Family and friends gathered at Bar Sovereign, 514 5th Ave. N., for a listening party hosted by Jefferson Street Sound on June 28. G.R.I.T.S. (Grammatical Revolution in the Spirit) was the feature attraction for the night.
Stacey ‘Coffee’ Jones and Taron ‘Bonafide’ Carter are GRITS, both of whom were DC Talk Dancers. DC Talk was said to be “the most popular overtly Christian act of all time” by the Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Media. GRITS is a Christian Hip Hop duo from Nashville that has been in existence since 1995. GRITS was signed with Toby Mac to Gotee Records until starting their own label, Revolution Art, in 2007. They said: “It was like graduating from high school, leaving Gotee Records and founding our own label.”
GRITS style of music is described as alternative Hip Hop with a pop influence and some reggae, complete with steel drums.
The songs introduced on their newest release Saints & Sinners has a feel of, “a little hip-hop, a little swing, old school/new school mix, a little reggae edge, in ‘I’m a Warrior,’ and a little rap,” said an attending listener.
GRITS’s song, ‘Ooh Ahh’ has appeared on the MTV show, My Super Sweet 16, and used as the theme song on The Burried Life and on the soundtracks to The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift and Big Momma’s House 2. And their song ‘Tennessee Boys’ was used on the television show, Pimp My Ride.
Jefferson Street Sounds (JSS) is a musical legacy, which has been located on historical Jefferson Street since the early ‘40s. “Jeffer-son Street was the original music row,” said Marion James, ‘Queen of the Blues.’
JSS highlights the musical legacy of Historical Jefferson Street. JSS is located at 2004 Jefferson Street, under the ownership of founder, Lorenzo Washington.
JSS Museum is slated to open on Saturdays soon. For more information call 615-414-6675.
