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
phenomenon
TobyMac Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And it just can't be stopped why'all
[Chorus]
We rock forever, we stop whenever
We rock forever, we stop whenever
We die whenever, we live forever
It's a phenomenon that can't be stopped
Forever, we stop whenever
We die whenever, we live together
It's a phenomenon that can't be stopped now
Everybody out of the way
It's monumental at the end of the day
So come what may
Buts it's a wonder that will never fade
A marvel that will tickle the mind
It's unaccountable in actual time
But when we're free
They'll see that we're destined to be
[Chorus]
Well, I'm alive and I'm enjoyin the ride
But livin for the moment I die
Cause when I'm done, we will run eternally as one
My soul is up, up and away
My body dead right where it lays
I'm movin on going gone into the new beyond
[Chorus]
This is the drama you've been waiting for
A new dimension that is yours to explore
Such a mystery is looming at your door
This is the moment I've been prayin for
[Chorus]
The song ‘Phenomenon’ by TobyMac speaks about the concept of living forever, about a phenomenon that can't be stopped. He opens with “one phenomenon” repeating it several times and then says “it just can’t be stopped, y'all”. This lines suggest that the song speaks about something immense and unstoppable. The chorus says that “we rock forever, we stop whenever”, in other words, living forever and dying whenever is a phenomenon that can't be stopped. It's something that is destined to be. The phrase "we live forever" argues that even though living forever might seem like a curse, they will continue to live forever regardless of what they do.
The song then speaks about living in the moment and also dying that way. But when done, they run eternally as one. This line means that the singer of the song, when finished living in the moment, will transcend into a new dimension where their life will continue, and they will be eternally united with loved ones who have already passed. The concluding lines of the song's chorus say, "It's monumental at the end of the day. So come what may,” which means that this phenomenon is significant, and it's bound to happen no matter what, so it's better to embrace it and enjoy the ride.
Line by Line Meaning
One Phenomenon, One phenomenon
There is only one phenomenon that we are referring to
And it just can't be stopped why'all
This phenomenon is unstoppable
We rock forever, we stop whenever
We keep on going forever and only stop when we want to
We die whenever, we live forever
We will die at some point, but this phenomenon will live on forever
It's a phenomenon that can't be stopped
The phenomenon we are referring to is unstoppable
Forever, we stop whenever
We will keep on going forever, but will only stop when we decide to
Everybody out of the way
We are asking people to move out of the way
It's monumental at the end of the day
This phenomenon is very significant
So come what may
Regardless of what happens
Buts it's a wonder that will never fade
This phenomenon will always remain impressive
A marvel that will tickle the mind
It is astonishing and intriguing
It's unaccountable in actual time
It cannot be explained easily in terms of time
But when we're free
When we are no longer constrained by time or other limitations
They'll see that we're destined to be
People will recognize that we were meant to do this
Well, I'm alive and I'm enjoyin the ride
I am alive and having a good time
But livin for the moment I die
But I am also living in the present and not worrying about my eventual death
Cause when I'm done, we will run eternally as one
After I die, I will be part of this phenomenon forever
My soul is up, up and away
My soul has transcended to another realm
My body dead right where it lays
My physical body is left behind
I'm movin on going gone into the new beyond
I am moving on to a new realm beyond this one
This is the drama you've been waiting for
This phenomenon is the exciting event that people have been anticipating
A new dimension that is yours to explore
This phenomenon is a new experience that people can explore
Such a mystery is looming at your door
This phenomenon is mysterious and intriguing
This is the moment I've been prayin for
This is the moment I have been hoping for
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Capitol CMG Publishing
Written by: PAUL MEANY, TOBY MCKEEHAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind