GRITS

Last updated

Grits
GRITS2005.jpg
Coffee (left) and Bonafide
Background information
Origin Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres Christian hip hop, [1] alternative hip hop, [2] Southern hip hop [2]
Years active1995–2010
LabelsRevolution Art, Gotee, 5e, EMI
Websitemyspace.com/officialgrits
MembersStacy "Coffee" Jones
Teron "Bonafide" Carter

Grits is a Christian hip hop group from Nashville, Tennessee. Their name is an acronym, which stands for "Grammatical Revolution In the Spirit". [3] GRITS is made up of Stacey "Coffee" Jones and Teron "Bonafide" Carter, [4] both of whom were DC Talk dancers. [5]

Contents

Their song "Ooh Ahh" has appeared on the MTV show My Super Sweet 16 . It is also used as the theme song of The Buried Life and on the soundtracks to The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Big Momma's House 2 . Their song "Tennessee Bwoys" was used on the popular television show Pimp My Ride . They were also involved in !Hero The Rock Opera. They recorded a remix of professional wrestler A.J. Styles' entrance music and performed it on the May 28, 2009, episode of TNA Impact! . [6]

Background

The Christian hip hop duo began in 1995, with Teron David "Bonafide" Carter, [7] (born January 17, [8] 1971) and Stacy Bernhard "Coffee" Jones, [9] (born September 8, [10] 1972), forming the group together in Nashville, Tennessee. [1] GRITS is an acronym with a meaning of "Grammatical Revolution in the Spirit". [1] [2] They both credited the inspiration for their rapping to hearing DC Talk, when the two first encountered each other in 1990. [11] This is the reason the duo signed with Gotee Records, a label founded by DC Talk member, tobyMac, where they were one of his first signees. [12] They are also considered to be one of the pioneering groups in the Christian hip hop movement, while they eventually started their own record label, Revolution Art, in 2007, where it was first known as 5E Entertainment. [13] [14] [15] They explained it was like graduating from school by leaving Gotee Records, and founding their own label. [15]

Style

Mainly, their style is alternative hip hop and Southern rap, while several of their songs have pop influences, thus an occasional pop-rap sound, and their song "We Don't Play" has a Jamaican influence complete with steel drums. They were one of the first acts signed to Gotee Records, [5] and have released seven albums with Gotee, with an eighth one released by Gotee and AudioGoat. In 2014, Gotee Records announced that the GRITS song "Ooh Ahh" was RIAA Digital Gold Certified, having surpassed 500,000 downloads. [16] They have appeared at Cornerstone Festival and Rock the Universe. In addition their song "Bobbin Bouncin'" was added to the track list in the video-game Project Gotham Racing 4.

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions
TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positions [17]
US
Christ.
US
Gospel
US
Heat.
Mental Releases
Factors of the Seven
  • Released: November 3, 1998
  • Label: Gotee
  • Formats: CD, digital download
Grammatical Revolution
  • Released: May 16, 1999
  • Label: Gotee
  • Formats: CD, digital download
39
The Art of Translation
  • Released: August 13, 2002
  • Label: Gotee
  • Formats: CD, digital download
16 [18]
Dichotomy A
  • Released: June 29, 2004
  • Label: Gotee
  • Formats: CD, digital download
1214
Dichotomy B
  • Released: November 2, 2004
  • Label: Gotee
  • Formats: CD, digital download
2438
7 (Seven)
  • Released: March 7, 2006
  • Label: Gotee
  • Formats: CD, digital download
4917
Redemption
  • Released: November 21, 2006
  • Label: Gotee
  • Formats: CD, digital download
13
Reiterate
  • Released: September 30, 2008
  • Label: Revolution Art
  • Formats:CD, digital download
16
Quarantine
  • Released: August 10, 2010
  • Label: Revolution Art
  • Formats: CD, digital download
37
Saints & Sinners
  • Released: July 2017
  • Label: Revolution Art
  • Formats: CD, digital download

EPs

Album information
Ooh Ahh EP
  • Released: 2003
  • Label: Gotee
  • single: four versions of one song
Heeyy EP
  • Released: 2006
  • Label: Gotee
  • Three tracks: two remixes and one preview

Remix albums

Album information
The Art of Transformation
  • Released: January 1, 2004
  • Label: Gotee/AudioGoat

