(From Innocent Country 2 album; 2020)
One of my big pet peeves about Rap right now is the need for superfluous guests. Thus, of course the best songs on Quelle Chris new album feature people doing Chris' one job (or Chris doing someone else's job in the case of Sudden Death.) Wonders do happen when Jean Grae's significant other is home alone with his microphone, but he seems hellbent on becoming the Ampichino of sardonic eccentric-Rap: a needy bastard with a near-pathological aversion to go for self on his own songs. If only it were possible to enforce social-distancing on Rap albums, mixtapes, and EP's - no more than 2 guests per project, imho.
Thoughts on Key Glock's guest-less Yellow Tape?
ReplyDeleteHaven't heard it.
ReplyDeleteEven 2 seem like too much.
ReplyDelete"If only it were possible to enforce social-distancing on Rap albums" Here-here! When do guests become housemates? When do features become co-stars? When does a entrée become the main dish?
ReplyDeleteOnly people I wanna hear on Quelle Chris songs are Jean Grae, Denmark Vessey, or maybe QC's twin brother from the Buddies video.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I misread but you think all the solo songs are good on here?
ReplyDeleteNo, I think the best songs are the ones featuring various guests like Sacred Safe.
ReplyDeleteThe number of features on a single Quelle Chris song are increasingly seeming like some kind of meta-commentary mocking the very thing they are.
ReplyDeleteThat's kind of my issue sometimes with a lot of these Bay Area rappers there albums feel more like compilations than actual solo albums. Speaking of Bay Area rap have you heard the new Richie Rich & Mekanix album, I downloaded but have yet to listen.
ReplyDeleteNah not checked it.
ReplyDeleteWhat is Chris’ one job?
ReplyDeleteRapping obvs.
ReplyDeletebut does it totally ruin it for you? I feel you on the too many cooks thing, but still a great album to me none the less. I dont feel like the guests here outright ruin the songs. Which is sometimes the case. Only gave it like two spins but im feeling it so far
ReplyDeleteMy take is that I'm bored of guests in general and wanna hear him doing most of the rapping on the songs I do like.
ReplyDelete3 feat. high and rising!
ReplyDeleteRim shot!
ReplyDeleteOn Guns he rapped alone and it was much more superior album.
ReplyDeleteBeing You Is Right... is my fave of his albums. Liked it enough to buy the CD. Still too many guests on that one, though.
ReplyDeleteMozzy’s releases post Bladadah have also been polluted by too many cornerstore rappers featuring on there, I get that everybody needs to eat but really it’s fucked up. A perfect Mozzy release would have him solo on most songs, and maybe a feat with Celly-Ru and another one with Gunplay and that’s it, no need for bottom-tier Costco rappers like YFN Lucci and the likes to be on there.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I don't even bother to listen to Mozzy's songs with guests. An awful habit he picked up from Philthy Rich.
ReplyDelete^ I see you single out Philthy as the primary influence for the guest appearances on Mozzy's albums here but also in the past. But isn't an overflow of guests on songs and albums basically the blueprint for rap from the Bay? E-40's albums have also been plagues by too many features for what, 15 years now? Same for most Mob Figaz and so many others.
ReplyDeleteAgreed with the sentiment though, although I haven't listened to that new Quelle Chris yet.
I meant more in the sense that their albums are full of guest features from whatever trendy regional rappers are currently buzzing. E-40 has definitely become guilty of that in recent years too, but Philthy was really the architect of that hackery as far as NorCal goes.
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy the Cavalier features. This is my favorite Quelle record from this year and sort of a follow up to Buddies: https://spectacular-diagnostics.bandcamp.com/track/heart-of-steel-feat-quelle-chris
ReplyDeleteNice.
ReplyDelete