Mental Releases

Description

Mental Releases is the debut album by the American hip-hop duo Grits (Stacy Jones and Teron Carter, a.k.a. Grammatical Revolutions in the Spirit), released on Gotee Records ‎in 1995, manufactured and distributed by Myrrh Records, a division of Word. The album was recorded by Todd Collins at tobyMac’s House of Insomnia in Franklin, Tennessee; and was produced by the Gotee Brothers (Joey Elwood, Toby McKeehan – a.k.a. toby Mac , and Todd Collins – a.k.a TC The Sub Rat).

Christ’s parables offered enigmatic infuritation to many who heard Him preach. Similarly, the jazzy wordplay of Stacy Jones and Teron Carter, a.k.a. Grits (Grammatical Revolutions in the Spirit) will confound and frustrate those who expect gospel rap to be straight-forward proclamations of evangelism, testimonies and thinly veiled analogies.

There is no confusion in tunage like «Cataclysmic Circles», «Weight a Buck 50» and «Universal & Worldwide», but it may take a few spins through the world of Grits before all the connections are made. Easier to decipher will be the biting, healthy skepticism between the joy in numbers like «Set Ya Mind».

Musically, these former DC Talk dancers pitch their tent closer to the “alternative hip-hop” camp than much of the genre that passes pop and R&B radio muster. Jazz-sampling similar to Digable Planets and Fugees makes for easy reference points for a style Grits sounds to have to themselves in Christian book shop bins. There are hints, however, that, like their former employers, Jones and Carter are very close to giving a whole different flavor to the market, something that will turn fans’ and critics’ heads as well as turning them on to the Source of their belief.

Those more straight-on Christian rappers have done enormous good in the ‘hoods and ‘burbs where they have been effective. That’s cool, but Grits has the talent to reach some heads who haven’t been nodding… yet. [Jamie Lee Rake, CCM, August 1995]

> iTunes (https://music.apple.com/us/album/mental-releases/1533117294)

CD tracklist:

01. Cataclysmic Circles / World Is Round – 5:21
02. Weigh A Buck 50 – 3:27
03. Set Ya Mind – 4:25
04. 10-A-Cee – 4:10
05. Universal and Worldwide / Don’t Bring Me Down – 4:58
06. Gettin’ Ready – 4:12
07. Screen Door – 4:06
08. Jazz – 3:57
09. Temptations – 4:35
10. Kickin’ Mo Rhymes – 4:55
11. Get The Picture / Grammatical Revolution – 4:34
12. Forgive Me – 3:58
13. Why Battle Me – 4:48
14. Everybody Wants On – 4:15
15. The Outro

Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by Gotee Records. Promotional copies were also released on 12-inch vinyl LP.