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

Everything's Fine
Studio album by Jean Grae & Quelle Chris
Released March 30, 2018
Genre
Length 55:22
Label Mello Music Group
Producer
Jean Grae chronology
The Evil Jeanius
(2008) The Evil Jeanius2008		 Everything's Fine
(2018) Everything's Fine2018
Quelle Chris chronology
Being You Is Great, I Wish I Could Be You More Often
(2017) Being You Is Great, I Wish I Could Be You More Often2017		 Everything's Fine
(2018) Everything's Fine2018
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 2018 collaborative studio album by American rappers Jean Grae and Quelle Chris, released on March 30, 2018, via Mello Music Group.[1] The fifteen-track record features guest appearances from the likes of Your Old Droog, Denmark Vessey, 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

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 d***head 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 videos for the singles "Gold, Purple, Orange" and "Zero" for which he actually learned to code video games in order to create an authentic, retro look.[9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic83/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
The A.V. ClubB[13]
HipHopDX4.0/5[14]
Pitchfork8.4/10[15]
Tiny Mix Tapes[16]

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 83, based on 7 reviews.[11] 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".[15] 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."[12] The A.V. Club described the album as a "sprawling and intentionally distancing record, but never less than fascinating".[13] 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".[14] 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."[16]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Everything's Fine"
1:07
2."My Contribution to This Scam"
  • T. Ibrahim
  • G. Tennille
4:42
3."Ohsh" (featuring Hannibal Buress)
  • T. Ibrahim
  • G. Tennille
4:31
4."House Call" (featuring Big Tone, Anna Wise & Jonathan Hoard)
  • T. Ibrahim
  • G. Tennille
3:17
5."Don't Worry It's Fine" (featuring John Hodgman & Michael Che)
  • T. Ibrahim
  • G. Tennille
0:50
6."Gold Purple Orange"
  • T. Ibrahim
  • G. Tennille
5:00
7."Peacock"
  • T. Ibrahim
  • G. Tennille
3:16
8."Doing Better Than Ever" (featuring Ashok Kondabolu)
  • T. Ibrahim
  • G. Tennille
2:07
9."The Smoking Man" (featuring Denmark Vessey)
3:53
10."Breakfast of Champions"
  • T. Ibrahim
  • G. Tennille
3:14
11."Scoop of Dirt" (featuring Your Old Droog)
4:03
12."Zero"T. Ibrahim4:45
13."Everything's Still Fine" (featuring Nick Offerman)G. Tennille2:12
14."Waiting for the Moon" (featuring Mosel & Anna Wise)
  • T. Ibrahim
  • G. Tennille
5:29
15."River" (featuring Anna Wise)
  • T. Ibrahim
  • G. Tennille
6:56
Total length:55:22

References

  1. ↑ "Jean Grae & Quelle Chris - Everything's Fine (CD)". Mello Music Group. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  2. 1 2 http://hiphopdx.com. "Jean Grae & Quelle Chris "Everything's Fine" Album Stream, Cover Art & Tracklist". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  3. 1 2 Conner Morris. "Review: Jean Grae & Quelle Chris dig into inspired cultural satire with Everything's Fine". The 405. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Everything's Fine". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  5. ↑ "Jean Grae & Quelle Chris: Everything's Fine". Spectrum Culture. 2018-03-29. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  6. ↑ "Underground hip-hop legend Jean Grae and Quelle Chris officially have zero fucks to give on their new 'Everything's Fine'". AFROPUNK. 2018-04-04. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  7. 1 2 "On 'Everything's Fine,' Jean Grae & Quelle Chris Are The Ultimate Tag Team". NPR. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  8. 1 2 "Jean Grae & Quelle Chris Debut 'OhSh' From Collaborative LP 'Everything's Fine'". NPR. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Jean Grae And Quelle Chris Reject Denial On 'Everything's '". UPROXX. 2018-03-30. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  10. ↑ "Jean Grae & Quelle Chris Say They're Engaged". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  11. 1 2 "reviews for Everything's Fine". Metacritic.
  12. 1 2 Simpson, Paul. "Everything's Fine AllMusic Review". AllMusic.
  13. 1 2 "The Voidz, The Vaccines, and more albums to know about this week". The A.V. Club.
  14. 1 2 Ivey, Justin. "Review: Jean Grae & Quelle Chris' "Everything's Fine" Is Society's Reality Check". HipHopDX.
  15. 1 2 Pearce, Sheldon (April 4, 2018). "Jean Grae & Quelle Chris: Everything's Fine". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  16. 1 2 Maiti, Rounak. "Jean Grae & Quelle Chris: Everything's Fine". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
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