Jean Grae and Quelle Chris’s creative tour de force opens with a game show skit where “everything’s fine” is the answer to every question. This idea of insisting things are OK when so much of the world around us is fraying and falling apart inspires one of the smartest and most prescient albums of the year. The 15 self-produced tracks are a kaleidoscope of concepts, flows, and commentary, putting Everything’s Fine squarely in the lineage of albums like De La Soul Is Dead and Masta Ace’s Slaughtahouse, employing layers of irony and satire to make serious points. “My Contribution To This Scam” is an animated critique on what parts of the modern hip-hop scene have become, “Breakfast Of Champions” is an emotionally-charged account of living in a world where police brutality is a daily occurrence, and “Gold Purple Orange” spotlights stereotypes over deep, bass-powered production. Crucially, the album ends with the emotionally haunting “River,” where the MCs write open letters to family members in such earnest fashion that it causes the listener to take stock of what’s really important in their own world while also challenging them to right what’s wrong. - Updated via Bandcamp, because they say shit better than I do. Jean had me at the artwork, but they overdelivered on the music, too. Go figure! Dig into Everything's Fine below...