The ascension of TobyMac’s solo career has been nothing short of spectacular. In an era of declining music sales he has consistently defied the odds and has seen his sales increase with each new album release. This is no small feat. With his fourth studio album TONIGHT released on Feb. 9, he is poised to take things higher yet again.
Having climbed the mountain once with the group dcTalk (4 Grammys, more than 8 million albums sold), TobyMac knows how difficult the journey can be and how much work the process actually takes. Rarely does an artist get to soar to great heights for a second time, but soar he has. He took home his first Grammy as a solo artist last year after receiving Grammy nominations for each of his first four solo projects (Momentum, Welcome To Diverse City, Portable Sounds, Tonight). And last year TobyMac topped 2 million in total albums sold during his solo career. TobyMac has also remixed the Welcome to Diverse City album and Momentum, calling the new albums Renovating Diverse City and Re:Mix Momentum, respectively. He has done it with a combination of talent, hard work and humility which has produced songs that resonate with people from all walks of life .
Upon embarking on his solo career, Toby sought to surround himself with a talented and diverse cast of characters, aptly named the Diverse City Band. The result has been a musical fusion that radiates with an unquenchable energy and a penetrating message.
A self-professed perfectionist when making records—he’s been known to relentlessly tweak and massage every little thing in an inexorable effort to make it sound better—Toby is the first to admit that he has to work really hard to make great music. “That’s what drives me,” he says. “I feel like I have to work harder than other people to get there. Sometimes I feel like I’m slightly under-gifted; I usually don't sit down and write a great song in just a few minutes like others can. But I think my work ethic makes up for that.”
Starting with dcTalk, and then going solo when the group disbanded in 2000, Toby still clings to such rootsy notions as hard work, persistence, patience and—perhaps most relevant of all—the power of music, which he insists is still what keeps him going.
“It’s the truth,” he says. “I still believe that a song can penetrate a heart. I believe God can use a song to open someone’s mind and heart. Other songs can just drop what I call, 'the joy bomb' on somebody. I fight really hard to remain unjaundiced—to keep believing that you can actually walk into a studio and write a song that breathes life. That’s the hardest fight for a guy who’s been doing this for a while; it’s easy to fall into the trap of just making it your job. But I still believe that songs matter.”
The songs on TONIGHT certainly matter—everything from the prayerful first single “City On Our Knees” to the testimonial “Changed Forever,” from the worshipful “Captured” to the confessional “Start Somewhere,” and even down to the put-on-your-party-hat grooves of “Funky Jesus Music” and “ShowStopper.” One theme that runs loud and clear throughout is the idea that we all need God, and we need him now—this morning, this afternoon, tonight.
“Right here, right now / Under the stars / I promise You my heart / ’Cause it starts tonight,” Toby sings on the chorus of the title track. “If you gotta start somewhere why not here? If you gotta start sometime why not now?” he asks on “City on Our Knees.” And “I wanna straighten this before the sun goes down tonight,” he proclaims on “Start Somewhere.”
“There’s definitely a sense of urgency on this record,” says co-producer Chris Stephens, who has worked on TobyMac’s last three CDs. “And it’s an album that speaks of unity, of coming together and finding common ground to worship God.”
Toby has long had a passion for racial reconciliation and unity, a recurrent theme in his music. TONIGHT includes songs of reconciliation of another kind—between husband and wife. Toby and Amanda have been happily married for 15 years, but like all couples, it can be hard work sometimes. For Toby, who best expresses his emotions through music, it was a natural step to write about it. In “Hold On,” he sings, “If you move just a little bit closer / You can put your head on my shoulder . . . / Wipe away those tears / This one’s for you.” And on “Start Somewhere,” he’s downright confessional: “I said some things that I regret / And if I could, I’d take ’em back / But here I am, and there you are / The space between us is not so far / I’m reaching out my hand in love.”
