If you’ve only recently begun following Zion I, it might surprise you to learn that frontman Zumbi only been using the adopted stage name since 2005. Before that, he went by Zion, but made the change so that it wouldn’t be confusing if he did work outside of the scope of Zion I. With that in mind, he gives us Versus, a solo mixtape where he takes on some of his favorite recent releases and puts his own spin on them.

The success of a project like this naturally falls on the music chosen and the flow of the mix. For the majority of the release, we get a pretty interesting array of artists, from Flying Lotus, Bassnectar, Shad, Little Dragon, Lee Bannon, and Vitamin D. There are also a few songs from The Burnerz, which was a collaboration album between Zumbi and producer The Are that a lot of people slept on. My particular favorite track included from that album is “The Edge,” which features The Grouch and Martin Luther. It’s got a great laid back soulful beat, and once again reminds me how well Zumbi and The Grouch compliment each other as emcees, and not just the high and low pitches of their voices. There’s something about the creative energy between these two that bring out some of the best lyrics either have done. I would have liked to have seen a new spin on these tracks, but I realize he’s just trying to get a few more people turned on to the album. My favorite new track comes from “Likwid,”” featuring D’fahie, which samples the Swedish group Little Dragon’s “Twice.” It’s a beautiful, smart take on the source material, and it takes listeners out of their comfort zone, at least in the context of this mixtape.

There are only a couple of slip ups on the mix, namely “Dank,”” which takes on Wiz Khalifa and features The Jacka and Martin Luther. I’ve personally never understood the appeal of Khalifa, but this track features some week weed rhymes, and then features a chorus with Martin Luther doing a bad Nate Dogg impression. Zumbi’s lyrics on their own aren’t so bad, but in the context of everything else, I can’t say the song turned out well. The only other song that approaches this is “ABC,” which takes on Lloyd Banks. The production is interesting, and Zumbi drops some great rhymes about how drugs and violence are tearing apart African American communities. This is all undone, however, by an incredibly weak verse from Richard Raymond aka hotcrossbones, who opts for swearing a lot and being crude instead of taking the opportunity to contribute to the subject matter. I don’t care if you swear, just swear while you’re saying something, not instead of saying anything. Needless to say, I won’t be looking for any of his albums.

These few songs aside, it’s a strong mix from a veteran emcee. There are certainly some interesting choices, and hopefully you’ll find an artist or two you didn’t already know about.