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
Family
TobyMac Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Broken pieces lying around where it went down
Water rising back to silence, quietly crying
Wondering how and look at us now
We thought our love would take the world by storm
Are we too far apart?
Two worlds among the stars
If you leave
So it's two separate ways
Or am I too late to say?
I wanna fight for what we got
'Cause I believe in family
In family
So are we still trying?
Or simply surviving?
We're facing these giants
The bigger they are, the harder they fall
But I still believe in
They dreams we've been dreaming
The hope that we build on
It's never too far, it's never too far
If we choose to turn and let these walls fall down
Are we too far apart?
Two worlds among the stars
You're gonna take a piece of my heart
If you leave
So it's two separate ways
Or am I too late to say?
I wanna fight for what we got
'Cause I believe in family
In family
In family!
I still believe
I still believe that we're not too far apart
Two worlds among the stars
Don't take a piece of my heart
Please, don't leave
It's not too late to say
Father, show us the way
To fight for what we got 'cause you believe in family
In family
In family
In family
The first stanza in TobyMac's "Family" exposes the aftermath of a relationship. The verses depict the brokenness and chaos that ensues after a romantic relationship is over. The line "Arrows flying into silence" is symbolic of the words spoken during the disorderly discussion. Two parties may "go their separate ways," but the words used still sting and pierce like an arrow. The image portrayed in the following line, "Broken pieces lying around where it went down," visualizes the tangible aspects of what remains after fighting. The relationship is now a fragment of what it used to be, and the couple is left with scraps to pick up.
Line by Line Meaning
Arrows flying into silence
Misunderstandings and arguments leading to a silent and tense atmosphere
Broken pieces lying around where it went down
Evidence of the aftermath of the conflict lying scattered around
Water rising back to silence, quietly crying
A sombre realization of the gravity of the situation
Wondering how and look at us now
In disbelief at how things have come to this
We thought our love would take the world by storm
The initial hope and confidence that their love would conquer all
Are we too far apart?
Fearing that they have drifted too far apart
Two worlds among the stars
Feeling like they come from completely different backgrounds and perspectives
You're gonna take a piece of my heart if you leave
Expressing the emotional trauma and pain that comes with a breakup
So it's two separate ways
Realizing that the relationship has reached a crossroads
Or am I too late to say?
Doubting whether efforts to save the relationship are too late
I wanna fight for what we got
Expressing the desire to put in the effort to save the relationship
'Cause I believe in family
Believing that the relationship is worth fighting for and can be fixed
We're facing these giants
Acknowledging the challenges and obstacles that they are up against
The bigger they are, the harder they fall
Believing that even the most difficult obstacles can be overcome with effort
They dreams we've been dreaming
The hopes and aspirations that they once shared and still can work towards
The hope that we build on
Building on the good aspects of the relationship to overcome the bad
It's never too far, it's never too far
Reassuring that even if the relationship has reached its breaking point, there's always a chance to fix it
If we choose to turn and let these walls fall down
Believing that overcoming the obstacles requires a conscious decision and effort to break down the barriers
Please, don't leave
A heartfelt plea to try and save the relationship
Father, show us the way
Calling upon a higher power to guide and help them through their struggles
In family
The importance of family and relationships in our lives
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing, Spirit Music Group
Written by: CARY RYAN BARLOWE, JAMES L. MOORE, TOBY MCKEEHAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@monicamontelongo4141
Many years ago my husband and I were separating I listened to this song and God gave me the strength to continue fighting for my marriage. God used this song to make me understand, that we have to put aside differences, it is worth fighting for the family. I thank God for this song and for having listened to it, today my husband and I have been married for 22 years !Glory to God!
@loraleiravenwood8175
Thank you for sharing your testimony sister🤗 God bless you both.
@danielcarroll1801
God bless your marriage. Hope you all are still doing well 2 years later. And God bless Toby Mac for bringing you back together. 😊
@vikkna5777
I'm 17, I got pregnant last year and now I have the most beautiful baby girl, she's 4 weeks old ❤ I shut the father out throughout my pregnancy but I let him back in even though we have a lot of issues but we listened to this song and i know God is going to help us work through this so we can be a family for our daughter
@Brainstormer_MC_and_more
Ok why did you get pregnant when you were 17?! That is way too young
@Royal-94
@@Brainstormer_MC_and_more there are things that happen man, we humans make mistakes and our mistakes have consequences
@Brainstormer_MC_and_more
@@Royal-94 if we assume the father is 18+,
And if we assume they weren't married did that would be messed up and father should be keeping the child without any help.
@chanukahsingersforyahuwah7104
Sweetheart Vikkna, I am so proud of you. I pray you have had people to come alongside you along the way. May God bless you richly for choosing keep and enjoy this gift of life, this baby girl, He gave you, who has now blossomed to a 6 year old girl. I hope you and her daddy have formed a good family for her. Blessings
@anaroseabell1622
I'm thirteen years old, and you make me want to listen to Christian music instead of the popular stuff.
@daisyjay549
Same here.