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Grits: Nashville's hot rap sensations By Mark Mays

 In an interlude on the new GRITS album, Ill Coined Phrase, emcees Bonafide and Coffee address those who would label them as a “gospel rap crew." During a recent interview with Teron "Bonafide"  Carter, I learned that GRITS is much larger than that label. Though the pair possesses a strong faith and spit lyrics that deal with Christ and religion, their concerns transcend evangelism. Their music speaks to anyone with an open mind and a concern about what's happening in the black community and the world at large. Carter came to Nashville from Jacksonville, Florida in 1991 to expand his opportunities and raise his newborn son in a different, perhaps healthier, environment. He arrived here with friends who were pursuing musical opportunities. Carter previously worked in the business, and continued that upon coming to Nashville, dancing behind Christian Rap O.G's D.C. Talk. It was during this period he met his vocal partner in GRITS, Stacy "Coffee" Jones. From traveling so much, Carter says of his relationship with Jones, "we definitely just had a friendship and a bond." The two worked on songs during their tours with D.C. Talk, and eventually earned enough money to make demos. This led to their signing with Gotee Records and their debut release, Mental Releases . Their next album,  Factors of the Seven  in 1997, earned them a Nashville Music Awards nomination for Rap Album of the year. Musically Carter looked to heavy hitters from the history of black music, composers with a strong streak of independence like Miles Davis and Quincy Jones. "There was a generation of musicians that just knew what they wanted and no matter what sales was like or anything, they did what they felt in their hearts . . . and that's what we try to do." One would suspect that musicians working in a genre of hip-hop that is sometimes scoffed at would find that attitude imperative. "That's what we try to do. We do what's within our heart. We just do it no matter what sales are or how much popularity we get, we just go for it. We just hope that people will catch up and catch on. And if they don't, you know what? One day somebody will." Apparently someone has caught on.  The Art of Translation  is garnering a great deal of attention in many of the most coveted outlets for rap artists. The video for the single "Here We Go" is getting heavy airplay on both BET's  Rap City  and on  MTV Jamz . It's also proven the groups best-seller to date. Carter seems comfortable with the band's current level of success and attention. "This is our fourth record. It's obvious for us its not about the money. We've had good sales. Now, when they do begin to recognize us and things begin to get a little more successful, our biggest battle is about staying focused on our mission, what we're here for." What are GRITS here for? Do they have some subversive goal to convert the non-believers or are their goals for what they do with their music broader? The band has never been sneaky about their faith. They simply, as Carter says, "rap about their lives, lives that include a strong Christian faith." They do feel, as they say in "Ill Coined Phrase," that they have a “mandate to translate for Christ's sake. But even stronger than that mandate, they feel they have a responsibility to hip-hop fans to give them not only what they want, but something the fans need. Carter recalled a conversation with a fan about their music. "I got all this other stuff (the fan said),but this record is different. I really need this one. That's the kind of group we aspire to be," Carter continued, "where the music does something for you, instead of you doing something for us by going and buying the record." GRITS hopes their impact on fans goes beyond the music. Carter disagrees with emcees that believe that rappers are not role models. "That's fine if you really want to think that, but when it boils down to it, you really are [a role model]. The moment you step in front of people, the moment you get upon a pedestal of any size, you have become a role model for the simple fact that you influence somebody. The responsibility that comes with fame places one in the position of becoming a leader." Carter feels one must be "A good and true leader." With the sermon comes the a responsibility to make those good words real actions, and GRITS does not shirk that duty. They have been involved in many charities in the Middle Tennessee area, like the Chris Sanders Foundation, a charitable organization, ERASE, an anti-racism organization, and Fisk University's Race Relations conference. They've also been involved with MTV's Rock the Vote  and have been speaking to kids nationwide via such venues as BET's Teen Summit program. "That's what it's all about," Carter said, "other people." "And that's what we're about, other people. We hope that people will learn from our examples." For some, GRITS' desire to be vocal about their religious faith is a welcome respite from the rampant commercialism and, perhaps, vulgarity of mainstream rap music. But there are those who criticize the group's posture as proselytizing. Carter notes that talking about religion in hip-hop is not as unusual as one might think, citing crews like Brand Nubian and Gang Starr, who, when it was more fashionable, gave big-ups to factions of Islamic religions like the Five Percenters and the Nation of Islam. "I don't remember Brand Nubian getting any kind of flack like that about putting their records out. True, when a rap artist mentioned Allah, it wasn't given a second thought, except in cases where Islam was linked to anti-Semitism." We don't want to give the impression that  The Art of Translation  is an album of bible verses transcribed over hip-hop beats. The recording fits well within the "Dirty South" scene, showing the variety of influences that comprise that sound , from the Miami "booty shake" as Carter describes it, to East Coast style, West Coast style, and even a little trip-hop on the title track. Lyrically, The Art of Translation  covers subjects like love on "Be Mine," the joy of being a Nash-villain on "Tennessee Bwoys," and the misogyny of rap videos in "Video Girl." Carter said the song is "speaking to video girls, or just to any young lady, saying you know what, you're much more than this. It's not a put down at all, it's a build-up song, really." Carter said the group believes that the image of women as sex objects in many rap videos is unfortunate. They've been fighting against the rampant use of the "b" word for years. "It's hard to build a community when women aren't respected cause they're the mothers. And if they don't get the respect from the fathers and the sons, the community has failed." The group's efforts to reach the unreachable and teach the unteachable have not simply been a matter of preaching to the choir. They don't look to simply teach gospel, but to develop a fan base that looks for something different in rap. "People who get on board with GRITS I believe they only do from . . . it can't just be about hot songs and it can't just be about hit songs. There's got to be some connection or bond that they feel of being connected to something that's a little more real than what's being presented to them already." With songs like "Video Girl," the hook laden "Here We Go," and the home town anthem "Tennessee Bwoys." GRITS is developing a fan base outside the confines of "gospel rap." They may yet perform that trick of making hits while remaining different from the same old everyday on the rap charts. "I'm on a mission," Carter said, "to make what we do thought provoking."

 (Mark Mays is a Nashville-based freelance writer and contributor to the Nashville Scene and other publications. He will be doing regular columns for Everything Underground on arts and culture.)


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