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
Love Feels Like
TobyMac Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But the fight in me remains
I am weary, I am worn
Like I've never been before
This is harder than I thought
Harder than I thought it'd be
Harder than I thought
Harder than I thought
So much harder than I thought it'd be
But empty's never felt so full
This is what love (this is what love)
This is what love
Feels like
This is what love (this is what love)
This is what love
Feels like
Poured out, used up, still givin'
Stretching me out to the end of my limits
This is what love (this is what love)
This is what real love
Feels like
This is what love feels like poured out
Used up still willin' to fight for it
This is what love feels like
Yeah, this is what it feels like
Like floating confetti
The beautiful gets messy
When the fallout finds the floor
But in the depths of the trenches
Is the richest of riches
Love is calling us to more
This is harder than I thought
Harder than I thought it'd be
Harder than I thought
Takin' every part of me
Harder than I thought
So much harder than I thought it'd be
But empty's never felt so full
This is what love (this is what love)
This is what love
Feels like
This is what love (this is what love)
This is what love
Feels like
Poured out, used up, still givin'
Stretching me out to the end of my limits
This is what love (this is what love)
This is what real love
Feels like
This is what love feels like poured out
Used up still willin' to fight for it
This is what love feels like
Yeah, this is what it feels like
And now these three remain
Faith, hope and love
But the greatest of these is love
It's worth everything you put in
Everything you put in
It's worth everything you put in
Everything you put in
Everything you put in
Everything you put in
It's worth everything you put in
Love
This is what it feels like
Poured out, used up, still givin'
Stretching me out to the end of my limits
This is what love feels like
This is what love (feels like)
This is what love feels like
This is what love (feels like)
This is what love feels like
This is what love (feels like)
This is what love feels like
This is what love (feels like)
This is what love
This is what love (feels like)
Poured out, used up, still givin'
Poured out, used up, still givin'
Poured out, used up, still givin'
Stretching me out to the end of my limits
The lyrics of "Love Feels Like" by TobyMac capture the essence of what true love should look like, and how it can stretch and exhaust us but still leave us feeling fulfilled. The first verse talks about the struggles and weariness we experience while fighting for love, but also acknowledges the strength that keeps us going. The chorus then highlights the paradoxical nature of love - it can be tough, draining, and challenging, yet somehow leave us feeling more fulfilled and satisfied than ever before.
The second verse continues to explore the complexities of love by describing how even the most beautiful aspects of it can be messy, but underneath all the chaos and confusion, there is a hidden richness that calls us to something more. The final verse references the Bible verse 1 Corinthians 13:13, which says, "And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." This ties back to the central message of the song - that love is worth everything we put into it, as it is the most important thing we can give to others.
Overall, "Love Feels Like" is an uplifting and inspiring song that reminds us of the power and value of love, even in the face of struggles and challenges.
Line by Line Meaning
I am tired, I am drained
I am exhausted and depleted
But the fight in me remains
But I still have the energy to keep fighting
I am weary, I am worn
I am tired and beaten down
Like I've never been before
More than I have ever felt
This is harder than I thought
This is much more difficult than I anticipated
Harder than I thought it'd be
Even more difficult than my expectations
Takin' every part of me
It is consuming all of my being
So much harder than I thought it'd be
Infinitely more difficult than my expectations
But empty's never felt so full
Despite feeling empty, I feel fulfilled
Poured out, used up, still givin'
I have given everything I have, but still giving more
Stretching me out to the end of my limits
Pushing me beyond my boundaries
Like floating confetti
Happiness that is freely floating
The beautiful gets messy
Even beautiful things can be chaotic
When the fallout finds the floor
When the consequences of a situation become apparent
But in the depths of the trenches
However, in the midst of difficult times
Is the richest of riches
There is invaluable treasure to be found
Love is calling us to more
Love is urging us to go further
And now these three remain
At this moment, all that is left are these three things
Faith, hope and love
The remaining things are faith, hope, and love
But the greatest of these is love
But the most important one is love
It's worth everything you put in
It is worth every effort put forth
Love
Love
Poured out, used up, still givin'
Giving everything one has, but still giving more
Stretching me out to the end of my limits
Pushing me beyond what I thought I was capable of
This is what love feels like
This is how it feels to be in love
Lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing
Written by: Ben Glover, David Garcia, Toby Mckeehan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@autumnsurvived7
My boyfriend and I saw him live in concert last Valentine's Day in San Diego, CA and that was the first time I ever heard this song. Before that, I lost my grandfather, who raised me since I was a child, to a freak tractor accident where a tree fell onto him and he was with the Lord before he hit the ground off his tractor. Toby talked about how he wrote this song after he lost his father, and I cried during the entire song because evey word hit me like a ton of bricks. On our way home, our truck's front tire blew out and we went spinning out off of the freeway. I saw headlights twice and we were stopped on a cliff, and when I opened my eyes all I could see were the night sky and the stars. We made our way out of the truck and I fell to my knees and cried out to the Lord like never before. I thought of my grandmother, imagining what she would have felt if she had lost me less than 8 months after my grandpa's passing. Hysterical snd in tears, I called her and told her how much I loved her. The Lord had his hands over us that night, and I felt his spirit along with the pain remembering my grandpa and how much it hurts when we lose someone we love the most. You pray for comfort and strength and go on another day. For me, this song is exactly what love feels like.
@therightsupremacist5638
autumnsurvived7 , Sorry about the loss of your grandpa! 😕 God bless!
@COC_KsYouth
Sorry! for your lossing a beloved one! God blessed your heart with His peace of grace♡
@sentimentaljourneyproductions
Beautiful powerful testimony..bless your heart. This is what live feels like for me, too.
@KeilaniCeleste
autumnsurvived7 I lost my son and then my mom but also I grew up without love and God gave me my son to teach and she me what love is!!
@valislucious
A voice like Kevin Max there is no other!!
@bbikermama
Perhaps, but Toby Mac has one of the best shows while still putting God first!
@allisonbarry720
Amen
@geonespetra
The Best
@KeilaniCeleste
Same here but he’s not who everyone thinks he is.