“‘Hold On’ is very personal,” Toby says. “Many lines are there to encourage my wife, but I know those lines could encourage anybody in a relationship. As for ‘Start Somewhere,’ any time you’re in love with somebody, you’re going to bang heads from time to time. I don’t know how many times I’ve been lying in bed, sweating it out and thinking, How am I going to make this right? But then you reach that moment of apology and forgiveness. That’s one of my favorite songs on the record; it’s a personal perspective on confrontation and reconciliation.”
And then there’s “Wonderin’,” in which Toby reminisces about the past with Kevin Max and Michael Tait in dcTalk, one of Christian music’s biggest acts in the 1990s. “We was ridin’ in style, clockin’ them miles / With the songs that He put down deep in our hearts . . . / I’m wonderin’ ’bout the way I spend my days / Wonderin’ if it’s even worth the chase / Wonderin’ if they’re stealin’ me from you.”
“It’s just a warm look back at dc Talk,” says Toby, almost wistfully. “It’s reminiscing about Michael and Kevin and what we did together, and recognizing their influence on me. I love what I do today, but there are times when I wonder,What if we stayed together? I’ve got these dreams I’m pursuing now, but are they stealing me from you? I think about Kevin and Michael on every song I write. That's the truth man, we climbed a mountain together.”
Sonically, TONIGHT is typical TobyMac in many ways—an eclectic mix of rap, rock, pop and funk, all laden with catchy hooks and melodies just itching for airplay and audience singalongs. There’s even a healthy dose of reggae on the album closer “Break Open the Sky,” where Toby flexes his Jamaican family ties while Israel Houghton provides guest vocals. Other visiting vocalists include Skillet’s John Cooper on “Tonight” and Relient K’s Matthew Thiessen on “Wonderin’.”
Of course most of the vocals belong to the artist himself. Stephens says Toby “has stretched himself as a vocalist, he writes about things he is passionate about and his vocals reflect that urgency''. Toby agrees: “I do more singing on this record than ever before. I’m learning to use my vocal instrument in different ways, and I’m getting more comfortable with it everyday''.
It all adds up to a project that reflects one man’s desire to push himself beyond “very good,” to dig deep in the quest for that other country where greatness resides. He certainly reached for it. Hard.
“I’ve worked very hard not to fall into the trap of making this just a gig,” he says. “If it is a labor, it’s a labor of love. I know music can’t change the world, but who says God can't speak through a song."
Right here, right now. TONIGHT.
TobyMac is usually styled tobyMac or TOBYMAC
Edge Of My Seat
TobyMac Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And if jaded was a people, I'd be the king
So cold to what a brand new day could bring
So icy cold to all the wonder that should be movin' me
Overthinking You, hot like June
I'm jumpin' out my skin just tryin' to catch of a view
Got me on the edge of my seat
I can feel it rushin' over me
I can feel it rushin' over me
You got me on the edge
I am on the edge of my seat
I can feel it rushin' over me
I can feel it rushin' over me
Lost all my worries, feels like Christmas came early
Yeah, I can stay here day and night and never feel no hurry
Needless to mention, Lord, You got my attention
My eyes are wide with wonder, feelin' for the soul ascension
'Cause no one else is ever gonna do for me
Ever gonna do for me what You'd do for me, yeah
Ain't no one ever gonna steal the mystery You put right in front o' me
Right in front o' me, yeah
You got me on the edge
Got me on the edge of my seat
I can feel it rushin' over me
I can feel it rushin' over me
You got me on the edge
I am on the edge of my seat
I can feel it rushin' over me
I can feel it rushin' over me
You got me on the edge
I am on the edge of my seat
And I can feel the wonder rushin' over me
You are openin' my eyes
You're openin' my eyes, Lord
To brand new possibilities
You are openin' my eyes
You're openin' my eyes, Lord
To brand new possibilities
You are openin' my eyes
You're openin' my eyes, Lord
To brand new possibilities
You are openin' my eyes
You're openin' my eyes, Lord (my eyes, Lord)
To brand new possibilities
Behold, I am doin' a new thing in the land
It's springin' forth
Do you believe it? (Hey)
You got me on the edge
I am on the edge of my seat
I can feel it rushin' over me
I can feel it rushin' over me
You got me on the edge
I am on the edge of my seat
I can feel it rushin' over me
I can feel it rushin' over me
You got me on the edge
I am on the edge of my seat
I can feel it rushin' over me
I can feel it rushin' over me
You got me on the edge
I am on the edge of my seat
(I can feel it rushin' over me
To brand new possibilities)
You are openin' my eyes
You're openin' my eyes, Lord
To brand new possibilities
You are openin' my eyes
You're openin' my eyes, Lord
In "Edge of My Seat," TobyMac talks about how he thought he had seen and experienced everything there was in life. He admits to being jaded and cold towards the beauty of everyday things around him. But then he changes his mind, saying that his perspective has been opened up to new possibilities. The chorus repeats the words "You got me on the edge / of my seat," which refers to this newfound excitement, energy, and anticipation. TobyMac's joy in this newfound perspective is palpable, and he almost can't contain himself. He feels like he's jumping out of his skin because he's so excited.
