Biography

Born in Eugene, Oregon, Calvin Valentine (aka G_Force) is a seasoned and versatile Hip-Hop artist/musician who began making music at the age of six. Soon before moving to Portland in the Summer of 2009, Calvin toured as a drummer for the rock band, Medium Troy, on the Warp Tour 2008 following multiple group projects. Producing for nationally recognized Hip-Hop acts such as Planet Asia, Strong Arm Steady, Braille, two-time World Rap Champion Illmaculate, and National Poetry Slam championship El Guante. Calvin moved on to form the buzz-worthy Portland rap trio, TxE, with partners Tope and Epp, before exploring a different direction showcasing his talent as a solo act himself by songwriting, producing, and playing multiple instruments (drums, keys, bass, vocoder, live MPC, etc.) for his own debut album Valentine's Day, getting the nod from notable music blogs like Soulbounce, Kevin Nottingham, Potholes in My Blog, and countless others.

After performing many international shows in London, Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles and more, Calvin teamed up with rap veteran Illmaculate, producing the highly-anticipated album, The Green Tape and another free collaboration with acclaimed fresno rapper Planet Asia, entitled Camouflage Jackets, which got honorable mentions by Okayplayer & 2DopeBoyz, among many others that year and is currently being re-released in vinyl format (2013). Calvin has branched out into licensing his musical work and creating new scores for use in commercials, TV/films, & video games, with his first placements being on Maestro Knows' Get Yourself Tested campaign on MTV (2012).

In 2012, Calvin's sophomore album, Red Eye Flights, was first released on music site, Potholes in My Blog along with a visual for the single "On My Way." Presently, with his new album A Different Animal, a collaborative project with Portland band Radiation City, their single “Zombies” was world premiered on Jay-Z’s very own curated blog, Life and Times. With so much hype, the second single off the album “Food,” earned a remix featuring trippy rapper Juicy J that premiered later that year on Vibe.com (2013).