 10) * The Grouch – vocals, production (10) * Indela Mass – vocals (1, 11), guitar (1), electric piano (1) * Mistah F.A.B. – vocals (2) * John Lucasey – vocals (2) * Geechi T. – trumpet (2) * Martin Luther – vocals (3) *

Eligh Eli Nathan Nachowitz (born February 28, 1978), better known as Eligh, is an American rapper and producer from Los Angeles. He is a member of the underground hip hop group Living Legends. Biography Eligh's inspiration for making hip hop musi ...

– production (3) * Headnodic – production (4), guitar (13), bass guitar (13, 15) * Jennifer Epp – vocals (5) * Madame Mangle – vocals (5) *

Chali 2na Charles Stewart (born June 26, 1971), better known as Chali 2na, is an American painter and rapper, associated with the groups Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli. He is known for his bass-baritone and quick delivery rapping style. Personal life Early lif ...

– vocals (6) * Kevin Choice – keyboards (7) *

Esthero Esthero ( ; born Jenny-Bea Englishman on December 23, 1978 in Stratford, Ontario) is a Canadian singer-songwriter who lives in Los Angeles, California. The name ''Esthero'' refers both to the singer and formerly to the two-person team of herself ...

– vocals (8) * Errol Cooney – guitar (8) * Marguerite Ostro – violin (8) * DJ Platurn – turntables (9) * Jason Moss – guitar (11), mixing * Jeremy Miller – guitar (11, 15) * Brandon Jordan – vocals (11), guitar (11) * C. Holiday – vocals (12) * David Goodlett – guitar (12) * Joe Cohen – saxophone (12) * Adam Theis – trombone (12) * Deuce Eclipse – vocals (13) * Justin Weis – mastering * Motivate Movement – layout, design * Paul Beresniewicz – illustration * Snap Jackson – photography

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2006 albums Zion I albums The Grouch (rapper) albums Om Records albums Albums produced by Eligh