Flowers And The Color Of Paint - Ithaka

Although written and vocalized in the English language by Ithaka Darin Pappas, a southern-Californian, this record (his debut album) was recorded in Lisbon, Portugal (where the artist lived from 1992-1998) and where, to most, this is considered a 'Portuguese' album.

This record appeared in the middle of a new movement known as Hip Hop Tuga (hip hop made in Portugal). Many hip hop tuga artists were from former colonies of Portugal in Africa such as; Cape Verde, Mozambique and Angola - and Ithaka was not considered an outsider with this national and international group of lyricists/vocalists.

The recordings include guest appearances by many of the best young performers working in Portugal at that time, such as General D and Marta Dias. The album was very well received by the media, being nominated nominated for three Blitz Premios (Portuguese equivalent to the Grammy): "Best New Artist", "Best Male Vocalist" and "Best Album". And in a 1999 retrospective of Portuguese music by the national newspaper Publico, "Flowers And The Color Of Paint" was considered one of the most important "Portuguese" albums of the 1990s.

The record is perhaps best known internationally because of the track, Escape From The City Of Angels, which came to public light when award-winning film director Antoine Fuqua used the song in his movie "The Replacement Killers" during a sequence featuring critically acclaimed actors Mira Sorvino, Chow Yun fat and Clifton Collin Jr.