''Shadowboxing'' is a studio album by

Zion I Zion I was an American Hip hop music, hip hop project founded by Rapping, MC and Record producer, producer Baba Zumbi (real name Stephen Gaines) in Oakland, California. K-Genius and Amp Live were also project members. Career Originally formed ...

. It was released by Live Up Records on October 2, 2012. It includes contributions from

Collie Buddz Colin Patrick Harper (born August 21, 1981), better known by his stage name Collie Buddz, is a Bermudian reggae singer. He signed with Columbia Records to release his self-titled debut studio album (2006), which entered the ''Billboard'' 200 ...

Goapele Goapele Mohlabane ( ; born July 11, 1977) is an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter. Her name means ''to move forward'' in Setswana, a Southern African language. Early life Goapele's South African father Douglas Mohlabane was an exiled pol ...

, The Grouch, Eligh, and

Bassnectar Lorin Gabriel Ashton (born February 16, 1978), better known under his stage name Bassnectar, is an American Disc jockey, DJ and electronic music producer. With a career spanning several decades, Bassnectar has gained recognition for his innova ...

. It peaked at number 75 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 advertis ...

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

chart.

Critical reception

Rick Anderson of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, writing, "One or two tracks hit less hard than the others, but in each of those cases it's because Zion I took a risk and it didn't quite pay off -- and the willingness to take musical risks is one that needs to be encouraged in today's hip-hop world." Meanwhile, Patrick Taylor of ''RapReviews.com'' gave the album a 6.5 out of 10, stating that "I wish they would experiment in music that I found less objectionable." Imran Khan of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' wrote, "The album was stripped down to mainly just beats and vocals, revealing the bare essentials of the duo's aestheticism."

Critical reception

Track listing

Charts

References

External links