Erace

Description

Erace is the debut album by the American hip-hop project The Gotee Brothers (Todd Collins, Joey Elwood, and Toby McKeehan of dc Talk fame), released on Gotee Records ‎in 1996. The album was poduced by the Gotee Brothers and was recorded at various studios in Tennessee – at Saltmine Studios and House of Insomnia in Brentwood, and at 16th Ave Sound and Zophi Street Studios in Nashville.

The Gotee Brothers (Todd Collins, Joey Elwood and dc Talk‘s Toby McKeehan) take a stab at a concept album with ‘Erace’, a collection of songs dedicated to eliminating racism (that’s why it’s spelled E-RACE, get it?) from a Christian perspective. (Cameo appearances include dc Talk’s Kevin Smith, Audio Adrenaline‘s Mark Stuart, Out of Eden‘s Lisa Kimmey, Christafari‘s Mark Mohr and G.R.I.T.S.)

It’s great to see Christian groups stretch artistically and to embrace topical themes and propose solutions to some of the country’s problems. Happily, the songs on ‘Erase’ don’t jellify your brain with line after line of simple God-is-the-answer rhymes (not that God-is-the-answer is a BAD thing – please don’t call to harass me). Rather these songs expose racism as a sin and paint pictures of its effects – primarily in the lives of the Gotee members, both as children and adults.

Musically, the Brothers are taste-testing the mellow, soulful groove favored by a lot of rap/R&B groups recently (think Arrested Development, Digable Planets, Spearhead). Rather than shouting anger at racism in the vein of Public Enemy, the Brothers have set it against a backdrop of smooth, infectious grooves, which can sometimes be even more effective at showcasing the message. One of the best cuts is the terminally grooveful «New South (The Gotee Idyll)», which has the guys moving back to their roots in the country, where they can “see God, hear God, feel God, pray to God.” A listener would have to be dead not to move her feet or bop her head to this one, a hint of what Santana or War might have sounded like had they sprung from the Delta.

Odes to a Southern childhood also abound in «Yoknapatawpha (A Mental Mississippi)», «Wages of Sin» and the smile-inducing «Sweet Tea». There’s also a reggae-tinged version of the ’70s hit «Why Can’t We Be Friends», which is well-suited to the racial harmony theme. Other cuts more strongly express frustration with current racial conditions and find lyrically clever ways to drive home the Brothers’ philosophy that we’re all… well, brothers. In «Poetry, Prose & Other Sundry Items», they stress along with Kevin Smith on background vocals, “Colors don’t hate; people do/ We took away a people’s human rights, slowly gave them back as their civil rights, and did all of this under the guise that God gave us this right.” Or, as in «Brother’s Keeper»: “Purpose in my heart that I should uplift/ The people that my Father bestowed a different gift to/ Maybe one of color or character in depth/ I simply know my calling is to give each one respect…/ Forever we’ve been thinking that our kind is our race/ But all of us got two eyes, a nose and a face…/ I am my brother’s keeper, to this I am agreeing/ But I define my brother as another human being.”

Song after song about how racism is bad can start feel like too much, but the grooves are strong enough to keep you tuned in and shuffling along. And then there’s the philosophical question of whether a rap project about racism is akin to preaching to the choir – perhaps a Southern Gospel album positioning racism as a sin would be even more helpful. But all in all, ‘Erace’ is one of the most sincere rap/R&B projects to come out of the Christian market, and definitely one of the most sophisticated blues/roots-rap efforts. After all, these are not suburban kids posing as hard-core street rappers, these are real southern boys taking a long hard look at their roots – and the sincerity shines through. [Deborah Barnes, CCM, June 1996]

CD tracklist:

01. Yoknapatawpha (A Mental Mississippi) – 4:25
02. Celia (Queen Of The Senseless World) – 3:44
03. Sweet Tea – 4:49
04. Poetry, Prose & Other Sundry Items – 3:36
05. Wages Of Sin – 4:00
06. New South (The Gotee Idyll) – 3:38
07. One Of Monk’s Dreams (Interlude) – 1:05
08. Brothers Keeper – 4:05
09. I Don’t Understand – 4:46
10. Dancing With The Stars – 1:50
11. Why Can’t We Be Friends – 3:46
12. Say Amen – 1:27
13. New South (The Gotee Idyll) (Reprise) – 3:35

Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by Gotee Records. Track 13 is unlisted.