Everything's Fine (Jean Grae and Quelle Chris album)

Everything's Fine
Studio album by
Jean Grae & Quelle Chris
ReleasedMarch 30, 2018 (2018-03-30)
Genre
Length55:22
LabelMello Music Group
Producer
Jean Grae chronology
The Evil Jeanius
(2008) 		Everything's Fine
(2018)
Quelle Chris chronology
Being You Is Great, I Wish I Could Be You More Often
(2017) 		Everything's Fine
(2018) 		Guns
(2019)
Singles from Everything's Fine
  1. "Ohsh"
    Released: January 23, 2018
  2. "Gold Purple Orange"
    Released: February 26, 2018
  3. "Zero"
    Released: March 16, 2018

Everything's Fine is a collaborative studio album by American rappers Jean Grae and Quelle Chris. It was released via Mello Music Group on March 30, 2018.[1] The fifteen-track record features guest appearances from the likes of Your Old Droog, Denmark Vessey, Ashok Kondabolu and comedians Hannibal Buress, Nick Offerman, Michael Che and John Hodgman, among others.[2]

It has been described as a satirical album and critics noted its use of dark humour.[3][4][5] The main themes of the album are complacency and stereotypes.[4][6][7] It draws influence from many musical genres including jazz and dream pop.[3]

Background

[edit]

Everything's Fine was announced on January 23, 2018, to be released March 30. Alongside the announcement the first single "Ohsh" was released, which features comic Hannibal Buress.[2][8]

Jean Grae and Quelle Chris had worked on several projects together before Everything's Fine, including Grae's That's Not How That Works series.[9][7] On December 3, 2017, Quelle Chris announced on Twitter, "I just proposed to [Jean Grae] and she said yes!"[10] When asked why they chose to work together on the album Chris told Uproxx, "We're together all the time anyway, so it's not like you have to set times to link up or anything. It's like, 'Oh, let's just make an album!'"[9]

Explaining the title Grae says, "As you get older, it tends to be a response that you give more and more without realizing that you're even doing it. You're like, 'Everything's fine,' but the narrator in your head is like, 'Everything was not fine.'"[9]

Chris stated in regards to the theme of the album, "We have a [dickhead] for a president, and before our eyes, racial, religious, and sexual identity rights are moving backwards. Money is still a thing (I'm waiting for Star Trek life to start). There's war, your kids may be sick, but if someone randomly asks 'how's it going?' most people will say 'fine.'"[8]

Chris directed the video for the single "Zero" for which he actually learned to code video games in order to create an authentic, retro look.[9] Jean directed the video for the single "Gold, Purple, Orange".[11]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.4/10[12]
Metacritic84/100[13]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[14]
The A.V. ClubB[15]
HipHopDX4.0/5[16]
Pitchfork8.4/10[17]
Robert Christgau(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)[18]
Spectrum Culture[19]
Tiny Mix Tapes4/5[20]

Everything's Fine was released to critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 84, based on 9 reviews.[13]

Sheldon Pierce of Pitchfork described the album as "part biting satire, part cognitive behavioral therapy, Jean Grae and Quelle Chris' collaboration is a hilarious, caustic, and gorgeous consideration of what it really means to be 'fine' today".[17] Paul Simpson wrote for AllMusic, "The darkly humorous album [Everything's Fine] sarcastically riffs on this sense of false, clichéd optimism, as well as stereotypes, the whitewashing of hip-hop (and popular culture in general), and the general sense of anxiety surrounding day-to-day existence."[14] The A.V. Club described the album as a "sprawling and intentionally distancing record, but never less than fascinating".[15] Justin Ivey of HipHopDX praised the album's "mix of satire and biting commentary" and use of comedians "to aid in shaping the album's sardonic attitude."[16] In a positive review for Tiny Mix Tapes, Rounak Maiti states "for an album so complex — one that's simultaneously funny and fearless — it has an uncanny way of simplifying things."[20]

Everything's Fine was ranked the 24th best release of the year in The Wire magazine's annual critics' poll.[21] Exclaim! named it the 10th best hip hop album of the year.[22]

Track listing

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Credits adapted from Bandcamp[23] and Discogs.[24]