Singles

As lead artist

YearTitlePeak chart positions Certifications Album
US
Christ.
Streaming
[19]
US
Christ.
Digital
Sales
US
Gospel
Streaming
1995"Set Ya Mind At Ease"Mental Releases
1998"What Be Goin' Down"Factors of the Seven
"Alcoholic Plagiarism"
"Hopes & Dreams"
(featuring Joy Danille Kimmey and Knowdaverbs)
1999"They All Fall Down"Grammatical Revolution
2002"Here We Go"The Art of Translation
"Ooh Ahh"
(featuring TobyMac)
513
2004"Hittin' Curves"Dichotomy A
"High"
2004"We Don't Play"
(featuring Manchild)
Dichotomy B
2006"If I..."GRITS 7
2006"We Workin"Redemption
"Heeyy"
"Ambitions"
(featuring Canibus)
"You Said"
(featuring Pigeon John and Btwice)
"Open Bar"
(featuring Pigeon John)
2008"Fly Away"
(featuring Mac Powell)
Reiterate
"Beautiful Morning"
(featuring Pigeon John)
"Say Goodbye"
(featuring TobyMac and Jade)
2010"Different Drum"
(featuring Verbs)
Quarantine

Other songs

Vinyl

Guest Artists

Awards

GMA Dove Awards

They have received several Gospel Music Association Dove Awards throughout their career. Their first award was for a song about plagiarism ("Plagiarism" from their album Factors of the Seven). For this, they received the best "Rap/Hip Hop Song" award. [22] [23] The next year they took the same award for "They All Fall Down", from Grammatical Revolution. [24] In 2003 The Art Of Translation won the award for "Rap/Hip Hop Album", [25] and the following year their song "Believe" from the same album took "Rap/Hip Hop Song". They also shared in the "Special Event Album" that year, for their contribution to !Hero The Rock Opera . [26]

YearAwardResult
2005 Rap/Hip-Hop Recorded Song of the Year ("Hittin' Curves")Won
2006 Rap/Hip-Hop Recorded Song of the Year ("We Don't Play")Nominated
Rap/Hip-Hop Album of the Year ( Dichotomy B )Nominated
2008 Rap/Hip-Hop Recorded Song of the Year ("Open Bar")Nominated
Rap/Hip-Hop Album of the Year ( Redemption )Nominated
2009 Rap/Hip-Hop Recorded Song of the Year ("Beautiful Morning")Nominated
Rap/Hip-Hop Album of the Year ( Reiterate )Nominated
2010 Rap/Hip-Hop Album of the Year (Reiterate)Nominated

Other Awards

They were nominated for Rap/Hip Hop Performer of the Year at the 2009 Visionary Awards Show (held at the First Baptist Church in Frisco, Texas). However, instead, the award went to the Christian rap duo "Word of Mouth" [27]

Related Research Articles

Christian hip hop is a subgenre of contemporary Christian music and hip hop music. It emerged from urban contemporary music and Christian media in the United States during the 1980s.

TobyMac American Christian rapper and singer

Toby McKeehan, better known by his stage name TobyMac, is an American Christian singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer.

KJ-52 American rapper

Jonah Kirsten Sorrentino, better known by his stage name KJ-52, is a Christian rapper from Tampa, Florida. The "KJ" part of his name refers to his old rap alias, "King J. Mac," a name which he later described in one of his podcasts as "horribly cheesy." "52", which is pronounced "five two", not "fifty-two", is a reference to the Biblical story of Jesus feeding the multitude with five loaves and two fish, which is also sung about in his song "Push Up" from The Yearbook and in the "KJ Five Two" on It's Pronounced 'Five Two. He was awarded the Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song of the Year for "Never Look Away" and Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year at the GMA Dove Awards of 2007. On July 28, 2009, KJ-52 released "End of My Rope", which is the first single for his album Five-Two Television.

The 34th Annual GMA Dove Awards were held on April 10, 2003 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 2002. The show was held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by CeCe Winans and Steven Curtis Chapman.

Verbs (rapper) American rapper

Michael Boyer II, better known by his stage names Knowdaverbs and later Verbs, is a Christian hip hop artist. He has recorded for Gotee Records.

