TobyMac
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- The correct title of this article is tobyMac. The initial letter is shown capitalized due to technical restrictions.
| tobyMac | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Toby McKeehan | |
| Born | October 22, 1964 (age 42) | |
| Genre(s) | Hip hop Rapcore Christian rap Christian rock Alternative rock |
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| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter | |
| Years active | 1987–present | |
| Label(s) | ForeFront Records | |
| Website | tobyMac.com | |
Toby McKeehan, professionally known as tobyMac, is best known for his role as a member of the Christian music group dc Talk. He has released five solo albums, Momentum, Re:Mix Momentum, Welcome to Diverse City, Renovating Diverse City and Portable Sounds.
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[edit] Personal Life
Toby was born Kevin Michael McKeehan on October 22, 1964. He got the name Toby from having been born in October. His older brother started calling him Toby before he was born. At some point in his life, his parents divorced, partly influencing the song "Stories (Down to the Bottom)".
Toby and his wife Amanda live in Franklin, TN. They have five children: Truett, Moses, Marlee, Leo and Judah. Moses and Marlee were adopted in 2002. Leo was born in 2004. Judah was born in 2006. Truett appears on the albums Momentum, Re:Mix Momentum, Welcome to Diverse City, Renovating Diverse City, and Portable Sounds as emerging rap artist truDog.
[edit] dc Talk
He grew up in the Washington, D.C. area and met Kevin Max and Michael Tait while in college at Liberty University. The three formed the band dc Talk in 1987. A unique approach to combining rock, pop, and rap quickly rocketed the trio to success, not only in the contemporary Christian music market, but also in the mainstream market. Their album Jesus Freak was a significant milestone, selling over two million copies, making it a double platinum record.
dc Talk's latest album was released in 2000. The members have each pursued individual careers since then, but caution fans that dc Talk has not split up, but has simply "taken an intermission." The album Intermission: the Greatest Hits was a dc Talk compilation put together when the group members started their "intermission."
dc Talk reunited to perform a solo on the album Let's Roll about the events on September 11, 2001, and again on Toby's third album "Welcome to Diverse City." They remixed the song "Atmosphere," an original song appearing earlier on the album.
Throughout the 1990s, tobyMac achieved considerable success with his Grammy winning group dc talk, stockpiling a number of gold and platinum albums with seven million combined copies sold. As the group moved into the rear view window, tobyMac boldly stepped out on his own with his solo debut, Momentum. Earning rave reviews from Billboard to CCM Magazine, the 2001 album debuted atop the Billboard Heatseekers chart, sold over 500,000 copies, and landed two number one singles, "Extreme Days" and "Somebody's Watching." He went on to win several Dove Awards, including Producer of the Year, and two BMI honors as Christian Songwriter of the Year.
[edit] Solo Career
Toby McKeehan's solo music differs from dc Talk's rock-based musical style, leaning toward a more urban, hip-hop/rap sound. His sound is much more reminiscent of what was heard when dc Talk originally started out, on the albums DC TALK, Nu Thang, and Free At Last, their most widely known album besides Jesus Freak.
McKeehan composed and recorded the song "Extreme Days" for the 2001 Truth Builder Productions film Extreme Days. The song was subsequently featured on the 2001 debut tobyMac album Momentum and was used in the movie, Hangman's Curse, based on the popular book by Frank Peretti. McKeehan also composed and performed the song "New World" for the album Music Inspired by the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. His song "The Slam" was featured in advertisements for the films Transporter 2 and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, as well as advertisements for the television show Prison Break . The song was also featured in car commercials, men's NCAA clips, NBA Finals (Miami Heat, 2006), World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) programming, and "The Ultimate Highlight" on Sportscenter. Ohio Valley Wrestling performer Matt Cappotelli, who currently is unable to perform due to a brain tumor, uses "The Slam" as his entrance theme. Toby's songs "Atmosphere" and "Burn For You" have also been used in commercials. His songs "Yours", "Extreme Days", "Get This Party Started", and "Momentum" were all recently featured in the Xbox 360 video game Crackdown.
Momentum and Welcome to Diverse City both were certified Gold by the RIAA in December, 2006.
Portable Sounds sold 50,645 copies in its first week, debuting at #10 on the Billboard 200, and at #1 on the SoundScan Contemporary Christian Overall chart. [1]
[edit] Miscellaneous
Toby has also written two books with Michael Tait titled "Under God" and "Living Under God."
Toby is also the President of record label Gotee Records. Gotee features artists such as DJ Maj, Relient K and John Reuben. However, as a recording artist, he is under contract with ForeFront Records.
