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
J Train
TobyMac Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I got a ticket to ride
(Gotta a ticket to ride to the other side)
I got a ticket, I got a ticket
I got a ticket to ride
(Gotta ticket to ride to the other side)
Ride ride want to ride on the J-Train
Ride ride want to ride on the J-Train
On the J-Train want to ride on the J-Train
Sit back, relax put on your travelin' gear
No need to doubt so put aside your fear
Destination: out of this atmosphere
It's the J-Train baby, we depart from right here
No lines to fight no ticket to price
I'm rollin' first class 'cause I've seen the light
Try as you may but your money can't buy
A ticket on the J-Line to the other side
Now I missed the Train more than once in my life
Til' the good conductor heard my Momma's cry
Hades to Glory in the blink of an eye
Hear me now, hear me now while I testify
Heard the whistle blow I felt a chill to the bone
All aboard is what I heard it I was headed for home
Had a reclinable seat but I just had to stand
Up on the "J" all the way to the promise land
Do you want to ride say
To the other side say
If you want to ride say
Get on the Freak-Line
The opening verses of TobyMac’s song “J-Train” hint at a spiritual journey. It appears as though TobyMac is equating getting on the “J-Train” with letting go of fear and doubt and trusting in something greater. The “J-Train” is depicted as a traveling vehicle that is taking TobyMac to a better place. He seems to be talking about how he has been saved by the conductor, the power greater than himself, and is now on a journey that is taking him beyond this world. The train is a metaphor for death, and he claims that money can’t buy him a ticket for this ride. It’s a journey that we are all going to take one day, and it can’t be postponed or avoided.
The chorus of the song reveals the uplifting essence of the J-Train. TobyMac wants to ride on the train because he knows it will take him to a brighter future. The J-Train is a symbol of hope, freedom, and faith in something larger than oneself. The verses suggest that the J-Train represents passage from this world to the next, while the chorus implies a journey that one can undertake in the present moment. The J-Train is the transformative power that can change our lives if we allow ourselves to be carried away by it.
Line by Line Meaning
I got a ticket, I got a ticket
Expressing excitement for having a ticket
I got a ticket to ride
Excitement for the journey ahead
(Gotta a ticket to ride to the other side)
The journey is towards the other side, away from the starting point
Ride ride want to ride on the J-Train
Expressing strong desire to ride the J-Train
On the J-Train want to ride on the J-Train
Repetition of the desire to ride the J-Train
Sit back, relax put on your travelin' gear
Instructions for preparing oneself for the journey
No need to doubt so put aside your fear
Encouragement to trust the journey and move past fear
Destination: out of this atmosphere
Destination is beyond the current atmosphere and environment
It's the J-Train baby, we depart from right here
Confirmation of the starting point and mode of transport
No lines to fight no ticket to price
There won't be any struggles for tickets nor ticket prices
I'm rollin' first class 'cause I've seen the light
The singer is confident and at peace because they have a clear vision/understanding
Try as you may but your money can't buy
Money is of no value in obtaining a J-Line ticket
A ticket on the J-Line to the other side
J-Line tickets will grant access to the other side
Now I missed the Train more than once in my life
The singer has missed opportunities in the past
Til' the good conductor heard my Momma's cry
The singer's mother's pleas catalysed help in accessing the J-Line train
Hades to Glory in the blink of an eye
The journey is from Hell to Heaven
Hear me now, hear me now while I testify
A declaration to share personal experience with others as a testimony
Heard the whistle blow I felt a chill to the bone
Confirmation of the train's arrival
All aboard is what I heard it I was headed for home
Confirmation of boarding the train to the desired destination
Had a reclinable seat but I just had to stand
A willingness to sacrifice comfort for a greater purpose
Up on the "J" all the way to the promise land
The J-Line train journey leads to the promised destination
Do you want to ride say
A question to listeners if they want to take the journey
To the other side say
Reference to the destination and confirming the direction of the journey
If you want to ride say
Repetition of the question from earlier
Get on the Freak-Line
Encouragement to physically take the journey
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@DoomChopStick
2 of my favourite Genres in one. Hip-Hop and Praise & Worship, WOOHOO!! TobyMAC, u made my Day!!
@misfit216
saw him do this live and it was AMAZING!!!
@ldutton6623
This is the first time hearing this song... Wild and loving it!
@RockitD
My favorite track on this project! Toby + Kirk is a winner every time!!!
@Sassy10111
Sweet i found it i LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this song!!!!!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3!!
@nlss.9603
I wish some of the radio stations that I listen to would have "Throw Back" to 2009 - 2012. T-Mac's music/songs were so dope and have gotten even better (as he matured). I got a one-way ticket all the way to heaven. I cannot wait to use my ticket!
@traceyfreeman6357
Best cheer ever
@brendaruscigno3006
2020 I thought you knew!
@kateshaw227
The most underrated Toby songs
@BroncoFamily7
I cant wait to get on the J-train I have my ticket in hand and im ready!!!