Coming off the hugely successful Cali Comm tour with Del the Funky Homosapien last winter, as well as the SXSW appearance, the Oakland-based hip-hop duo Zion I are preparing to embark on their first world tour in support of their new album, True & Livin''.

True & Livin'', which features Talib Kweli, Gift of Gab, Del The Funky Homosapien, Aesop Rock and social activist Fred Hampton Jr.; will undoubtedly become one of the most important and talked about independent hip-hop releases of the year.

"We''ve performed around the world before, but we''ve never had our tour plans so synchronized," explains Zion. "This record is on our newly formed label (Live Up Records), so we''re doing an international push for this album."

Long heralded by critics as one of the best live shows in hip-hop, Zion I will be joined by the Scojourners in Japan, Opio (Hieroglyphics) on West Coast dates, One.Be.Lo on East Coast dates and Roosevelt Franklin throughout Europe.

Through True & Livin'', Zion I has proved defiantly, once and for all, that it is impossible to underrate MC Zion's sharp poetics and Amp Live's varied and original production; that it is impossible to dismiss the group as simply ''underground hip-hop''; that it is impossible to ignore their musical call to arms; that this is good, soul-healing music that is sure to entertain. Period.

The "True & Livin'' World Tour" has stops scheduled in Japan, the US, Canada, Germany, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the UK. European dates and venues are subject to change.

Finally, this year Zion I are on the bill at the highly acclaimed Coachella Valley Music Festival. Zion will perform Sunday May 1, alongside acts such as Weezer, Chemical Brothers, Roots Manuva, Sage Francis and many more!!!

US/CANADA TOUR

4/22 San Francisco,CA Slims

4/23 Santa Cruz, CA Catalyst

5/1Indio, CA Coachella Music Festival

5/2 San Diego, CA Brick By Brick

5/3 Phoenix, AZ Club House

5/4 Tucson, AZ Club Congress

5/5 Albuquerque, NM Moonlight Lounge

5/6 Denver, CO Cervantes

5/7 Ft. Collins, CO Sunset Event Center

5/9 Salt Lake City, UT Lo-Fi Cafe

5/10 Boise, ID JD's & Friends

5/11 Missoula, MT Other Side

5/12 Seattle, WA Chop Suey

5/13 Portland, OR Doug Fir

5/14 Eugene, OR Wow Hall

5/25 Baltimore, MD Ottobar

5/26 Philadelphia, PA First Unitarian Church

5/27 Brooklyn, NY Southpaw

5/28 Providence, RI Living Room

5/29 Burlington, VT Nectars

5/31 London, ONT Call The Office

6/1 Toronto, ONT Kathedral

6/2 Detroit, MI St. Andrews Hall

6/3 Madison, WI Luther's Blues

6/4 Chicago, IL Abbey Pub

6/5 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock

EUROPEAN TOUR:

6/9 Nurnberg

6/10 Munchen

6/11 Mattsee

6/12 Wien

6/14 Linz

6/15 Prag

6/16 Dresden

6/17 Jena

6/18 Berlin

6/19 Hamburg

6/21 Kiel

6/22 Copenhagen

6/23 Hamburg

6/24 Cologne

6/24 Switz

6/26 Wiesbaden

*Some dates are subject to change. All venues are TBD.