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tobyMac Biography
When tobyMac first threw down the gauntlet with the release of his debut solo album, Momentum, last Fall, it wasn't so much a brazen hip-hopper's boast as it was a leap of faith. He trusted that any attention he'd be getting would be for where he was going, not for where he'd already been. He made it clear from the get-go there would be no resting on laurels for him on this journey. It was full steam ahead with no looking back. "I'm a man on a mission," he declared on the title track. "My position is momentum." Let it be said that tobyMac "aka Toby McKeehan" is a man true to his words. "It still amazes me that I could dream this thing up, and people react to it," he says. "When I started, I didn't know what to expect, you never know how people will react to a song, an album. It's always fulfilling to have people connect with your music, to have people respond and be passionate about it or moved by it." And respond people have. From the lead single, "Extreme Days", a relentlessly aggressive rap-rock juggernaut that came on "like a whirlwind," ruling the CCM Update Rock charts for a record ten weeks. Soon after came a second chart-topper, "Somebody's Watching," an irresistible fusion of hip-hop and R&B built around an inspired sampling of Rockwell's 1984 smash, "Somebody's Watching Me." A third single, "Irene," may prove to be the biggest yet, though no chart position could compare with the feedback tobyMac has already heard from his fans on the inspirational, reggae and Spanish guitar-inflected R&B jam. "I've been told directly by people it's affected them, because it's about anyone who feels they've failed their friends, their family, their God, and I think everybody can relate to that," he says. "It's feeling like you failed and then somebody whispering words of love into your ear, expressing their belief in you."
tobyMac received encouragement of a different kind in April 2002, when he was honored with five Dove Awards, including Rap/Hip-Hop/Dance Album (performer, producer) for Momentum, Rap/Hip-Hop/Dance Song (performer, songwriter) for "Somebody's Watching," and Producer of the Year. That last one was a long time coming for tobyMac, who figures he's spent half of his life in the studio (he is, after all, the founding member of dc talk, which has sold over 7 million albums, won four GRAMMY's and is the best selling group in CCM history). Nevertheless, he says the honor left him "very humbled." Producing Momentum was a landmark achievement for the veteran artist, who found himself challenged every step of the way in bringing his musical vision to life. "I think I've definitely learned about myself as an artist," he says. "I had to stretch in many places. I had to go vocally to places that I've never gone before. It was a very challenging yet affirming process. I love the studio, and I love pouring myself into a song and being a perfectionist, but also being an artist, and stopping when something is just right or leaving when something leaves you wanting more." But in terms of his career and the new road he's taken on his own, stopping is the last thing on tobyMac's mind. Everything to date, from dc talk, to the out of the gate success of Momentum, it's all just a build-up to the next challenge.
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