Quelle Chris

Here’s an early stream of Quelle Chris’s new project “Being You Is Great, I Wish I Could Be You More Often”. The album’s first song is “Buddies,” a quirky expression of self-love that finds Quelle toasting his best friend (himself) over a jazzy bass loop and intermittent horn stabs courtesy of producer Ayepee: “I f—- with myself / I might buy myself some flowers / I’m in love with myself.” The high doesn’t last long; the harps that conclude “Buddies” give way to the choral “aahs” and somber guitar of “Popeye, “a meditation on regrets: “Kickin’ the can but never eats the spinach / Seems I never reach the goal but alway meet the finish / Though / I know my heart … goes.” Quelle isn’t alone on this personal journey. Frequent collaborators like Cavalier, Jean Grae and Denmark Vessey (his partner in the collective Crown Nation) lend vocals throughout. Together, they make “In Case I Lose Myself” feel more like communion than a typical posse cut: “I am we / We are God / I am dirt / I am stars / C’est la vie / Say ase / Say Amen/ ‘ḥamdu lillāh.” The guests also help to counterbalance the album’s weighty content. The droning synths of “Fascinating Grass” feels like a stuck-on-the-couch high until Roc Marciano appears to inject his sober hustler’s perspective: “Sling blow / For cheese / Veuve Clicquot / I’m covered in gold / I feel like C-3PO.” On “The Prestige,” Quelle’s short verse sets