Skateboarding
Skateboarding
Songs to skate to: Zion Wright reveals his ultimate Spotify playlist
Get ready to ride the rhythm with Zion Wright's handpicked Spotify playlist!
Skateboarding and music have a long and interwoven history, with each impacting the other enormously over the last half-century.
Whether it was skateboarders championing bands like the Beastie Boys (Girl Skateboards’ co-owner Spike Jonze directed their Sabotage video) or Rage Against The Machine which propelled both into the mainstream, or the impact of bands like Dinosaur Jr on the aesthetics of skateboarding’s looks and lifestyle – the opening chords to A Little Ethnic Song on Alien Workshop’s 1991 video debut Memory Screen being the most famous skate video intro of all time – the intersectionality is there for all to see.
Avril Lavigne knew exactly what she was doing when she recorded her 2m-selling 2002 hit Sk8er Boi, a paean to a skateboarder who goes on to become a famous musician.
Nowhere in the culture today does one skateboarder stand astride both camps in the way Jupiter Beach, Florida’s very own Zion Wright does.
Zion Wright – Backside 540 at Red Bull Origin
© Anthony Acosta/Red Bull Content Pool
Big Z is not only one of the great ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) talents of skating today, but he is also a passionate musician and artist himself, part of a wave of young skateboarders like Dashawn Jordan who can move comfortably within and indeed between both worlds.
A lynchpin of all Red Bull Drop In Tours so far, whether in Europe, Japan or Australia, Zion is the ultimate hype-man: the crowd favourite who shuts down demos singlehandedly and then jumps on the loudhailer to bring the ruckus for the rest of the team.
With that in mind, he was a natural choice to curate the latest Skate Noise Spotify playlist for us, fusing stone-cold jams with some more obscure tracks and hopefully some discoveries for you from his eclectic taste. Over the past year, Spotify has built a listening destination that celebrates skate culture around the world. Zion is taking over that Spotify playlist, making it his ultimate skate inspo mix that brings in his personal taste.
Check out Zion Wright's playlist below, or head over to Spotify to hear it there:
We caught up with the main man himself right after Red Bull Pool Drop in Munich to ask him about Florida rap, new video projects – and guilty pleasures!
Zion Wright chooses his ultimate playlist for Spotify
© Andrew Peters/Red Bull Content Pool
Who did you grow up listening to in Florida?
As I was growing up, I was listening to a lot of Lil Wayne, some Kodak [Black] in Florida for sure… Rick Ross.
How are you feeling about the Red Bull Drop In Tour of South America coming up soon?
I'm super-stoked for the Drop In Tour; I can’t wait to get back on the road with the boys and girls! The whole crew are going to be looking forward to Chile and Argentina – I’ve never been, but I’ve been to Brazil quite a bit, so looking forward to going back.
Is there anything in skateboarding you haven’t done yet that you would still like to?
To be honest, there’s quite a bit of stuff outside of skateboarding that I haven’t accomplished yet. Definitely I’m going to say that I feel like I’m on my way to doing it in the near future, so I just got to stay down, keep having fun with it and just do my thing.
What’s a future dream project for you?
A future dream project for me… let’s see, honestly, put out a Vans part; I haven’t done one with those guys yet. I’m working on that right now.
Zion Wright does a backside lipslide at Red Bull Drop In Tour 2023 in Japan
© Anthony Acosta/Red Bull Content Pool
In what ways can you see yourself merging both these passions of yours in the future?
Honestly, yeah… I feel like with music culture and skating culture it’s already pretty merged, but there hasn’t been that boundary broken down for skaters wanting to become artists; to really tap into it and explore that world. To really showcase and show the people that, you know, they have other passions and other arts to share.
Do you have a guilty-pleasure track?
Sure: Don Toliver’s Company!
You've spoken about mental health in the past; what message do you want to get across?
The message that I would have for everyone would be, you know, we’re all human. We all go through stuff, so just be able to open up and speak about it. Don’t be afraid, you know? We’re not alone in this cell. During your time with whatever it is that you’re going through, just know that through the dark there’s light.
Check out Zion Wright's top songs to skate to on Spotify.
