TobyMac

Kevin Michael "Toby" McKeehan, professionally known as tobyMac, is a Christian rap, hip hop, and rock artist from Nashville, Tennessee. He was born in Fairfax, Virginia on October 22, 1964. He was known for being a member of the trio dc Talk from 1987 to its hiatus in 2000. He has since had a very successful solo career.

Early life
Kevin was born on October 22, 1964 in Fairfax, Virginia. He grew up in Annandale, Virginia. He attended elementary at Pine Ridge Elementary. He then attended Luther Jackson Intermediate for the first few months of his fourth grade school year. Both of these schools are mentioned in his song "Extreme Days". He would later attend Liberty University where he would meet Kevin Max and Michael Tait.

dc Talk
Kevin McKeehan, Michael Tait, and Kevin Max formed the trio dc Talk in the year 1987. The trio's original sounds was Christian hip-hop. However, that partially changed after the release of their guitar-heavy album Jesus Freak in 1995. This album was a significant milestone, selling over two million copies, making it a double platinum record.

Dc Talk released a compilation album in 2001 called Intermission: the Greatest Hits put together when the group members started their "intermission." The members had begun pursuing individual careers, and at the time assured fans that dc Talk had not split up, but that they were simply taking "an intermission." It is now known, however, that dc Talk is not likely to 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 has reunited on several special occasions such as: performing the single Let's Roll about the events on September 11, 2001, on TobyMac's second album Welcome to Diverse City (They appeared on the song "Atmosphere (Remix)"), and also on Kevin Max's album The Blood in the song "The Cross".

Solo career
TobyMac's solo music differs from DC Talk's rock in that it is a more urban, hip-hop sound. It is similar to dc Talk's original sound such as on their albums dc Talk, Nu Thang, and Free at Last.

Many of TobyMac's songs have appeared in both Christian and mainstream media. He composed and recorded the songs Extreme Days for the 2001 Truth Builder Productions film Extreme Days and the movie Hungman's Curse. He also wrote 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 used during a fight seen in the film Never Back Down, in advertisements for the films Transporter 2, Aeon Flux, and The Fast and the furiuos: Tokyo Drift, as well as in advertisements for the television show Prison Break. The song has also been featured in car commercials, men's NCAA clips, NBA Finals (Miami Heat 2006), WWE programming, NFL commercials, and The Ulimate Highlight on Sportscenter. The songs is also used by Ohio Valley Wrestling performer Matt Cappotelli. Another of TobyMac's songs, "Diverse City", was featured in the Veronica Mars episode The Wrath of Con. Many other songs of his have been used in commercials. "Atmosphere" was used in a Volvo car commercial, "Burn for You" was used for cinnamon gum and Dr. Phil commercials, "Ignition" is currently being used to promote ABC/ESPN's coverage of NASCAR, and "Boomin'" has been used to promote the new crime-drama  The Women's Murder Club on ABC, as well as many others. The song "Get This Party Started" was used in an episode of the TV series Roswell. The songs "Yours", "Extreme Days", "Get This Party Started", and "Momentum" were recently used in the Xbox 360 game Crackdown. In September 2007 the song "Feelin' So Fly" appeared in the movie The Game Plan. Tampa Bay Rays player Ben Zobrist used "Ignition" as his entrance song when he got up to bat during the 2008 and early 2009 seasons (he has since switched to a song by his wife). The song received world-wide fame when it was used as the entrance song for the Arizona Cardinals during Super Bowl XLIII.

Other work
TobyMac has written two books with former bandmates Michael Tait and Kevin Max entitled Jesus Freaks: dc Talk and The Voice of the Matyrs - Stories of Those Who Stood for Jesus, The Ultimate Jesus Freaks and Jesus Freak: Revolutionaries: Stories of Revolutionaries Who Changed Their World Fearing God, Not Man (Jesus Freaks). These books were mainly focused on numerous stories of Christian martyrs. He has also written two more books with Michael Tait entitled Under God, telling stories of America's spiritual battles, and Living Under God: Discovering Your Part in God's Plan.

TobyMac is also president of Gotee Records, which he founded. However, he is under contract with ForeFront Records.

He also performs in "Rock the Universe" in Universal Studios and "Night of Joy" in Walt Disney World every September every year. Toby usually alternates between Rock the Universe and Night of Joy.

