Friday, March 8, 2019

Quelle Chris feat Cavalier, Bilal Salaam, Eldar Djangirov, & James Acaster - "Straight Shot"

The latest single from Quelle Chris is a rare gorgeous hip hop song without any R&B involved. It involves guest rappers Cavalier and Bilal Salaam, but also has Grammy nominated pianist Eldar Djangirov and comedian James Acaster. Just to show how different "Straight Shot" is from the vast majority of hip hop out there today, here is what Quelle Chris has to say about the song: 

Straight Shot is one of those ideas that reached out to me, we got along and I simply showed it around town. The chorus, poem at the end and basic piano progression literally came to me in two separate dreams. My first thoughts were “I gotta introduce you to Bilal Salaam and James Acaster. Though I’m not sure just how to yet.” Then as we hung out I knew I needed to first introduce the idea to Chris Keys. Now initially I thought it was an interlude but quickly realized while hanging with Chris it was a song. After writing the first verse I knew I needed to invite Cavalier over to meet our new friend and felt it was time to also introduce it to Bilaal and James. And, just as I’d imagined, everyone got along with the song swimmingly. Finally Chris called on his friend, Eldar Djangirov, who tied everything together with a piano solo that seemed to effortlessly say as much as, if not more, than I can put into words about the entire song and our time together. The rest, as they say, is today.

Not too many rappers refer to their songs as separate identities that they interact with. That's what Tori Amos does, which gives you an idea of how great "Straight Shot" is. Quelle Chris is a unique voice in modern hip hop, throwing back to the feel of classic rap but still moving forward in the genre.

You can listen to "Straight Shot" below. Guns, the new album from Quelle Chris, will be out March 29 on Mello Music Group. You can pre-order the album here. For more on Quelle Chris, check out his Bandcamp.

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