Saukrates has rightly solidified himself as a legend in Toronto’s hip-hop scene. He’s influenced – and worked with – the city’s brightest stars over the years, all while staying busy out on the road with Redman and in the studio working on his own albums. The latest of those albums is Season One, via Frostbyte Media, which is being released today through physical retail in Canada and digital retail in the U.S. The album will be released through physical retail in the U.S. this August.

To celebrate the release, Saukrates is giving fans a free mixtape, The Preseason Mix: Eastern Conference Edition, mixed by DJ Starting From Scratch, a collection of tracks throughout Saukrates’ career, starting with his Capital Hill days in 1999 and continuing through his time with Warner, Def Jam, Gilla House, and more, before closing out with his current Frostbyte Media material.

Asked why he decided to release the mixtape, Saukrates stated, simply, “Why not?” noting that the influence of friends and business associates encouraged him to get behind the project. “I forget how much of my material from an extensive period of my career hasn’t been made available to everybody,” says Saukrates. “It’s heart-warming to know that friends and fans still hold a special place in their lives for my past material.”