Ooh Ahh!

Count Me In Concerts hosted our first hip-hop show on April 8 as GRITS came through the Chicago area. GRITS is preparing to release a new CD, Quarantine, in June. This will be the group's 11th CD, showing their staying power in the volatile music industry.

Stacy "Coffee" Jones and Teron "Bonafide" Carter have been performing together for 15 years, and DJ Manwell joined the duo several years ago. The guys showed that, even though they are parents of college and high school students, they still bring it when they perform.

They opened with "High" and its catchy phrase, "Let the fire burn!" This was followed by Tennessee Bwoys, (yep, I spelled that right!), where the song asks "Where you from?" GRITS made it "personal" by asking the audience to shout where they were from, and they moved into a chant of "Where you from?" "Indiana." "Where you from?" "Illinois."

As if it hadn't been obvious, Bonafide told the audience, "We like crowd participation" and encouraged the people to loosen up, dance, and move around. The crowd obliged and remained energetic for the rest of the set.

Classic GRITS songs "Ooh Ahh" and "We Don't Play" had the crowd singing along. "Ooh Ahh" has enjoyed repeated marketing success, having been featured in The Fast and the Furious/Tokyo Drift, and as the theme song for M-TV's hit, "The Buried Life."

The guys launched into "Changes," hip hop with a twist: it finishes with spoken word. Unusual, yes, but the crowd was transfixed as Bonafide spoke: "I'm tryin' to understand God's plan for this man/ I'm happy with these changes/ Still I wonder what's gonna happen with these changes." The truths of these words rang true with all in the room; who hasn't questioned the details of God's plan as it unfolds?

GRITS wrapped up their show with "Here We Go," which seemed to be known by everyone in the audience. After the show was over, the guys graciously hung out to meet fans, talk with people, and swap stories.