FRSHCLSV ALBM:
Illmaculate x G_Force –
The Green Tape

Well – here it is.
The official rebirth of FRSH SLCTS,
& the release of the longawaited Green Tape.

It’s been a year or two in the making – but none of that matters anymore.
We’re here now.
The site’s still in its beta stage so please excuse any glitches you may come across.

But this isn’t about a website (& it never was).
It’s about the music, so let’s get back to that…

Today, Illmaculate & G_Force bring us The Green Tape -
their collaborate reworking of soul legend Al Green‘s 2008 release, Lay It Down.
For what was originally meant to be an instrumental release,
G_Force had sampled & flipped the entire ?uestlove & James Poyser-produced LP,
song-by-song & piece by piece – all in one day.
& then later on – Illmaculate, who just happened to be in G_’s studio that day,
took it upon himself to write to the beat CD & voila! – The Green Tape was born.

Although the project together as naturally it did,
it still found both artists challenging themselves in new ways -
G_ limiting himself to just one sample source,
& much less live instrumentation that he’s known for,
matched with Ill stepping out of his typecast comfort zone of battle raps
& continuing to push his subject matter into more personal & universal places.
Both of which combine to make this a unique project in either artist’s catalog,
as well as in any fan’s music library.

Among other things, The Green Tape is also a 100% Portland project.
With Ill being, for some time now, one of the city’s most talented & far-reaching voices,
& G_ already having a large impact on the local scene in his only first year living here -
the fact that Portland would be well-represented already went without saying.
But on top of that – all of the guest appearances are from Portland peers
(including Ill’s hometeam, Sandpeople & G’s partner in TxE, Epp),
plus the complete album was written, produced & recorded within the city limits -
& even the album’s artwork & now its release were all handled by the city’s own.
With a rich history already behind us,
2011 is the year that we really let the rest of the world know about it.

You can download The Green Tape for free below,
after joining Illmaculate’s I Rap Better mailing list.
Also – be on the look out for much more from the Tape still to come,
including music videos, tour diaries & more.

Tracklisting:
1. Lay It Down
2. Just 4 Me (feat. J-Rome)
3. Oh-Luv
4. No One Like Me
5. What More? (feat. Epp & Theory Hazit)
6. Take Your Time (feat. J-Rome)
7. 2 Much (feat. OnlyOne)
8. (K)New You
9. All Day (feat. Braille)
10. Cold Numbness (feat. Sandpeople)
11. Workin’ Man

Produced by G_Force (aka Calvin Valentine) for Gravity Hits Productions
Mixed & Mastered by DJ FlipFlop
Artwork by Dan Kinto
Selected by KNNY FRSH for FRSH SLCTS

Illmaculate appears courtesy of Wapikiya Records & Executive Branch Management