''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. He has bee ...

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 Killah ...

on July 10, 2015.

Background

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

producer Chris Keys and

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

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, songwriter, and producer. Career Roc Marciano started his career in 1999 when he joined Busta Rhymes' collective the Flipmode S ...

. 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 ''Too Dirt For TV2 – Niggas Is Men'' is a 2013 mixtape album by American rapper and producer Quelle Chris. It featured audio production handled by Messiah Musik, Sifu and Quelle himself, and guest appearances from Bwameeks, Cavalier, Chay, Denmar ...

'' (released in 2013) and ''2Dirt4TV'' (released in 2012). Its sequel, '' Innocent Country 2'', 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 (also known as a debut 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. Release s ...

, "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 music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

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 (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' 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 albums Collaborative albums Hip hop albums by American artists Mello Music Group albums