The Oakland duo of Zion I, made up of Baba Zumbi and Amp Live, has shared the video to "Tech $," a track they released at the beginning of this year. The song focuses on the tech boom that has hit the Bay Area and the ubiquitous gentrification that has resulted. Zumbi wrote the song after he, his two sons, and his wife, with whom he's expecting a third child, were forced to leave their residence in Oakland when his landlord decided to sell the property. He had hoped to relocate within his beloved native city, but due to skyrocketing rent prices, he and his family had to settle for a rental in the nearby town of San Leandro.
The new "Tech $" video shows Zumbi's firsthand experiences in being a target of gentrification, as he and his family are seen moving all of their belongings out of their longtime home. The video ends with a quote by William Shakespeare: "What is the city but the people?" -- suggesting that the corporate invasion of The Bay is destroying its cultural identity.
