ZION B INTERVIEW: With support slots for Central Cee, WSTRN, and Steel Banglez, streaming success with Ramz and co-signs from Stormzy, Knucks, NSG, and Aitch, Zion B has been fiercely building a name. Get familiar…
What five words define your sound?
Playful, Fusion, Rebellious, Synths, Cheeky.
Tell me something unique about your creative process.
Sometimes when I’m writing I’ll go to the corner of a room and once I’ve ran out of ideas I’ll go to another corner, it’s very odd but seems to work for me it’s almost as if I can find different parts of the song in different parts of the room.
Which song of yours would you like people to hear first?
‘Gimme Dat’ for sure it sets the tone for the sound and the creation of the song was very natural and organic which I love.
What inspired you to make that song?
Honestly, a girl I was seeing at the time was really bad at texting but very present on social media, I started off singing the chorus lyrics as a joke messing around until I realised it was actually very catchy and vibey.
What’s the most vulnerable you’ve allowed yourself to be when writing/making music?
I’ve got a song that will be on my project called ‘closer’. I wrote it after receiving a text the morning of the day I made it, once I read the text I already knew it was gonna make me a song. After recording it I felt like I needed to perform the song with more emotion and mean the words as I sung them, meaning I’d have to be vulnerable with myself and my music and I’m so happy I did.
What’s the best/worst experience you’ve had on stage?
The best, I would definitely saying dancing while performing my music for the first time, nothing had ever made more sense or felt so easy and comfortable to me in my life. Worst ? Luckily I haven’t had many bad experiences (other than the occasional off note) but one I can say was one time I was about to break out into dance choreography and the song dropped and one of the drummers cymbals fell down right beside me. I ended up picking it up and lifting it as a joke to embarrass myself further to feel less embarrassed !! It was like I took control of the embarrassment I think I’m quite good at doing that.
What is your favourite song to perform?
My next single ‘Hard to get’ for sure. It’s a House song and House/Dance has always been my favourite style of dance. I equally love House music so the two together is just pure magic for me I could perform it with my eyes closed!
Which artist/song/album made you want to make music?
Seriously? I would say Chris Brown’s ‘F.A.M.E’. The variety of genres and the feeling of the whole album really resonated with me however after taking three years off from music while I was acting it was Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Mr Morale and the Big Steppers’ that made me realise music is the thing I want to do in my life.
What’s the meaning behind your name?
My artist name is Zion B, my government name is Zion Battles. It’s just me, I’m me and I love that my music doesn’t sound like anyone else’s, I take a lot of pride in being different and being myself. I’m a strong believer that being like everyone else is beyond boring.
If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing instead?
Although I have a past in dance, theatre, TV and film, I would be creative directing for sure! I’ve always been fascinated by the role and I couldn’t see myself doing anything that wasn’t creative in some sort of light.
What’s success to you?
Happiness and impact. I’ve always said I want people to feel something when they hear my music. And whether that’s one person or one million, I’m doing my job!
What moment in your life/career forced you to change direction?
Definitely hearing ‘Mr Morale & the Big Steppers’ for the first time. I was so moved: lyrically, sonically, emotionally and I didn’t even have to relate to the subject matters to feel something. That’s when I realised that music for me is about feeling it comes from feeling, it evokes feeling and it is feeling in the same way I believe dancing and acting does too, that’s what links them all together for me.
