Difference between revisions of "TobyMac"

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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.
{{Infobox musical artist 2
 
| Name        = tobyMac
 
| Img        = Artists_toby.jpg‎
 
| Img_capt    =
 
| Background  = solo_singer
 
| Birth_name  = Toby McKeehan
 
| Born        = {{Birth date and age|1964|10|22}}
 
| Country    = [[USA]]
 
| Genre      = [[Rapcore]][[Alternative Metal]][[Hard Rock]][[Alternative Rock]][[Funk]][[Nu Metal]][[Contemporary Christian]]
 
| Occupation  = [[Singer-songwriter]]
 
| Years_active= 2000–present
 
| Label      = [[ForeFront Records]]
 
| URL        = [http://www.tobymac.com/ 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 (album)|Momentum]]'', ''[[Re:Mix Momentum]]'', ''[[Welcome to Diverse City (album)|Welcome to Diverse City]]'', ''[[Renovating Diverse City (album)|Renovating Diverse City]]'' and ''[[Portable_Sounds_(album)|Portable sounds]]''.
 
  
==Personal Life==
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{{returnto}} [[Christian music]]
 
 
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.
 
 
 
==dcTalk==
 
 
 
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 (music)|rock]], [[pop music|pop]], and [[hip hop music|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 (album)|Jesus Freak]]'' was a significant milestone, selling over two million copies, making it a double [[RIAA certification|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." The DC born artist went on to win several Dove Awards, including Producer of the Year, and two BMI honors as Christian Songwriter of the Year.
 
 
 
==Solo Career==
 
 
 
Toby McKeehan's solo music differs from dc Talk's rock-based musical style, leaning toward a more [[urban contemporary|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 (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|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.
 
 
 
"Momentum" and "Welcome to Diverse City" both were certified [[RIAA certification|Gold]] by the RIAA in December, 2006.
 
 
 
==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]].
 
 
 
==Discography==
 
* ''[[Momentum (album)|Momentum]]'' (2001) ([[ForeFront Records]]) Sales Satus: Gold (over 500,000 copies sold)
 
* ''[[This Christmas]]'' (2002) (single) ForeFront Records
 
* ''[[Re:Mix Momentum]]'' (2003) ForeFront Records
 
* ''[[Welcome to Diverse City (album)|Welcome to Diverse City]]'' (2004) (ForeFront Records) Sales Status: Gold (over 500,000 copies sold)
 
* ''[[Renovating Diverse City (album)|Renovating Diverse City]]'' (2005) ForeFront Records
 
* ''Top five Hits EP'' (2006) ForeFront Records (EP with 5 radio singles)
 
* ''[[Portable Sounds (album)|Portable Sounds]]'' (2007) ForeFront Records<ref>[http://www.tobymac.com/the_latest.aspx ''New Album Title and Release Date'']. tobyMac.com news item, [[November 3]][[2006]].</ref> (Released)
 
 
 
==Guest Appearances on Other Albums==
 
*[[Steven Curtis Chapman]] - ''[[The Great Adventure]]'' - "Got to B Tru" (1992)
 
*[[Michael W. Smith]] - ''[[Change Your World (Michael W. Smith album)|Change Your World]]'' - "I Wanna Tell The World" (1992)
 
*[[Michael McDonald (singer)|Michael McDonald]] - ''Blue Obsession'' - "Ain't That Peculiar" (1997)
 
*[[John Reuben]] - ''[[Are We There Yet? (John Reuben Album)|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 (album)|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 (Out of Eden album)|This is Your Life]]'' - "Day Like Today" (2001)
 
*[[Jeff Deyo]] - ''[[Saturate (album)|Saturate]]'' - "More Love More Power" (2002)
 
*[[GRITS (band)|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 (rapper)|Paul Wright]] - ''Fly Away'' - "West Coast Kid" (2003) (Also featured on "[[Renovating Diverse City (album)|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 Sandoval|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 (album)|Welcome to Diverse City]]").
 
*[[Ayiesha Woods]] - ''[[Introducing Ayiesha Woods (album)|Introducing Ayiesha Woods]]'' - "Big Enough"  (2006)
 
 
 
==Filmography==
 
* ''Momentum DVD'' (2002)
 
 
 
===Music videos===
 
* ''Get This Party Started'' (2002)
 
* ''Extreme Days'' (2001)
 
* ''Irene'' (2001)
 
* ''Gone'' (2005)
 
 
 
===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 (album)|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)
 
 
 
== 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"
 
 
 
==See also==
 
*[[dc Talk]]
 
*[[Michael Tait]]
 
*[[Kevin Max]]
 
*[[ForeFront Records]]
 
*[[Gotee Records]]
 
 
 
==References==
 
<references />
 
 
 
==External links==
 
*[http://www.tobymac.com tobyMac] - The official tobyMac web site.
 
*[http://www.dctalk.com dc Talk] - The official dc Talk web site.
 
*[http://www.myspace.com/tobymac  tobyMac's '''REAL''' MySpace site.]
 
 
 
*[http://www.forefrontrecords.com Forefront records] - The Official ForeFront Records Website.
 
**[http://www.forefrontrecords.com/artist/default.aspx?artistid=67665 Official page at forefrontrecords.com]
 
*[http://www.gotee.com Gotee Records] - The Official Gotee Records Website.
 
*[http://www.tobymac.com/music_videos.aspx Link to all four videos]
 
*[http://www.cmspin.com/newsmanager/anmviewer.asp?a=4073&z=32 tobyMac Interview at CMSpin]
 
 
 
{{dc Talk}}
 
[[Category:1964 births|McKeehan, Toby]]
 
[[Category:Living people|McKeehan, Toby]]
 
[[Category:American male singers|McKeehan, Toby]]
 
[[Category:American rappers|McKeehan, Toby]]
 
[[Category:Christian musicians|McKeehan, Toby]]
 
[[Category:Christian rappers|TobyMac]]
 
[[Category:Liberty University alumni|McKeehan, Toby]]
 
[[Category:ForeFront Records|McKeehan, Toby]]
 
[[Category:Gotee Records|McKeehan, Toby]]
 
[[Category:dc Talk members|McKeehan, Toby]]
 
[[Category:Dove Award winners|Mckeehan, Toby]]
 
[[Category:Contemporary Christian music|McKeehan, Toby]]
 
[[de:Toby McKeehan]]
 
[[nl:Toby Mac]]
 
[[sv:Tobymac]]
 

Revision as of 23:34, 12 July 2007

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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