T J Love

Overnight successes are few and far between, especially in underground Hip-Hop, where paying dues is still imperative. On occasion there is exception to the rule when an individual has output so undeniable that it’s possible for them to skip the usual preliminaries to end up on listeners’ radar. Quelle’s free 2010 release Blue Mondays set the stage for him to make huge strides; it was an introduction to his off-kilter production style and equally unique delivery and subject matter that garnered the Detroit native a cult following. In succession, he released numerous projects that were well received by critics and he capitalized on the momentum by inking a deal with the 2000s Rawkus Records, Mello Music Group.

Niggas Is Men is a prequel to Quelle Christopher’s official Mello Music Group debut and it sports production from the man himself, Sifu, and Messiah Musik. Guest shots include Tanya Morgan, Fresh Daily, Denmark Vessey, and Cavalier, who appears on ten out of the LP’s thirteen tracks. The production on Niggas Is Men is on some other shit, to say the least. Quelle and his beat brain trust do some unorthodox and different things with drums throughout and folks will either applaud him for taking the road less travelled or grow increasingly exasperated with compositions that habitually seem up to a quarter measure off beat.

“We Eat It” is an instance where Quelle’s funny drum sequencing does indeed work. Over a reflective backdrop highlighted by an ingenious sax sample that would give Pete Rock a run for the money, coupled with swaying and stuttering percussion Quelle and his ace boon brethren recite soliloquys bemoaning the origins and quality of the food we put in our bodies. It’s like Dead Prez’s “Be Healthy” except it doesn’t suck. One of the dopest tracks this year is without question “Green Eyes” featuring Tanya Morgan, Fresh Daily, and Cavalier. It’s on some cypher shit, one can almost picture the emcees getting it in at The Shelter. The beat, while simple, goes stupid hard with the type of funk you only find residing in the toe jam of elderly folks with athlete’s foot. Von Pea and Donwill both make strong cases for verse of the year rendering the other three contestants on the track, who in any other lineup would be the standouts, near afterthoughts.

As for the rest of Niggas Is Men? Regrettably there’s nothing worthy of much more than an “it’s aight” and a stingy thumbs up. There are some clunkers, notably “Natural Flavors” featuring Cavalier and Bwameeks. It’s a minimalist number in which repetitive discordant synths sit on top of some my-first-drum machine bumps and an inane chorus. “Long Tokes” is Quelle and Cavalier rhyming about smoking weed *yawn* over production that could only be remotely interesting if you’re stoned out of your mind. Fresh Daily, Quelle, and Chay take time out to talk bad about wannabe bad bitches on “Hot n Crusty,” and it’s a fun song if you can overcome the misogyny and see the humor in it. If you can’t, it’s weak sauce.

You’d have to be a hardcore Quelle fan to stomach this from him. By this reviewer’s count Niggas Is Men has two good songs. Out of thirteen? Nah b. Unacceptable. I wouldn’t even clean my house to this joint. Trust me, I tried. More than once. Hopefully, and I say this as a fan, Quelle brings the type of heat that put him on our radar in the first place on his next Mello Music Group release.

Out of 5

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