Unconventional and hard to categorize, producer/lyricist
Quelle Chris has created work in several genres, including punk rock, poetry, abstract soul, and instrumental as well as vocal hip-hop. As a beatsmith, he tends to favor lo-fi production methods and oddball samples, and his rapping is loose and casual yet thoughtful and introspective. Armed with a dark, self-deprecating sense of humor, he pokes fun at himself while addressing serious personal concerns and social issues. While
Chris has been steadily releasing sharp, accomplished albums since the early 2010s, including 2011's
Shotgun & Sleek Rifle, he began to receive more attention by the end of the decade, when he issued efforts such as
Being You Is Great, I Wish I Could Be You More Often (2017) and
Everything's Fine, his 2018 collaboration with longtime partner
Jean Grae. He followed these releases with the topical albums
Guns (2019) and Deathfame (2022), as well as work with
Chris Keys and
Homeboy Sandman, among others.
Born Gavin Christopher Tennille in New York, he has spent time in several other cities including Detroit, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Oakland. He first received notice as part of Wasted Youth, an obscure act that attracted attention from Detroit hip-hop luminaries such as
J Dilla and
Proof. Tennille formed Crown Nation with
Denmark Vessey, and recorded as
Q-Life and simply
Quelle. He released a collection of early material titled Blue Mondays and produced several tracks on
Danny Brown's early albums.
Around 2011, he settled on the name
Quelle Chris and began concentrating on his solo career. Debut album
Shotgun & Sleek Rifle appeared in late 2011, and featured guest appearances from
Brown,
Roc Marciano, and
Big Tone. After issuing two EPs as part of the experimental group Racehorses Are Resources (one of which featured legendary poet/activist
John Sinclair),
Chris signed to
Mello Music Group. The single Rappin Ass and full-lengths
Niggas Is Men and
Ghost at the Finish Line were released in 2013. After
Quelle Chris did production work for
Pharoahe Monch,
Diamond District,
Open Mike Eagle, and others, the
Chris Keys-produced full-length Innocent Country appeared in 2015, followed by the instrumental album Lullabies for the Broken Brain in 2016.
Being You Is Great, I Wish I Could Be You More Often came out in 2017; the album featured guest appearances or production by
Jean Grae,
Mndsgn, Suzi Analogue, and others. The following December,
Chris proposed to
Grae and the two became engaged, then married the next year. The couple also recorded an album titled
Everything's Fine, which was released in March 2018 to critical acclaim. Featuring guest appearances from rappers like
Your Old Droog and
Denmark Vessey as well as comedians such as John Hodgman and
Hannibal Buress, the record was darkly humorous, reflecting on stereotypes, police brutality, anxiety, and other topics. A year later,
Chris released
Guns, an incredibly focused solo album addressing issues related to gun violence and white supremacy.
Innocent Country 2, a reunion with
Keys and a sequel to their 2015 collaboration, appeared in 2020 with guests including
Earl Sweatshirt,
Merrill Garbus, and
Pink Siifu. Its release was directly preceded by a vinyl issue of Innocent Country, which was previously only available digitally.
Quelle also worked with
Homeboy Sandman, producing his album
Don't Feed the Monster. He contributed music to the 2021 movie
Judas and the Black Messiah, collaborating with
Chris Keys, trombonist
Craig Harris, and veteran film composer
Mark Isham. Deathfame, produced by
Quelle along with
Keys and
Knxwledge, appeared in 2022. ~ Paul Simpson