Toby's song Diverse City was featured in the Veronica Mars episode, The Wrath of Con.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Album Cover | Year | Title | Label(s) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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2001 | Momentum | ForeFront Records | Gold |
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2004 | Welcome to Diverse City | ForeFront Records | Gold |
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2007 | Portable Sounds | ForeFront Records |
[edit] Remixes
| Remix Cover | Year | Title | Label(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
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2003 | Re:Mix Momentum | ForeFront Records |
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2005 | Renovating Diverse City | ForeFront Records |
[edit] EPs
| EP Cover | Year | Title | Label(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
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2002 | This Christmas | ForeFront Records |
| 2006 | Top Five Hits EP | ForeFront Records |
[edit] Guest Appearances on Other Albums
- Steven Curtis Chapman - The Great Adventure - "Got to B Tru" (1992)
- Michael W. Smith - Change Your World - "I Wanna Tell The World" (1992)
- Michael McDonald - Blue Obsession - "Ain't That Peculiar" (1997)
- John Reuben - Are We There Yet? - "God is Love" (1999)
- The Newsboys - Shine: The Hits - "God is Not a Secret (Remix)" (2000)
- The O.C. Supertones - Loud and Clear - "What it Comes To" (2000)
- Shedaisy - Brand New Year - "Hark the Herald Angel Sing" (2000)
- Relient K - Relient K - "Hello McFly" (2000) (in the form of a phone call to Matt Thiessen saying that one of his songs would never be published).
- Damita - Damita - "Truth" (2000)
- Jennifer Knapp - The Way I Am - "Light of the World" (2001)
- Out of Eden - This is Your Life - "Day Like Today" (2001)
- Jeff Deyo - Saturate - "More Love More Power" (2002)
- Grits - The Art of Translation - "Ooh Ahh" (2002)
- Kirk Franklin - The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin - "Throw Yo Hands Up!" (2002)
- John Reuben - Professional Rapper - "Life is Short" (2003)
- Paul Wright - Fly Away - "West Coast Kid" (2003) (Also featured on "Renovating Diverse City").
- Charlie Peacock - Full Circle - "One Man Gets Around" (2004)
- Todd Collins - Beatmart Recordings: Best of the Submissions - "Yes Yes Y'all" (2004)
- Delirious? - The Mission Bell - "Solid Rock" (2005)
- DJ Maj - BoogiRoot - "Can't Take it Away" (2005)
- Kirk Franklin - Hero - "Let it Go (with Sonny from P.O.D.)" (2005)
- Rebecca St. James - If I Had One Chance To Tell You Something - "Thank You" (2005)
- Superchick - Beauty From Pain - "Stories (Down to the Bottom) (remix)" (2005) (Original version featured on "Welcome to Diverse City").
- Ayiesha Woods - Introducing Ayiesha Woods - "Big Enough" (2006)
[edit] Filmography
- Momentum DVD (2002)
[edit] Music videos
All videos copyright ForeFront Records 2001-2007
| Year | Title | Album | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Extreme Days | Momentum | YouTube Go |
| 2001 | Irene | Momentum | YouTube Go |
| 2002 | Get This Party Started | Momentum | YouTube Go |
| 2005 | Gone | Welcome to Diverse City | YouTube Go |
[edit] With dc Talk
- "The Hardway" (1992)
- "Jesus is Just Alright" (1992)
- "Luv is a verb" (1992)
- "Colored People" (1995)
- "Between You and Me" (1995)
- "Jesus Freak" (1995)
- "Minds Eye" (1995)
- "Like it, Love it, Need it" (1995)
- "Since I Met You" (1998)
- "My Friend, So Long" (1998)
- "Consume Me" (1998)
[edit] GMA Dove Awards
- 2006 Rock Recorded Song of the Year for "The Slam"
- 2005 Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year for "Welcome to Diverse City"
- 2003 Short Form Music Video of the Year for "Irene"
- 2002 Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song of the Year for "Somebody's Watching"
- 2002 Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year for "Momentum"
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- tobyMac - The official tobyMac web site.
- dc Talk - The official dc Talk web site.
- tobyMac's REAL MySpace site.
- Forefront records - The Official ForeFront Records Website.
- Gotee Records - The Official Gotee Records Website.
- Link to all four videos
- Interview @ Christian Music Today
- tobyMac Interview at CMSpin
- tobyMac Audio Interview and Album Preview at NewReleaseTuesday.com
- TobyMac Comes Boomin' Into The Marketplace With New Release "Portable Sounds"
| dc Talk |
|---|
| Toby McKeehan – Michael Tait – Kevin Max |
| Discography |
| Albums: DC Talk – Nu Thang – Free at Last – Jesus Freak – Supernatural – Solo |
| Live Album: Welcome to the Freak Show |
| Compilations: Intermission: the Greatest Hits – The Early Years |
| Tributes: Freaked! |
| Singles: Jesus Freak |
| Movies: Free at Last: the Movie |
