Tennille was born in Johnson City, New York to a shoe designer and has lived in Los Angeles, St. Louis, Chicago, and Oakland. Tennille's career began expanding as he joined Wasted Youth and attracted the attention of hip hoprecording artists in Detroit such as J Dilla and Proof. He later formed a musical group with Denmark Vessey called Crown Nation and soon began using the pseudonyms Q-Life and Quelle, the latter of which means "source" in German. With credit as a songwriter on several songs on Danny Brown's early albums, he started to adapt the name Quelle Chris and began working on a solo career. His debut studio album, Shotgun & Sleek Rifle, was released in 2011, featuring guest appearances from artists such as Brown, Roc Marciano and Big Tone. He signed with Mello Music Group after releasing two extended plays with the music group Racehorses are Resources, which also consisted of poet John Sinclair. With two studio albumsNiggas Is Men and Ghost at the Finish Line released on the label in 2013, Tennille has produced for musicians such as Pharoahe Monch, Diamond District and Open Mike Eagle. His fourth studio album Innocent Country was released in 2015, followed by the 2016 instrumental album Lullabies for the Broken Brain. His fifth studio album Being You Is Great, I Wish I Could Be You More Often was released in 2017. He described the album as "about being human. Being great, being flawed, being you." His debut collaborative album titled Everything's Fine with partner Jean Grae was released on March 30, 2018, via Mello. On March 29 2019, Tennille released his sixth solo album Guns which was well-received among critics and listeners. On March 16 2020, Tennille announced his seventh solo album Innocent Country 2. It was released on April 24. The album features guest appearances from Earl Sweatshirt, billy woods, Tune-Yards’ Merrill Garbus, Denmark Vessey, Homeboy Sandman, Pink Siifu, comedian Josh Gondelman, and more.
Personal life
In December 2017, he proposed to marry his longtime partner who is also his frequent collaborator, Jean Grae. The two married on August 5, 2018.
