Jean Grae and Quelle Chris have a considerable pedigree as soloists and collaborators. Since the early aughts, Grae has been a force on the indie rap circuit, building a sizable rap archive highlighted by her oft-leaked, constantly changing opus Jeanius with 9th Wonder. Chris first broke out with the 2013 mixtape Niggas is Men, and has since carved out space as a rapper and beatmaker on Mello Music Group. But Everythings Fine is a great entry point to both their catalogs, an album that brings the best out of both MCs, as performers and producers. Over distorted soul and oddball funk beats, Grae and Chris create a mood that strikes a balance between their poles: Grae is technically precise, almost methodical, drilling through the skull with lacerating wordplay; Chris is looser, unbound, sometimes improvisational, pleasantly deadpan and wonky. Where Grae is layered, coiling in and out of complex schemes, Chris is blunt and almost brusque in presentation. There are ways to hear this album as both damning or redemptive, depending on the perspective. But it is never sanctimonious, and it is constantly breathtaking.