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Everything's Fine"
Jean Grae1:07
2."My Contribution to This Scam"
  • T. Ibrahim
  • G. Tennille
Quelle Chris4:42
3."Ohsh" (featuring Hannibal Buress)
  • T. Ibrahim
  • G. Tennille
Quelle Chris4:31
4."House Call" (featuring Big Tone, Anna Wise, and Jonathan Hoard)
  • T. Ibrahim
  • G. Tennille
Quelle Chris3:17
5."Don't Worry It's Fine" (featuring John Hodgman and Michael Che)
  • T. Ibrahim
  • G. Tennille
Quelle Chris0:50
6."Gold Purple Orange"
  • T. Ibrahim
  • G. Tennille
Quelle Chris5:00
7."Peacock"
  • T. Ibrahim
  • G. Tennille
Jean Grae3:16
8."Doing Better Than Ever" (featuring Ashok Kondabolu)
  • T. Ibrahim
  • G. Tennille
Quelle Chris2:07
9."The Smoking Man" (featuring Denmark Vessey)
Quelle Chris3:53
10."Breakfast of Champions"
  • T. Ibrahim
  • G. Tennille
Quelle Chris3:14
11."Scoop of Dirt" (featuring Your Old Droog)
Quelle Chris4:03
12."Zero"T. IbrahimQuelle Chris4:45
13."Everything's Still Fine" (featuring Nick Offerman)G. TennilleQuelle Chris2:12
14."Waiting for the Moon" (featuring Mosel and Anna Wise)
  • T. Ibrahim
  • G. Tennille
Quelle Chris5:29
15."River" (featuring Anna Wise)
  • T. Ibrahim
  • G. Tennille
Jean Grae6:56
Total length:55:22

Personnel

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Credits adapted from liner notes.

  • Quelle Chris – vocals, producer (2–6, 8–14)
  • Jean Grae – vocals, producer (1, 7, 15)
  • Dane Orr – saxophone (6, 7), mixing (6, 14)
  • Melanie Charles – flute (15)
  • Paul "Bae Bro" Wilson – keyboards (15), mixing (1–7, 9, 10, 14, 15)
  • Willie Green – mixing (2, 9, 10)
  • Zeke Mishanec – mixing (6, 14)
  • I, Ced – mixing, mastering
  • Mindy Tucker – photography
  • Hannibal Buress – featured artist (3)
  • Big Tone – featured artist (4)
  • Anna Wise – featured artist (4, 14, 15)
  • Jonathan Hoard – featured artist (4)
  • John Hodgman – featured artist (5)
  • Michael Che – featured artist (5)
  • Ashok Kondabolu – featured artist (8)
  • Denmark Vessey – featured artist (9)
  • Your Old Droog – featured artist (11)
  • Nick Offerman – featured artist (13)
  • Mosel – featured artist (14)

References

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  1. ^ "Jean Grae & Quelle Chris - Everything's Fine (CD)". Mello Music Group. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Jean Grae & Quelle Chris "Everything's Fine" Album Stream, Cover Art & Tracklist". HipHopDX. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  3. ^ a b Morris, Conner. "Review: Jean Grae & Quelle Chris dig into inspired cultural satire with Everything's Fine". The 405. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Everything's Fine". Pitchfork. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  5. ^ "Jean Grae & Quelle Chris: Everything's Fine". Spectrum Culture. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  6. ^ "Underground hip-hop legend Jean Grae and Quelle Chris officially have zero fucks to give on their new 'Everything's Fine'". AFROPUNK. 4 April 2018. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  7. ^ a b "On 'Everything's Fine,' Jean Grae & Quelle Chris Are The Ultimate Tag Team". NPR. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  8. ^ a b "Jean Grae & Quelle Chris Debut 'OhSh' From Collaborative LP 'Everything's Fine'". NPR. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  9. ^ a b c d "Jean Grae And Quelle Chris Reject Denial On 'Everything's '". UPROXX. 30 March 2018. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  10. ^ "Jean Grae & Quelle Chris Say They're Engaged". HipHopDX. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  11. ^ Breihan, Tom (26 February 2018). "Jean Grae & Quelle Chris – "Gold Purple Orange" Video (Feat. Hannibal Buress & Eric Andre)". Stereogum. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Everything's Fine by Jean Grae & Quelle Chris reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  13. ^ a b "Everything's Fine by Jean Grae Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  14. ^ a b Simpson, Paul. "Everything's Fine – Jean Grae / Quelle Chris". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  15. ^ a b McLevy, Alex (30 March 2018). "Jean Grae & Quelle Chris, Everything's Fine". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  16. ^ a b Ivey, Justin (25 April 2018). "Review: Jean Grae & Quelle Chris' "Everything's Fine" Is Society's Reality Check". HipHopDX. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  17. ^ a b Pearce, Sheldon (4 April 2018). "Jean Grae / Quelle Chris: Everything's Fine". Pitchfork. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  18. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: Jean Grae". www.robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  19. ^ Miyauchi, Ryo (29 March 2018). "Jean Grae & Quelle Chris: Everything's Fine". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  20. ^ a b Maiti, Rounak. "Jean Grae & Quelle Chris – Everything's Fine". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  21. ^ "2018 Rewind: Releases of the Year 1–50". The Wire. No. 419. London. January 2019. p. 34 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
  22. ^ "Exclaim!'s Top 10 Hip-Hop Albums - Best of 2018 (page 1 of 2)". Exclaim!. 10 December 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  23. ^ "Jean Grae & Quelle Chris - Everything's Fine". Mello Music Group. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  24. ^ "Jean Grae & Quelle Chris - Everything's Fine". Mello Music Group. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
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