John Reuben Musical artist

John Reuben is an American Christian hip hop artist signed to Gotee Records until late 2010. Reuben has sold over 200,000 copies of his first four albums. He released his sixth album, Sex, Drugs and Self-Control on December 22, 2009. The album was nominated for a Dove Award for Rap/Hip-Hop Album of the Year at the 42nd GMA Dove Awards, while the song "No Be Nah" was nominated for Rap/Hip-Hop Recorded Song of the Year.

Lecrae American Hip hop artist, entrepreneur, record producer, and actor

Lecrae Devaughn Moore, mononymously known as Lecrae, is an American Christian rapper, singer, songwriter, record and film producer, record executive, actor, and entrepreneur.

<i>Dichotomy A</i> 2004 studio album by GRITS

Dichotomy A is the first album in a two-part series of albums released in 2004 by the Hip hop group GRITS. The second album is Dichotomy B. The song "Hittin' Curves" won the group's second Dove Award for "Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song", awarded in 2005.

<i>Dichotomy B</i> 2004 studio album by GRITS

Dichotomy B is the 2004 follow up the GRITS previous effort, Dichotomy A.

<i>The Art of Translation</i> 2002 studio album by GRITS

The Art of Translation is the fourth studio album by Christian hip hop duo GRITS. It was released in 2002 on Gotee Records and earned the honor of the Dove Award for "Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year" and was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2003.

<i>Grammatical Revolution</i> 1999 studio album by GRITS

GRITS's album Grammatical Revolution was released in 1999 on Gotee Records. The song "They All Fall Down" won a Dove Award for "Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song" in 2000.

<i>GRITS 7</i> 2006 studio album by GRITS

GRITS 7, the musical group GRITS's Seventh CD was released on Gotee Records in 2006. The majority of the songs come from previously released albums, heavily from the Dichotomy albums, but there are three new songs: "Changes", "I Try", and "Time to Pray".

Manafest Musical artist

Christopher Scott Greenwood, known by his stage name Manafest, is a Canadian Christian rapper and rock artist from Pickering, Ontario, Canada. He has won multiple awards for the GMA Canada Covenant Awards, GMA Dove Awards, and has been nominated for multiple Juno Awards. Signed for a decade with BEC Recordings, Manafest became independent in 2015.

<i>Redemption</i> (GRITS album) 2006 studio album by GRITS

Redemption is the seventh studio album released by American Southern rap duo GRITS for the contemporary Christian music market. It was co-produced by GRITS.

<i>Mental Releases</i> 1995 studio album by GRITS

Mental Releases is the debut album of Christian hip hop duo GRITS.

TobyMac discography

This is the discography of TobyMac. He was originally a member of dc Talk from 1988 to 2001. Since 2001 he has released seven studio albums, five remix albums and two live albums as a solo artist.

<i>The Ringleader</i> 2003 mixtape by DJ Maj

The Ringleader: Mixtape Volume III is a 2003 Christian hip hop album mixed by DJ Maj. It was his first commercial success. While it is his third mixtape for Gotee Records, his first two received little media attention. This DJ mix has an overall hip hop feel, but some tracks, specifically "Under Pressure", "A Friend", and "Showpiece", are more precisely rhythm and blues. While the album combines the talents of many different artists, the theme that God is in control is a maintained through all the tracks. The Ringleader marked the debut solo for Jason Eskridge, who had previously been a guest singer with GRITS in Grammatical Revolution. Other artists represented include tobyMac, Kirk Franklin, Out of Eden, LA Symphony, 4th Avenue Jones, Camp Quest, GRITS, Verbs, Bobby Bishop, Shonlock, and Pigeon John.

<i>Reiterate</i> 2008 studio album by GRITS

Reiterate is the eighth full-length album from the Christian hip hop group GRITS. It was released on September 16, 2008, and is the GRITS first release on their newly formed Revolution Art label.

"Ooh Ahh" is a single by American Christian hip hop group GRITS featuring TobyMac. It was recorded for their fourth studio album, The Art of Translation. It was produced by Ric "DJ Form" Robbins and Otto Price for Incorporated Elements. The song was written by Ric Robbins, Otto Price, Coffee and Bone of Grits, and TobyMac. It is sometimes referred to as "My Life Be Like" or "My Life Be Like ". A cut from the song is featured on tobyMac's song, "Catchafire (Whoopsi-Daisy)" from his album Welcome to Diverse City. To date, "Ooh Ahh" has been RIAA Digital Certified Gold for over 500,000 downloads and on-demand streams, subsequently going Platinum in January 2019.

