A 4:17 long track by RZA, being his second top song of his career. This soul piece contains a very groovy and smooth rhythm. The song has a reflective tone, with RZA reminiscing about his childhood and the struggles he faced growing up in poverty. This songs speed is at 86BPM which is relatively slow but definitely works with a soul piece as its meant to give it a laid-back, almost nostalgic feel. The rhythm is driven by a classic boom-bap style beat, which is characteristic of ’90s and early 2000s East Coast hip-hop.

With the drums and bass work together rhythmically in a pattern. In terms of the drums it is doing a very simple pattern —> kick, hi- hat (or closed open hat), snare, hi hat. The clean electric guitar plays a nice ‘mid range frequency’ riff just after the bass, with a couple of repeated slides. The underlying progression is based on a loop of a few minor chords, contributing to the melancholic, introspective tone of the song. The use of minor chords is significant because it underscores the somber and reflective narrative of the lyrics.

In terms of sampling, the classic soul piece by Jones & Blumenberg, “I Forgot to Remember” was used by RZA in which Allah Real comes in and sings the hook, which is mixed so seamlessly that it sounds like it was written with the sample itself, perfectly setting the tone of soulful retrospection.

Intertextuality plays a crucial role in the song, as it draws on cultural and musical references that extend beyond just RZA’s own story. The title “Grits” itself alludes to the humble Southern dish (“We used to eat grit… for dinner”), symbolizing the struggles of working-class life, while also evoking a shared cultural experience, particularly for African Americans growing up in impoverished urban environments.

Overall, The minimal instrumentation—focusing mainly on drums, the sampled loop, and subtle bass—creates a spacious atmosphere, leaving room for the lyrics and storytelling to take prominence. The boom-bap beat allows the emotional weight of the lyrics to take center stage, while subtle harmonic and melodic elements enhance the song’s introspective tone.