TobyMac
tobyMac is known for his role as a member of the Christian music group dc Talk. He has since continued his solo career with the release of three commercially successful studio albums; Momentum (2001), Welcome to Diverse City (2004), and most recently Portable Sounds (2007). He has also released remixed versions of his first two albums, creatively titled Re:Mix Momentum, and Renovating Diverse City.
Personal life
TobyMac was born on October 22, 1964 in Fairfax Virginia. His real name is Kevin Michael Mckeehan but he got the name Toby from being born in October and his older brother would always call him Toby before he was born. TobyMac and his wife Amanda, live in Franklin, TN with there five children, Truett (trudog), Moses, Marlee, Leo and Judah. In 2002, Moses, and Marlee were adopted. When 2004 came around, God blessed them with another boy named Leo. In 2006, Judah was born.
Truett, is seen in his dad's albums, Momentum, Re: Mix Momentum, Welcome to Diverse City, Renovating Diverse City, and Portable sounds as trudog. Tragically he passed away in October 2019 at age 21.
dc Talk
He grew up in the Washington, D.C. area and met Kevin Max and Michael Tait while in college at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. The three formed the band dc Talk in 1989. 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 album Intermission: the Greatest Hits was a dc Talk compilation put together when the group members started their "intermission." The members were pursuing individual careers then, and at the time assured fans that dc Talk had not split up, but rather they were simply taking "an intermission." More recently though, comments from the band members, most notably from Kevin Max, have implied that dc Talk will not regroup. Kevin Max writes on his official website's message board, "dc Talk is something of the past. In order for DC Talk to be anything of the future, it will be up to each individual member to come together to create something that is lasting and substantial. There is an audience out there interested in seeing dc Talk back together as a group and as an entertaining and creative force, but I feel that the spirit of the thing is dead. I appreciated the time that we had together those many years, and I thank God many times over for allowing me to be a part of something that was so far reaching and helped so many people, but to be honest, just doing a show to do a show is not interesting to me. It must be thought out, creative and passionate."
dc Talk reunited to perform a song 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.
Discography
- Momentum (2001)
- Welcome to Diverse City (2004)
- Portable Sounds (2007)
- Tonight (2010)
- Eye On It (2012)
Miscellaneous
Toby has also written two books with Michael Tait and Kevin Max called "Jesus Freaks vol. 1 and 2". These books were mainly focused on Christian martyrs. He has also written two more books with Michael Tait titled "Under God" containing stories of America's spiritual battles, and another called "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. He got the name "Gotee" from the song "Socially Acceptable" on dcTalk's album Free at Last. A member of the band GRITS was doing the background vocals, and he was saying, "Let it go, T, let it go." ("T" refers to Toby) Toby happened to be growing a goatee on his face at the time, and when somebody pointed out the coincidence, he decided to name his new record company, "Gotee Records."
Toby's song "Diverse City" was featured in the Veronica Mars episode, The Wrath of Con.
TobyMac made it up to 2nd most requested artist of 2007 on.