In the second verse, TobyMac is overwhelmed with joy, feeling like Christmas came early because he's so happy. There is no need to hurry, relaxing and enjoying life is a possibility now. He acknowledges that no one else will ever do what the Lord has done for him, exemplifying the gratitude shown towards his connection with God. TobyMac realizes that God has his attention, and he's amazed at how much wonder he can experience. Because of God opening his eyes, TobyMac sees that life is full of brand new possibilities that he never thought possible.
Overall, "Edge of My Seat" is a joyful, upbeat song about the excitement of embracing life's possibilities. It's about looking at the world with a fresh and hopeful perspective and being grateful for the many blessings that haven't yet been explored.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, I thought that I had seen most everything
I used to think that I had seen everything there is to see
And if jaded was a people, I'd be the king
I am so jaded that if there was a king of jadedness, that title would be mine
So cold to what a brand new day could bring
I am so indifferent to what a new day could offer
So icy cold to all the wonder that should be movin' me
I am so cold to all the amazing things that could inspire me
Overthinking You, hot like June
I am overthinking all the amazing things that You could bring, and it's making me hot with anticipation like the month of June
I'm jumpin' out my skin just tryin' to catch of a view
I'm so excited that I feel like jumping out of my skin just to catch a glimpse of what's to come
You got me on the edge
You have me on the edge of my seat, waiting with anticipation
Got me on the edge of my seat
I am so excited that I'm literally sitting on the edge of my seat
I can feel it rushin' over me
I can feel the excitement and wonder rushing over me
Lost all my worries, feels like Christmas came early
I am so excited that I have lost all my worries, and it feels like Christmas has come early
Yeah, I can stay here day and night and never feel no hurry
I am so content that I could stay here day and night and never feel in a rush to move on
Needless to mention, Lord, You got my attention
It goes without saying that You have my undivided attention, Lord
My eyes are wide with wonder, feelin' for the soul ascension
I am filled with wonder, and I feel like my soul is ascending to new heights
'Cause no one else is ever gonna do for me
No one else could ever do for me what You do for me
Ever gonna do for me what You'd do for me, yeah
No one could ever do for me what You could do for me
Ain't no one ever gonna steal the mystery You put right in front o' me
No one could take away the mystery that You have placed right in front of me
Right in front o' me, yeah
Right here, in front of me
You are openin' my eyes
You are helping me see things in a new light
You're openin' my eyes, Lord
You are helping me see things in a new light, Lord
To brand new possibilities
To all the new possibilities that are out there
Behold, I am doin' a new thing in the land
Be aware, I am doing something new in this place
It's springin' forth
It's happening right now
Do you believe it? (Hey)
Do you believe in what's happening?
Lyrics © CAPITOL CHRISTIAN MUSIC GROUP, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing
Written by: Bryan Fowler, Toby Mckeehan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind