Hawaiʻi ’13 The Green

Following the breakout success of their 2011 label debut, Ways & Means, O'ahu-based sextet The Green expanded their sonic footprint with their third studio album and second full-length for Easy Star Records, Hawai'i '13. Seeking to refine their intricate multi-part vocal harmonies and tight arrangements, the band partnered with engineer and producer Danny Kalb (Beck, Ben Harper). This creative partnership forged a lasting bond; Kalb would later return to mix the band's 2019 acoustic retrospective on the label, Black & White, and his work here established a blueprint for his future production with Easy Star labelmates like Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad and The Movement.

Recorded primarily at Hurley Studios in Costa Mesa, California, the album's rhythmic foundation is sharply anchored by guest session drummer Joe Tomino of Dub Trio. While The Green would tap well-known industry peers for later Easy Star releases such as MARCHING ORDERS (2017) and BRAND NEW EYES (2021), the features on Hawai'i '13 remain strictly tied to the band's local community. The contemporary tracklist is deliberately bookended by traditional chants performed by featured students from the Hālau Lōkahi Charter School, framing the modern production with a distinct, cultural sense of place.

Driven by catalog staples like the R&B-leaning "Chocolates & Roses," the vocal-centric "Good One," and hit singles "Something About It" and "Take Me On," the record was a critical and commercial breakthrough. Hawai'i '13 debuted at #1 on the Billboard Reggae Chart and swept the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, taking home Best Album by a Duo or Group, Entertainer of the Year, and Best Reggae Album. The release firmly established The Green as a cornerstone of the Easy Star roster alongside heavyweights like Rebelution, cementing a dynamic, sophisticated sound that continues to define their ongoing trajectory with the label.