Wednesday, December 10th @ The Drunken Unicorn

Speakeasy presents…

Quelle Chris, Fly Anakin, bbymutha, NoGum Hundo, Big Kahuna OG, EWONEE

8pm / $20 / 21+

Unconventional and hard to categorize, producer/lyricist Quelle Chris has created work in several genres, including punk rock, poetry, abstract soul, and instrumental as well as vocal hip-hop. As a beatsmith, he tends to favor lo-fi production methods and oddball samples, and his rapping is loose and casual yet thoughtful and introspective. Armed with a dark, self-deprecating sense of humor, he pokes fun at himself while addressing serious personal concerns and social issues. While Chris has been steadily releasing sharp, accomplished albums since the early 2010s, including 2011's Shotgun & Sleek Rifle, he began to receive more attention by the end of the decade, when he issued efforts such as Being You Is Great, I Wish I Could Be You More Often (2017) and Everything's Fine, his 2018 collaboration with longtime partner . He followed these releases with the topical albums Guns (2019) and Deathfame (2022), as well as work with  and , among others.

Born Gavin Christopher Tennille in New York, he has spent time in several other cities including Detroit, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Oakland. He first received notice as part of Wasted Youth, an obscure act that attracted attention from Detroit hip-hop luminaries such as  and . Tennille formed Crown Nation with , and recorded as  and simply Quelle. He released a collection of early material titled Blue Mondays and produced several tracks on 's early albums.

Around 2011, he settled on the name Quelle Chris and began concentrating on his solo career. Debut album Shotgun & Sleek Rifle appeared in late 2011, and featured guest appearances from , , and Big Tone. After issuing two EPs as part of the experimental group Racehorses Are Resources (one of which featured legendary poet/activist ), Chris signed to . The single Rappin Ass and full-lengths Niggas Is Men and Ghost at the Finish Line were released in 2013. After Quelle Chris did production work for , , , and others, the -produced full-length Innocent Country appeared in 2015, followed by the instrumental album Lullabies for the Broken Brain in 2016.

Being You Is Great, I Wish I Could Be You More Often came out in 2017; the album featured guest appearances or production by , , , and others. The following December, Chris proposed to  and the two became engaged, then married the next year. The couple also recorded an album titled Everything's Fine, which was released in March 2018 to critical acclaim. Featuring guest appearances from rappers like  and  as well as comedians such as John Hodgman and , the record was darkly humorous, reflecting on stereotypes, police brutality, anxiety, and other topics. A year later, Chris released Guns, an incredibly focused solo album addressing issues related to gun violence and white supremacy.

Innocent Country 2, a reunion with  and a sequel to their 2015 collaboration, appeared in 2020 with guests including , , and . Its release was directly preceded by a vinyl issue of Innocent Country, which was previously only available digitally. Quelle also worked with , producing his album Don't Feed the Monster. He contributed music to the 2021 movie Judas and the Black Messiah, collaborating with , trombonist , and veteran film composer . Deathfame, produced by Quelle along with  and , appeared in 2022. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi

Fly Anakin is a rapper and producer from Richmond, Virginia who approaches his craft in a way few contemporaries can. Described by Madlib as “one of the illest MCs,” the Mutant Academy cofounder was known for his razor-sharp lyrics, ear for soulful production, and collaborative synergy well ahead of his acclaimed solo debut, Frank (2022). After years of consistent releases with his collective, Anakin broke major ground in 2020 with his and Pink Siifu’s joint project FlySiifu’s, followed by their $mokebreak EP in 2021. A student of the East Coast’s golden age, Anakin transmutes its spirit into music that’s both classicist and pioneering, having worked with the likes of Freddie Gibbs, redveil, BbyMutha, and MAVI. With the releases of both a Mutant Academy project and his solo album (The) Forever Dream imminent, Anakin has cemented his place as a leader in rap’s underground Renaissance