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| GRITS - Factors of the seven |
| Release: | Factors of the seven |
|  | | MyHHHdb | |
| Released: | 1997 [ Listen to HHH from this era on Spotify ] |
| Recordlabel: | Gotee Records |
| Info: | Production by Tod Collins & Ric Robbins, Teron Carter & Mo
Henderson, Gotee bros. Guest appearances of LPG,
Knowdaverbs, Joy D. Kimmey and Count Bass D.
1. This Is...
2. People noticin'me featuring Count Bass D
3. Mirage featuring Joy D. Kimmey of Out of Eden
4. U.S. Open featuring Knowdaverbs
5. What be goin' down
6. Blacks & whites
7. Alcoholic plagiarism
8. Comin home
9. Ain't sayin' nothin'
10. Why
11. On my own featuring Joy D. Kimmey of Out of Eden
12. Hopes & dreams featuring Joy D. Kimmey of Out of Eden &
Knowdaverbs
13. Gospel rap; parables featuring Theory and Jurny Big of
LPG & Knowdaverbs.
14. Life after mental
15. Labels
16. Ghetto love
17. Blame it on you
18. Fragmentation |
| Rating: | Our users rated this release: 6 out of 10
(Number of votes: 3) Sign up or login to submit your vote |
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| | Review: | 1 - This Is...
2 - People Noticin'Me
3 - Mirage
4 - U.S. Open
5 - What Be Goin Down
6 - Blacks & Whites
7 - Alcoholic Plagiarism
8 - Comin Home
9 - Ain'T Sayin' Nothin'
10 - Why
11 - On My Own
12 - Hopes & Dreams
13 - Gospel Rap;Parables
14 - Life After Mental
15 - Labels
16 - Ghetto Love
17 - Blame It On You
18 - Fragmentation | | source: unknown, added: Feb 23, 2005 |  |
| Review: | "I Love This Album!" - Run/Run DMC
"Fools who thought Christianity and Hip Hop don't Mix
better ask somebody . . GRITS rocked the B-Kid crowd at
Wrightwood Elbow Room in Chicago . . . The flava police need
to ride south of the Mason-Dixon line to funk Opryland right
on up." - Mark Armstrong/URB Magazine
"When you're chillin' and want to hear some outer
planetaryrhymes, GRITS be the ones . . .Quietly working and
seldom seen, they strive diligently to revitalize the Hip
Hop soil that has been dried out and rendered infertile . .
." - Sherryll Atkins/The Source Magazine
"GRITS is the best Hip Hop act you've never heard of . . .
they offer much more than the average violence-themed rap
group." - Nathan Groepper/Daily Iowan
"Spiritually conscious Hip Hop without the preachiness." -
Chicago Tribune
"Tired of the same old Hip Hop rut? Try something fresh and
buttery. GRITS brings a whole new flava to this rap game."
- Darryl Tillman/Phat Farm
"GRITS is creative and different. You feel the Gospel vibe
without a preachy attitude . . . Very musical." - Bernard
Parks/Goodie MoB | | source: Gotee Website, added: Feb 23, 2005 | |
| Review: | Complex issues plus vivid lyrical images multiplied by
furiously innovative rhymes to the power of funk beats and
basslines equals unprecedented holy hip-hop.
Factor that equation and you'll come out with Coffee and
Bonafied, the duo more commonly known as Grits. Teron Carter
and Stacey Jones, the two primary MCs that comprise the
group, have taken the hip-hop community by storm with their
sophomore release, Factors of the Seven.
Your average store clerk at your local Christian bookstore
probably won't know this, but Factors of the Seven is one
of the most ground-breaking albums ever to be released in
the Christian retail music market. Grits, which stands for
Grammatical Revolutions In the Spirit, has been receiving
critical acclaim since the release of their first album,
Mental Releases. Having just hit stores on March 17th,
Factors was widely anticipated by the secular heads as well
as the sanctified. From the time I first saw news updates
about the album at the Gotee website, I knew that this
release was going to make waves through the many communities
(both real and virtual) that comprise the hip-hop nation.
I listened to this album almost nonstop for approximately
ten days, and the more I listened to it the more impressed I
was with the overall quality of the project. There are four
categories I like to use when critiquing rap albums: depth
of lyrical content, innovation of rhyme scheme, phatness of
beats and grooves, and the overall sound. Grits exceeded my
expectations in all of these categories.
First, Factors deals with a wide range of subjects. There
are songs dealing with lust in the church body, songs about
having confidence in yourself, and songs about failure in
personal relationships ("Mirage", "On My Own", and
"Blame It On You", respectively). These are all very
relevant issues in the lives of Christians today, and Grits
attack these topics with accuracy and clarity.
Grits also upholds the standard of phat rhymes that was
established with Mental Releases. Bonafied and Coffee (along
with guest Knowdaverbs) continually weave vivid images and
esoteric metaphors into their rhymes to form a dense layer
of thoughts punctuated by ghetto colloquialisms. Grits is
not for the casual listener; as a matter of fact, the first
time I heard their debut album I didn't like it as much
because I didn't understand everything that was said. It
took me weeks of listening to really catch the depth of
meaning in the songs. Yet, now that I am accustomed to their
style, I find so much more substance in their songs in
comparison to other rap artists.
As always with Gotee projects, the beats and grooves are
tight. The rhythms on this album are more textured and
improvisational, probably the product of a live drummer or
well-programmed sequenced drum sounds, as opposed to the
drum loops heavily relied upon in their first album. Factors
has a nice mix of obscure samples, phat scratch/fader
action, mellow keyboard licks and dexterous bass grooves.
