Quelle Chris is from Michigan. He doesn't speak much about his childhood other than to recount stories of his younger brother, talented rhymer MoseL, or to describe his uncanny ability to imitate people starting from a young age. It was through MoseL that Quelle first got his hands on a simple drum machine, setting Quelle on his path. Michigan's small-scale scene gave Quelle the opportunity to meet and work with an impressive group of artistic talent, and it didn't take long for an older head to notice Quelle's growing potential. Goose, an MC formerly of the chronically underrated Detroit group Wasted Youth, met Quelle as a high schooler, and instantly saw something Quelle from a young age. While he initially concentrated on music production, Quelle decided to take rhyming seriously, urged by his Wasted Youth Family. After high school, Quelle relocated to Chicago with his brother MoseL, where he attended art school, which never became a good fit for the young MC and producer. Nonetheless, Quelle came into himself and quickly realized that his style was anything but conventional. So, stifled by the constraints of academia, Quelle left art school after one year. What followed was an era of bold experimentation and tremendous personal and musical growth. During this time he recorded music that would later be organized as Blue Mondays, a bittersweet and emotional project, packed with raw loops and hard-hitting rhymes. The project began to gather steam through word of mouth and eventually catching the ear of DJ House Shoes, an immediate advocate for Quelle's music. A fire in his Chicago residence destroyed much of the music that never found a place on Blue Mondays and without looking back, Quelle hit the road again, this time settling in Oakland, CA. Beginning with his time in Oakland, the world began to take notice of Quelle Chris. In 2010 Quelle released the House Shoes presents... Blue Mondays/Slut Bag Edition 12", in conjunction with the DJ who first took an interest in Quelle's rhymes. Combining select cuts from Blue Mondays with tracks from Crown Nation, a trio of Quelle, his brother MoseL and longtime friend Denmark Vessey. The vinyl records were packaged in blank sleeve that Quelle customized with hand-drawn cartoon characters. Each copy contains unique original artwork from Quelle himself. This album would serve as an appetizer for Quelle's heavy hitting 2011follow up Shotgun and Sleek Rifle. Pushing the album strictly by himself, Quelle introduced his off-kilter brand of highly personal boom-bap to a new audience with the help of folks he'd forged relationships with over the years: House Shoes, Danny Brown, Roc Marciano and of course, Crown Nation. The album found a cult following and created opportunities for more diverse collaborations with the likes of Sean Price and producers Dibia$e and Knowledge. Having soaked up game all over the country, Quelle has a style with no obvious lineage. He sounds like nobody else. Few other MC/producers can leap from teenage humor to intense personal reflection, from hardcore rhyming to serious experimentation and make sense of it all. More succinctly, Quelle is the real deal. The dual threat MC/Producer comes to the table with no gimmicks or trends. Quelle Chris is just being his unapologetically honest self.
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