Zion I was an American hip hop project founded by MC and producer Baba Zumbi (real name Stephen Gaines) in Oakland, California.

[11] In 2012, Zion I released Shadowboxing, which was included on SF Weekly's "10 Best Bay Area Hip-Hop Records of 2012" list.

[13] On August 12, 2021, Gaines checked himself into the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center for a mental health examination.

[15][16][17] On August 20, 2021, the Gaines family announced that they hired attorneys to investigate what they believed was a suspicious death.

The report stated that Gaines died after being held down by three hospital security guards and handcuffed by officers from the Berkeley Police Department while unconscious.