Oakland-native producer Chris Keys and Detroit-based rapper Quelle Chris have made what should soon become a modern classic – if rap fans have the good sense to appreciate it.
“Innocent Country 2” is great in the way only the most respected and definitive hip-hop albums are; It uses luxurious beats, unique performances and perfect collaborations to bring an ambitious vision to life.
Ever since releasing his debut album in 2011, Quelle Chris made a name for himself with his gritty vocals and thoughtful lyricism, which perfectly complement the other-worldly beats he produces for his own projects and for other rappers like Danny Brown.
However, Quelle Chris' ability to rap over his own beats didn’t stop him from working with Chris Keys on 2015’s “Innocent Country” where Quelle Chris’ somber explorations of topics like drug abuse and religion elegantly complement Keys’ aggressive production.
The 16 tracks and 63 minutes of the duo’s follow-up prove that Quelle Chris and Chris Keys truly bring the best out of each other, with gorgeous and intricate production providing the perfect foundation for ambitious, exciting and heart-wrenching performances.
Although much of “Innocent Country 2” is slow and contemplative, the eerie banger “Bottle Black Power Buy the Business” serves as a clear evolution of Quelle Chris’ recent solo work and a welcome throwback to the grimy lo-fi aesthetic of the original “Innocent Country.”
Over twisted drums, growling sub bass, haunting chimes and stabbing synths, Quelle Chris mumbles an addictive hook with seemingly endless layers of gnarled vocals.
Along with delivering one of the album’s hardest and moodiest beats, “Bottle Black Power Buy the Business” features some of Quelle Chris’ darkest and catchiest lyrics, exploring themes of fame and paranoia with lines like, “This ain’t bout no scene, this is life or death by inches.”
Although “Innocent Country 2” delivers some of Quelle Chris’ hardest hitting tracks yet, he also delivers performances that are more melodic and tuneful than any of his past work, with the help of some gorgeous production.
On “Sudden Death,” Chris Keys’ driving drums, warped piano chords and dirty bass lines pair perfectly with Quelle Chris’ strained, high-pitched harmonies.
Extra layers of spacey piano and old-timey background vocals develop the song into a neo-soul opus, with Quelle Chris’ lyrics about slowing down to appreciate life in the midst of difficulties, eventually melting into swirling layers of humming and mumbling that grow into a euphoric finale.
Quelle Chris’ vulnerable performances over Keys’ nostalgic beats carry genuine emotional power. Unlike some albums that become confused because of too many guest features, appearances from other underground hip-hop stars only add to the topical focus and tear-jerking impact “Innocent Country 2” builds across its tracklist.
“Living Happy” serves as a perfect starting point for the album’s thematic evolution, featuring a nostalgic blend of funky drums, driving keys, warm bass lines and stuttering lo-fi percussion. Quelle Chris sets the track’s tone with his verse, describing succeeding as a Black man “when them Black/white ratios look like dominoes.”
Guest rapper Joseph Chilliams juggles “Key & Peele” references with dark lyrics about urban violence before another featured artist, Cavalier, closes the track with lyrics about struggling to succeed “through the muck and the mire.”
Just as each verse builds on the theme of pursuing success on “Living Happy,” Quelle Chris and Chris Keys picked the perfect guests to articulate the album’s dark and personal climax.
Over the muffled drums, distorted bass, heavy piano and melancholy harmonies of “Mirage,” each rapper approaches the song’s existential doubt and pain with their own crushingly personal touches.
Across the track’s seven minutes, “Mirage” just gets more and more heartbreaking, from Earl Sweatshirt’s verse about lost ambition and substance abuse to Denmark Vessey’s lonely lines about struggling through hard times and “still looking for father figures.”
The song closes with a spoken-word piece by past-collaborator Big Sen, who delivers a beautiful encouragement to enjoy the reality of life, despite the fact that “security is largely a superstition.” This ray of sunshine that borders on a sermon cuts through this hip-hop epic’s darkness, delivering a beautiful conclusion.
Hopefully, the hip-hop community will embrace Quelle Chris and Chris Keys’ masterwork and allow it to help define this new decade, just like Kendrick Lamar’s “good kid, m.A.A.d. city” and Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” did for the 2010s.
If it doesn’t, hip-hop fans will have missed out on one of the underground’s most exciting and emotionally resonant albums in years.
