TobyMac

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Template:Lowercase Template:Infobox musical artist 2 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.

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.

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, 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." 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, 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.

"Momentum" and "Welcome to Diverse City" both were certified 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

Guest Appearances on Other Albums

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 (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

References

  1. ↑ New Album Title and Release Date. tobyMac.com news item, November 32006.

External links

Template:Dc Talk de:Toby McKeehan nl:Toby Mac sv:Tobymac

W8MD

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