Production is top-notch, including some very nice effects on
the vocal tracks for Cof and Bone. There are also some very
good background vocals by Toby McKeehan of dcTalk and
Danielle Kimmey of Out of Eden. The general sound of this
album is conservative enough to please the average hip-hop
listener, but there is a quality of originality that
distinguishes the album from others in its genre.
Overall, Factors of the Seven is an excellent album. It
features two of the best MCs in the music industry in
Bonafied and Coffee, as well as guest appearances by Count
Bass D and Theory and Jurny of LPG. I would recommend it to
anyone who wants an dosage of Christ-like head-bobbin'
hip-hop.
| | source: Jelani N. G. Greenidge, Christian Hip Hop Zone on Internet, added: Feb 23, 2005 | |
| Review: | In de week na Flevo en voor de Marktactie waren ze al volop
aan het texten schrijven voor dit album. Ze hebben alles ver
van tevoren goed uitgedacht en komen met een klaar product.
Innoverend hebben ze een stijl gecrëeerd die zowel erg
technisch is als jazzy. Hun raps zijn altijd erg
metaforisch, vloeien lekker. Een must voor progressieve
muziekluisteraars. | | source: Samma Nieuws, Juni 1997, added: Feb 23, 2005 | |
| Review: | Ik speel zelf wel eens met een drumcomputer, maar sta toch
elke keer weer verbaasd als ik het duo GRitS bezig hoor.
HipHop met ongeloofelijk ingewikkelde ritmes, zo ingenieus
en toch zo natuurlijk; het zou me niets verbazen als hun
harten ook dit soort drumpatronen zouden vertonen. 'Factors
of the Seven' is de langverwachte opvolger van 'Mental
Releases', de CD die ik het meest heb gedraaid in 1996,
vooral dankzij het relaxte karakter ervan. In betrekkelijk
korte tijd komt GRitS weer met een CD. Daarop 18 tracks (68
minuten) die pas na een tiental keer draaien begint door te
dringen. De raps zijn schier eindeloos, terwijl Mr. Max
(zowat het derde lid van GRitS) met veel geduld de songs
heeft voorzien van samples, waarvan veel origineel spul. Ik
moet zeggen, gospel HipHop blijft soms een beetje een echo,
een kopie van wat er seculier gaande is. 'Factors of the
Seven' brengt daar verandering in. GRitS veranderd? Mwoah -
een beetje. Een beetje meer SFC zou ik zeggen, beetje meer
R&B, maar zeker veel jazz, en dat maakt het nu zo lekker. | | source: Marcus van den Berg, str@k 3, august 1997, added: Feb 23, 2005 | |
| Review: | Grits :: Factors of the Seven :: Gotee Records
as reviewed by El Surround
A while back, I reviewed MC Ren's album. One of the things
that annoyed me (well, maybe not annoyed, but clearly got me
thinkin') about Ren's album, is the fact that he was
complaining throughout the whole album about how Hip- Hop
isn't what he used to be and that fools should go back to
the dawn of Hip-Hop, but the artist himself doesn't do
anything himself in order to change the situation. Ren's
album is full with these complaints, but never once does Ren
try to make a joint the likes of the type he so much wants
Hip -Hop to become again. The same goes to Jeru. No doubt,
he's a skillful emcee with a problem- while he has a
burning desire to change Hip-Hop, he doesn't have the power
to deliver a changed product.
"This is no simple reform, it really is, a revolution"
The only album I heard recently which addresses the
situation in Hip-Hop and succeeds in it's mission to do
things different is also the finest underground Hip-Hop
album I ever heard, and I heard LOTS of underground Hip-Hop.
The Grits, str8 outta Nashville, are Teron and Stacey,
musical talents and lyrical mosaic makers.
They succeed to teach without preaching, to make extremely
melodic tracks without being corny, bring soulful
southernplayalistic choruses and sound original. How do they
do that? Musical diversity is the key. The Grits bring the
same energy their southern brethren Outkast bring, musical
wizardry which sounds like an impossible cross between the
West's DJ Quik, the South's Organized Noise, and the
East's The Ummah: Crystal clear production with thunder,
thick basslines and and an impressive arrangement of live
instruments- Keyboards, Bass, Guitars, Piano, the whole 9.
Tracks like the graceful "People Noticin' Me" with Count
Bass D, the serene "What Be Goin' Down" and the
orchestrated "Blame It On You" spark an instant groove.
The latter track uses live classical music with R&B flava,
which sounds impossible but it delivers like Karl Malone in
the paint.
Lyrically, the only thing left to be desired is a clearer
sense of direction as the album includes several political
tracks, but in order for these to be effective and move the
masses, they should be very straight forward; The Grits are
very intellectual and approach everything from a different
angle, which means you have to listen very closely to
understand the political aim. Still, the political direction
will be very clear to serious Hip-Hop headz.
"I exercise with the vocals, apply verbal choke holds, to
theological minds who try to unfold, these written
analyzations of things seen through the eyes of X, the
generation I'm next"
When The Grits rap about personal experiences, the state of
Hip-Hop and everything else, the flow is simply flawless.
They sometimes remind me of other southern rappers like
Outkast and the Goodie MoB, but they definitely don't bite.
On "On My Own" the rappers show how keepin' it real is
really done, and they represent themselves and not a
corporation like Nike or something. I wasn't this impressed
with an album for a long time, and one can only hope that
Grits will receive national recognition, for Hip-Hop's
sake. 18 tracks of melted butta.
ORIGINAL HEADz UP! score: 6 out of 6 (converted to
RapReviews.com)
TOTAL Vibes: 10 out of 10
Originally posted: January/February 1997 | | source: rapreviews.com, added: May 09, 2006 | |
| Review: | -1' | | source: 1, added: Dec 16, 2014 | |
| Review: | 1 | | source: -1', added: Dec 16, 2014 | |
| Review: | -1' | | source: 1, added: Mar 03, 2015 | |
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