After releasing seven studio albums and becoming the highest-grossing group in the Christian hip-hop market, Grits is ready to make an even bigger impact. The lyrical duo (comprised of Bonafide and Coffee) are having a press day in Los Angeles, California to spread the good word about their eighth studio album Reiterate, which is testament to their art and work ethic.

The album -- the first released through their new label Revolution Art -- is a heavy lyrical effort with inspirational rhymes, vibrant production and just enough bounce that even the youth pastor at the community church would modestly bust out the two-step in the middle of a sermon. Though Grits unveiled "Reminds Me" as the leadoff track to keep heads buzzing, the duo is currently in the midst of working on the video to their follow-up single "Beautiful Morning."

But Grits has more to offer the world than inspirational music. In this BallerStatus.com exclusive, Bonafide talks about the new label, succeeding in the Christian hip-hop market, and of course, Reiterate.

BallerStatus.com: Recently, you two launched your label, Revolution Art. There are tons of labels within the music industry nowadays, so what is Grits going to do to make Revolution Art different than other labels?

Bonafide: We're definitely going to be more focused from a business standpoint of having been artists and being artists ourselves. There will be a lot of pitfalls we can avoid so that our artists can be career artists. Not just that one hit or one single type of artists, but more or less creating an artist that has a brand and invest in that brand. We're definitely trying to build career artists and even business people in the end. We want our artists to maybe one day have their own label. That's pre-dominantly what's going to separate us from them (the other labels), and we're gonna do things different. We wanna mix it up a little bit. We want to do marketing different, the way we promote different, where we release songs in different formats, just to really come through like a storm ... like a revolution. We're definitely with this art.

BallerStatus.com: Speaking of your new label, the first project released from Revolution Art is, in fact, you're eighth full-length album Reiterate. What was the mindset you and Coffee had going into the album?

Bonafide: Basically, man, the whole album, from top to bottom, is just following us through our life in general. There weren't any specific things that happened that we had to necessarily pull on for a typical song or anything like that. We pull on everything and that's how we stay consistent with the material because we always keep it real from top to bottom. It's us. The album is Grits. Our trials and tribulations, our growths, our strengths and our weaknesses, and people ride with us. But the songwriting process is just as natural as it sounds. We kinda let the music speak to us, really. We'll get a track, see what the track is saying and we kinda go from there, and derive inspiration off different things whether we've been going through, or thinking about, or even some ideas we had jotted down. It's not really a difficult or complicated process, because we want it to be effortless.

BallerStatus.com: The leadoff single was "Reminds Me." Was there any particular reason why this one kicked the whole campaign off?

Bonafide: It was a fun song. We were like, "Hey man, let's do something like an 80s throwback joint, like straight up 80s." It was something we were enjoying and when people started listening to it, it was like, "Man, we really like this song. Y'all should let people start hearing that." So we made a collective decision like, "You know, let's put this out here digitally first just to get people back on board with where we're going and to get people ready for the album coming out." We wanted to make sure we continue to keep something fresh going because we've already had material out and people got albums from us consistent basis for the every year and a half, or whatever. So coming out on our own, especially with our own label, we came out with something fresh that people will want to follow and will continue to ride with us for as long as they've been riding with us.

BallerStatus.com: Yeah, you've guys released a lot of records -- seven full-lengths before Reiterate. It's like every other year, there's something new from Grits.

Bonafide: Yeah man. We're artists, man. We live on what we do and we want to continue to be established artists, not one looking for that one hit single to keep them alive, but the guys that always been there and will always be there. We want ourselves to be timeless. Why not? If we're going to do this, let's do this.

BallerStatus.com: True. Nowadays, artists don't really drop albums that consistently. Would you say artists have become lazy over the years?

Bonafide: You know what? I think, just right now, everybody is on their hustle, man. Everybody is trying to make it. That's where society is. People are just trying to make it and if music is an outlet presented to somebody and they see there is an opportunity to make it, even if it's for a short period of time or not, then that's probably what they gonna choose to do. For us, it was something we chosen to do from the beginning. The day we decided we were going to be artists, we decided to one day be label owners. We decided we one day would even have a distribution company. Why not have a distribution company? Why not go further than just having a production company? We decided that from the time that we started, so we never leaned on just being an artist, and, in order to do those things, you got to establish yourself and, you know, when you do each thing you wanna do, do it to the best. Do it to where you leave a mark and leave a brand. I still want people listen to Grits years from now. When we're done recording albums, we still want people buying the music and listening to the music. Now, we're on the other end; marketing the music and putting it out, and it's up for you to chose new artists to be a part of. So why not take it to the next level at each point? But now, artists right now don't have that long term vision Not many have a long term vision, and we're always had one and that's why we're been around this long.

