Indie hip-hop group Zion I & The Grouch give collaborating a new meaning. The originally separate artists joined forces to perform as one unified act for their Healing of the Nation tour. On each stop of the nationwide tour, the Bay Area-based rappers donate the ticketing fee revenue to local charities that strike a chord with them.

‘We’re living in intense times,’ said Corey Scoffern, a solo emcee hailing from Oakland, Calif., with the stage name The Grouch. ‘There’s a lot of big things happening in the world, and we’re just trying to motivate audiences to be the best people they can be.’

The tour, which started in San Francisco on March 19, is in support of the rappers’ sophomore release, ‘Heroes in the Healing of the Nation,’ which is one of several collaborative albums. Tuesday, the group performed at Syracuse’s Westcott Theater to raise money for two local nonprofit organizations.

The group donated its proceeds to the Zen Center of Syracuse, a facility that offers guided meditation and other Zen practices. It also donated to Imagine Syracuse, an organization that aims to provide all children in the Syracuse area the chance to learn various art forms, including poetry, dance and music, through after-school programs and hands-on workshops. Imagine Syracuse works alongside the Zen Center during its annual six-week young artist summer program.

When Jessie Keating, executive director of Imagine Syracuse, received a phone call from the Zen Center about the show, she was surprised but excited to hear the hip-hop group was eager to support both organizations.

‘It’s great to see a musical act that’s so socially conscious and remind people to open their eyes to what’s happening in their own backyard,’ Keating said. ‘Hopefully this will help the rich diversity of people of the area who are in poverty to get a lift.’

The decision to donate to the Zen Center was spearheaded by Zumbi, emcee for the duo Zion I, who felt a personal connection with the organization. Zumbi, who has practiced Zen meditation for more than 15 years, recognized the importance of self-reflection in both the hip-hop group’s musical styles and in having a positive outlook about the world.

‘Practicing meditation keeps you in the moment,’ said Zumbi, whose real name is Steve Gaines. ‘When you’re able to focus and reflect on your own thoughts and outlook, it puts you more in tune with the world around you.’

The idea for the charity-based tour, Zumbi said, was heavily influenced by the concepts of optimism and social awareness that permeated the group’s latest album.

‘We wanted to use the album to create a movement,’ he said. ‘We all have families and kids, and we know what it’s like having hard times. For us to have the opportunity to finally do something like this, that we’ve wanted to do for so long, it resonates from the music we’ve written.’

Because the trio is not signed to a record label, it’s allowed to collect donations for charity while touring the country. The trio said signing with a major label is not part of the group’s definition of success.

‘When you’re not on a label, it makes it easier to do things like this, and it keeps the music genuine,’ Zumbi said. ‘It’s not like, ‘Check out my new Prada slippers or look at my new Gucci belt.’ It’s about writing music with friends that we think will make a difference for the fans who listen to it.’

Keating, who planned to attend the concert on behalf of Imagine Syracuse, echoed the importance of the reasons behind Zion I & The Grouch’s motivations.

‘It’s great that these guys are trying to promote consciousness, both by donating to charities and with their message,’ she said. ‘It’s great to work with such socially aware artists.’

ervanrhe@syr.edu

Published on April 19, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Erik: ervanrhe@syr.edu | @therealvandyman