Social Club Misfits, known as Social Club from 2012 until 2016, is a Christian hip hop duo from Miami, Florida made up of rappers FERN and Marty Mar. They formed their musical partnership in 2011 and released their first free album, entitled Misfits, on November 27, 2012. Then, the duo released two EPs entitled Misfits-EP, released on March 26, 2013, and Rejects. on April 2, 2013. The latter garnering some charting success. The third free album from the duo came out on September 13, 2013 entitled Summer of George. Their breakthrough album, Misfits 2, was self-released on April 29, 2014, and Us was released on March 24, 2015.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Huey, Steve. "GRITS : Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 DiBiase, John. "GRITS discography". Jesus Freak Hideout. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  3. Hoffmann, Frank W. Rhythm and Blues, Rap, and Hip-hop (2005), Page 112 (0816069808): "A Nashville-based Christian rap act, Grits (standing for "Grammatical Revolution in the Spirit") have shown steady artistic growth, eschewing the P-Funk vogue of the present day in favor of plainspoken rhymes, propulsive bounce, and stylistic adventurism."
  4. "Grits | Listen and Stream Free Music, Albums, New Releases, Photos, Videos". Myspace.com. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  5. 1 2 Powell, Mark Allan (2002). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music (First printing ed.). Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers. pp.  391–392. ISBN   1-56563-679-1.
  6. Boutwell, Josh (May 29, 2009). "Impact Results - 5/28/09". WrestleView. Retrieved February 24, 2010.
  7. Broadcast Music, Inc. "Songwriter/Composer: CARTER TERON DAVID". Broadcast Music, Inc. Retrieved February 1, 2015.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. OfficialGrits (OfficialGrits) (January 17, 2016). "Today is Bonafide's birthday!!…". Twitter . Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  9. Broadcast Music, Inc. "Songwriter/Composer: JONES STACY BERNARD". Broadcast Music, Inc. Retrieved February 1, 2015.[ permanent dead link ]
  10. OfficialGrits (OfficialGrits) (September 8, 2011). "It's Coffee's Birthday today!!!!". Twitter . Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  11. Cummings, Tony (October 1, 1996). "Grits: The dc Talk sidekicks are grammatically correct". Cross Rhythms . Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  12. Cummings, Tony (March 5, 2003). "Grits: The hip-hop duo with album number four". Cross Rhythms . Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  13. Rimmer, Mike (January 6, 2010). "Grits: The hip-hop duo now running the Revolution Art label". Cross Rhythms . Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  14. Boreanaz, James (November 1, 2006). "The Road to Redemption" (PDF). CCM Magazine . pp. 40–1. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 10, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  15. 1 2 Black, Beau (October 1, 2007). "Graduation Speech" (PDF). CCM Magazine . pp. 30–1. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 5, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  16. "email : Webview : Gotee Records Celebrates 20th Anniversary; Co-Founder TobyMac shares why he loves being involved". T.e2ma.net. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  17. Billboard. "GRITS : Awards". AllMusic . Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  18. Search for "The Art of Translation" on Christian Albums at billboard.com/biz
  19. "GRITS Song & Chart History". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  20. "American album certifications – Grits. Recording Industry Association of America" . Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  21. "Certified Awards" (enter "Grits" into the "Keywords" box, then select "Search"). British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  22. "Dove Award Recipients for 1999 Archived October 20, 2006, at the Wayback Machine ". Published by the Gospel Music Association. Retrieved February 5, 2007.
  23. "N.W.A Twitter Updates". Published by Peso_3Stackz. Retrieved December 27, 2010.
  24. "Dove Award Recipients for 2000 Archived October 20, 2006, at the Wayback Machine ". Published by the Gospel Music Association. Retrieved February 5, 2007.
  25. "Dove Award Recipients for 2003 Archived February 8, 2007, at the Wayback Machine ". Published by the Gospel Music Association. Retrieved February 5, 2007.
  26. "Dove Award Recipients for 2004 Archived October 20, 2006, at the Wayback Machine ". Published by the Gospel Music Association. Retrieved February 5, 2007.
  27. "Christian Music Hall of Fame Visionary Awards Show information page"