''Innocent Country'' is the first collaborative studio album by American rapper

Quelle Chris Gavin Christopher Tennille (born October 19, 1984), known as Quelle Chris, is an American record producer, rapper and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. He has released over 15 albums as a solo act and with his collaborative projects. Career Te ...

and producer Chris Keys. It was released through

Mello Music Group Mello Music Group (MMG) is an American independent record label based in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 2007, Mello Music has released hip hop compilations and albums by producers and rappers such as Oddisee, Apollo Brown, Mr. Lif, Ghostface Kil ...

on July 10, 2015.

Background

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

producer Chris Keys and Detroit rapper/producer Quelle Chris started to develop the ''Innocent Country ''project after meeting through mutual collaborator

Roc Marciano Rahkeim Calief Meyer (born February 11, 1978), better known by his stage name Roc Marciano, is an American rapper and record producer. He is known for his intricate internal rhymes and wordplay detailing mafioso and pimp themes over sample bas ...

. The twelve-track LP audio production was entirely handled by Chris Keys, and featured guest appearances by the likes of

Denmark Vessey Denmark Martin Vessey (born August 28, 1984) is an American rapper and record producer from Detroit, Michigan. He is also a member of hip hop duo Crown Nation with Quelle Chris. He was named after Denmark Vesey, leader of a slave revolt planned ...

, Cavalier, Fresh Daily, The Fiends, and Big Sen. ''Innocent Country'' is the third record of Quelle's ongoing 2Dirt4TV series, followed by '' Niggas Is Men'' (released in 2013) and ''2Dirt4TV'' (released in 2012). Its sequel, ''

Innocent Country 2 ''Innocent Country 2'' is the second collaborative studio album by American rapper Quelle Chris and record producer Chris Keys. It was released on April 24, 2020 via Mello Music Group, serving as a sequel to their 2015 album ''Innocent Country'' a ...

'', was released in April 2020.

Singles and music videos

On June 25, 2015, Quelle released a music video for "Where the Wild Things Roam", co-directed with Eric Mercure. The project's

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

, "I Asked God", was released on June 10, 2015. Music video for " Nothing Moves" was directed by Da Dreak for Eyewerk Films and was released on September 16, 2015.

Critical reception

Paul Simpson of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5, describing it as "a playful set of reflections about life and all of its troubles and disappointments, and how to cope with it all." Marcus J. Moore of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' gave the album a 6.9 out of 10, stating, "The soundtrack moves between wistful and nonsensical moments, which leads to a strong alliance with Quelle who, across several projects, uses conversational flows of disconnected thoughts."

Track listing

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2015 collaborative albums Hip-hop albums by American artists Mello Music Group albums