Future
TobyMac is planning on touring with Third Day, Michael W. Smith, and Max Lucado on the Make a Difference Tour.

Personal life
Toby and his wife Amanda (Mandy) were married in 1994. Amanda is the daughter of Judy and Robert Levy and is from Jamaica. Therefore, Toby is well immersed with Jamaican culture. It, to an extent, shows in his music. Toby and Amanda live in Nashville, Tennessee.

They have five children: Truett, born September 6, 1998; twins Moses and Marlee, adopted in 2002; Leo, born November 2, 2004; and Judah, born March 24, 2006.

Studio albums

 * Momentum (2001)
 * Welcome to Diverse City (2004)
 * Portable Sounds (2007)
 * Tonight (2010)

Remix albums

 * Re:Mix Momentum (2003)
 * Renovating Diverse City (2005)

Live albums

 * Alive and Transported (2008) CD/DVD

EPs

 * Discover: tobyMac EP (2010)

Singles

 * "Get This Party Started"
 * "Irene"
 * "Somebody's Watching"
 * "This Christmas"
 * "Burn for You"
 * "Gone"
 * "Phenomenon"
 * "Diverse City"
 * "Burn for You (Shortwave Radio Mix)"
 * "Made to Love"
 * "Ignition"
 * "No Ordinary Love"
 * "One World"
 * "Boomin'"
 * "I'm for You"
 * "Lose My Soul"
 * "City on Our Knees"
 * "ShowStopper"
 * "Get Back Up"
 * "Funky Jesus Music"
 * "Hold On"
 * "Christmas This Year"

Music videos

 * "Get this Party Started"
 * "Irene"
 * "Extreme Days"
 * "Gone"
 * "Boomin'"
 * "Feelin' So Fly"
 * "Lose My Soul"

Filmography

 * "Alive and Transported"
 * "Moving Pictures"
 * "Welcome to the Freak Show" (with dc Talk)
 * "Free at Last: the Movie" (with dc Talk)

Guest appearances

 * "Let it Go" by Kirk Franklin
 * "Let it Glow" by Kirk Franklin
 * "I Am God" by Kirk Franklin
 * "Throw Yo Hands Up" by Kirk Franklin
 * "Addicted to Jesus" by Carman
 * "AKA Public School" by Audio Adrenaline [video]
 * "Name Droppin'" by T-Bone [video]
 * "Got to B Tru" by Steven Curtis Chapman
 * "I Thank You" by Rebecca St. James
 * "God Is Not A Secret (ReMix)" by Newsboys
 * "Love Somebody" by Mandisa
 * "God Is Love" by John Reuben
 * "Day Like Today" by Out Of Eden
 * "What it To" by The OC Supertones
 * "Ohh, Ahh" by GRITS
 * "Can't Take it Away" by DJ Maj
 * "The Cross" by Kevin Max
 * "I Wanna Tell the World" by Michael W. Smith
 * "You Found Me" by Israel Houghton
 * "Party (Citizens Come Out)" by Diverse Citizens
 * "Solid Rock" by Delirious?
 * "West Coast Kid" by Paul Wright
 * "Eggshells" by Hawk Nelson

WOW Hits

 * 2002 - Somebody's Watching
 * 2003 - Irene
 * 2004 - Phenomenon
 * 2005 - Gone
 * 2006 - Atmosphere (Remix)
 * 2007 - Burn for You (Shortwave Radio Mix)
 * 2008 - Made to Love
 * 2009 - Lose My Soul
 * 2010 - City on Our Knees
 * 2011 - Get Back Up

Grammy Award nominations

 * 2003: Best Rock Gospel Album - Momentum
 * 2005: Best Rock Gospel Album – Welcome to Diverse City
 * 2008: Best Gospel Song – "Made to Love"
 * 2008: Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album – Portable Sounds
 * 2009: Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album - Alive and Transported – won

GMA Dove Award nominations

 * 2002: Rap/Hip Hop Album - Momentum
 * 2002: Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song - "Somebody's Watching"
 * 2003: Short Form Music Video - "Irene"
 * 2005: Rap/Hip Hop Album - Welcome to Diverse City
 * 2006: Rock Recorded Song - "The Slam"
 * 2006: Special Event Album of the Year - Music Inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
 * 2008: Artist of the Year
 * 2008: Short Form Music Video of the Year - "Boomin'"
 * 2009: Long Form Music Video of the Year - Alive and Transported