TobyMac is an American Christian hip hop recording artist, author, music producer, and songwriter. He was first known as a member of the Cristian vocal trio DC Talk and later had a successful solo career.
He became only the third Christian artist to debut no.1 in Billboard 200. TobyMac net worth is $10 million USD.
The following article talks about this world-famous singer who has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide and bagged seven Grammy awards under his name.
Table of Contents
Biography and Background
Full Name
Kevin Michael McKeehan is his full name.
Nickname
Kevin Mckeenhan is known as TobyMac or simply Toby to his fans all around the world.
Nationality
He is an American by nationality and was born in Fairfax, Virginia, United States.
Birthday
He was born on October 22, 1964 and currently is 55 years old.
Profession
Toby has been part of multiple professions throughout his life but he is mostly known as a Christian hip hop singer. Apart from this he also worked as a record producer, songwriter and an author.
Zodiac Sign
TobyMac’s Zodiac sign is Libra.
Background
TobyMac was born in Fairfax, Virginia to a traditional Christian family. He grew up surrounded by Christian influences. He developed a love for contemporary music from a young age and started listening to all kinds of music ranging from rap to hip hop to rock genres.
Although Christian hip hop is not as popular as traditional hip hop but somehow his music made a connection with the audience and they accepted it very positively. When he was 13 he went to a Church and got very inspired from the words of the bible. Very few musicians apart from him had mixed biblical words with music.
One of his major musical influences was the singer Sting, whose songs he absolutely fell in love with. And after completing high school he started looking for people with the same music taste and became serious about his music career.
And soon he found someone too, a friend he went to high school with named Michael Tait. Both of them had the same kind of musical interests and hence DC Talk was formed in 1987. Toby never had to look back again from there.
Family Description
Parents
The name of his parents are unknown but it is known that he was born in a traditional Christian family. His father died in 2015 due to dementia after a degenerative phase. This incident inspired him to write few of his songs.
Siblings
The identity of his siblings is also unknown.
Spouse
Toby married his wife Amanda Levy McKeehan in 1994. She was from Jamaica. So Toby had a chance to visit Jamaica very often and got a chance to know about the culture, people and music there.
Children
He has five children. Truett (Also known as Trudog or Tru), Moses, Marlee, Leo and Judah. Amongst them Moses and Marlee are twins. They were adopted. Moses suffers from muscular dystrophy. Toby’s son Truett died in 2019 aged just 21. He was found dead in his home. The reason of death was later identified as an accidental drug overdose of fentanyl and amphetamines.
TobyMac’s Musical Style
He is a Christian hip hop singer. A bit different from traditional hip hop. His music style can be described as catchy, funky, and God-centered. In his older songs, he uses the genres of rap and rock to enhance his music, along with a lot of funk.
Lately, he’s been drifting from that sound into a more radio-friendly “pop” sound. In his songs he usually keeps honoring God, a major reason why people with this kind of music taste loves his songs.
Career Development
His career began in 1987 when he and his high school buddy Michael Trait formed DC Talk. Soon classmate Kevin Max Smith joined them. In 1989 the trio released their debut album titled “DC Talk”. The album was a success. Prior to its success they went on to a nationwide tour, gaining more mainstream attention.
They released their second album titled “Nu Thang” in 1990. This album was more successful than its predecessor and got certified as gold by “Recording Industry Association of America” (RIAA.)
The following two albums “Free to Last” and “Jesus Freak” were certified as platinum and double platinum. All of them became tremendously popular. TobyMac was at the height of success. The group released their last album “Supernatural” before disbanding. They all then went on to pursue solo careers.
Toby’s debut solo album “Momentum” debuted at the top spot on the Billboard Heatseekers chart in 2001. The songs of the album “Extreme Days”, “Get this Party Started” and “Yours” were featured in various films and TV series.
Toby won the “Artist of the Year” award at “Dove Awards” for his 2007 Album “Portable Sounds”. His first live album as a solo artist earned him a Grammy award and a Dove award. The album was called “Alive and Transported” and it was released in 2008.
In 2011, in collaboration with other musicians he released his first Christmas album titled “Christmas in Diverse City”. Toby has written two novels with his DC Talk buddies Kevin Max Smith and Michael Tait. He also appeared in multiple TV shows and his songs were also used by various producers on their shows and movies.
He won the Grammy award in 2009,2013 and 2016 in best contemporary Christian music album and best rock or rap gospel album category.
TobyMac Net Worth
Toby is mainly famous for being a Christian hip hop singer. Apart from this he has also worked as a record producer, songwriter, and an author too. Which helped him to gain a net worth of $10 million. And his immense popularity is helping him to keep increasing this net worth day by day.
Discography
Following is the full list of TobyMac’s discography:
Year | Title |
2001 | Momentum |
2004 | Welcome to Diverse City |
2007 | Portable Sounds |
2010 | Tonight |
2012 | Eye on It |
2015 | This is Not a Test |
2018 | The Elements |
Social Media Presence
Toby has official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. They are given below:
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/tobymac/
Twitter- https://twitter.com/tobymac?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/tobymac/?hl=en
Some Lesser Known Facts About TobyMac
- In 2008, TobyMac helped establish Camp Electric, a Christian youth camp for kids who want to develop their musical skills.
- Toby is amongst the very few artists with the most no 1 singles on Billboard’s Christian Songs chart.
- In 1994, TobyMac joined up with Todd Collins, and Joey Elwood to form the record label Gotee Records.
Final Thoughts
TobyMac is a 56-year-old American Christian hip hop singer and record producer. He has shown that the traditional way is not the only way one can become successful. He has proven that If you do something from the heart and work hard for it you will definitely be successful in life.
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