Artist Info:Discography Album length: 17 tracks: 49 minutes, 33 seconds Street Date: August 13, 2002
As previously stated I'm slowly getting into hip-hop. With this art slowly gaining momentum in Christian
circles, one of the longest running hip-hop artists, Grits, blows the
rest of the field away. Having been one of the older bands in music and having several albums under their
belts, this rap duo has certainly not lost any talent. With perhaps one of their best albums ever,
The Art of Translation, Grits explodes onto the Christian scene showing these youngsters how to
perform and gaining national celebrity on the secular market.
Art is produced by Toby Mac of dc Talk fame. Having toured years ago together and already
having a bond set up I'm sure made this a fun recording. Toby sings along on "Ooh Ahh" and Knowdaverbs
and even Jennifer Knapp sing along on this album too. The album is smooth lyrically, lacking those annoying
space-fillers like "yeah, yo, uh-huh, word and check-it" like on some inexperienced artists' albums. The only
time it appears on the album is as a back-up harmony. They guys from Grits know how to flow. "Runnin'"
features an artist known as V3. "Be Mine" is a song written for one of their wives.
"Tennessee Bwoys," "Seriously," "Get It," and "Make Room" are more upbeat and fast, but Grits still
enunciates each word so it makes it understandable. "Video Girl" features Knowdaverbs, "Believe" features Knapp,
which is different from what Jen Knapp fans would think. Her vocals are a nice addition to an already good
song. "Sunny Days" features Nirva Dorsaint. "Lovechild," one of my favorite songs, is a slower ballad, that
talks about God's unconditional love. "The Art of Translation" opens with some nice strings and features
Dorsaint and numerous other artists. I'm a big fan of classical music and strings in hip-hop offer a nice
addition. Just when you think the song is over, a woman comes on singing opera and that closes out the album.
Also unlike some Christian hip-hop, Grits talks about some serious topics that often get overlooked -- like marriage
and purity on "Be Mine." "Lovechild" talks about God's love. "Runnin'" talks about running away from God
and your problems. "Ooh Ahh" talks about relying on God during the hard times in life and God leading us
along during those times. "Video Girl" talks about girls who fall into the traps of societal pressures
found in society. And topics like belief, faith and what success really means.
Overall the album is very good. Out of 17 songs I only dislike two or three songs.
It is produced well and deals with topics that need to be addressed. It has real beats and each song
flows well. There is a good variety of heavier songs, slower songs and several people that are featured on the album for a nice array of Art.
- Review date: 12/2/02, written by Kevin Chamberlin
Artist Info:Discography Record Label: Gotee Records
Album length: 17 tracks, 49 minutes and 33 seconds
Street Date: August 13, 2002
Buy It:Amazon.com
Artist Info: 