BallerStatus.com: Fair enough. I know you guys are in the midst of doing the video for the follow-up single "Beautiful Morning." How would you classify this song?

Bonafide: The song has a lot of energy. It bumps enough to be bumped in the club, or whatever. I don't want to say its pop because it's not pop, but it's definitely not anything that's out there right now that would be like, "Man, it's too hard." It just reaches out to everybody. Besides, the song is definitely inspiring too. Like beautiful morning. Don't worry about what happened yesterday. Don't worry about what's going to happen. Just enjoy that you woke up this morning. Thank God you woke up this morning. You got another day to enjoy. I don't want any drama, no stress, none of that. I just want to have a beautiful morning, and I think right now, especially where the economy is and where everybody is at right now, people just wanna have some sort of peace in their lives, and they get it through music and they get it any other way that they can.

BallerStatus.com: Grits has released seven studio albums before Reiterate. How does this new album differ from your previous full-length offerings?

Bonafide: It's just another growth. We try to make sure every album has better songs, better songwriting, better production, and just to make sure we continue to be consistent and that's what makes a difference. Even if you listen back, you can tell where the growth is and you can tell where we've been inspired by stuff we've already done. So, it really is a good body of work to see over the years. The process has come to make us who we are and where we're at, and that's why Reiterate fits the title so perfect.

BallerStatus.com: So I heard that you guys are the highest-grossing rap group in Christian hip-hop. Is that true?

Bonafide: So far, that's what the stats tell us, so that's what we roll with. That's what we have to go by, and we still function as new artists every time we come out. We try not to focus so much on being that, but just continue to be consistent with how we're doing it to get those accolades and credit.

BallerStatus.com: How does that make you feel though, being the highest-grossing rap group in Christian hip-hop?

Bonafide: It's definitely something that we're proud of because we want our contribution to be different, and I know a lot of people get it mixed up and they're like, "Well, you're this kind of group." Well no. We're Grits, but we definitely wanna offer a contribution that makes a stamp and that when we leave, people will respect what we did on all levels, from adults to children, music lovers, hip-hop lovers and people who don't like hip-hop but like Grits, because there are a lot of people out there like that too. To reach the world, you have to keep yourself open to the world like that, and that's what we try to do. We try to remain who we are as men. We'll always be who we are as man, and musically, we jus trying to open that thing up so others can enjoy what we enjoy.

BallerStatus.com: Yeah, but do you feel since you've been labeled or tagged as Christian hip-hop, that it might have kept you guys back from making a bigger splash within the mainstream?

Bonafide: Yeah, but it depends how you look at it. We look at it as, because we've been in it so long, we learned that the business is the business no matter what side you're on. So, what we wanna do is make sure we achieve the greatest potential in whatever direction the music is going in. We are who we are as people and yeah, people are always gonna be like, "Aw, you're crossing over." But to me, there's no such thing. It means our fan base is broadening because we're not doing the music any different. It's just more people are catching onto it, and that's a good thing. If the quality is there and people are responding to it, and appreciate what you're offering, why not let them have it? Why not make it better available for them to get it, because we roll with the big boys. We'd love to move ten million. Shoot, that be nice. We make a lot, but the real side of it is we do a lot with it too. That's another thing that makes us who we are.

If we sold ten million records, we'd make an impact you'd feel beyond just music. We'd definitely try to do everything we could to make a impact, even in the community because we're grown men, and we have kids and families too. We know people are going through a lot of things and with the music, we try to offer people a sense of something ... like sense of hope or a sense of direction when they don't have any. And not a lot of people do that. We also have a good time, but for the most part, as men, we decided this is going to be our contribution to the world and to have a foundation in the Christian market. For me, I wouldn't wanna do it any other way because it's a respectable resume. So when we grow larger and do things with Corporate America, they don't have to worry about us being a liability to them. They'll wanna do business with us because one, the music is impacting a lot of people and two, not only us as men are presenting ourselves musically in a different way, but even as a business, we laid a foundation of integrity that'll put us on high levels. When you get to a certain age, you start thinking about things a little different, and that's how we are. We're hip-hop heads at the heart, but we're also grown men with families who understand what life really is and what life really offers, and we wanna be the guys who offer people something they needed in life. It's like having that uncle who is always giving advice. And you look back and you're like, "Man, I'm glad Uncle Red was always around because he always kept it real with us." That's what Grits is and that's what we're trying to offer; food for the soul.