Review: Newsboys, Born Again Preview EP/Rating format

In this post I will discuss how albums will be rated, and do a write up for the the Preview EP of the Newsboys album, Born Again. In this post, words in normal print are part of the review, words in italics are explaining the different sections of the review. In other posts there will not be any text above the cover.
                             
First Thoughts
In this section I will discuss what I am expecting from the album, what I thought of previous releases, what I've heard about the album, Sometimes how I got it, and a few other things. If I have a band bio up for the artist, it will be linked. Another thing, if there is some form of a deluxe edition of an album, I normally buy it. In such cases, I will write a review of the album WITHOUT taking the additional content into consideration, and a review of the deluxe edition will be posted later on, with a link to the review of the normal album. Now on to the review. (I don't have a hard copy of this one, the story is something I put in there because how I got the album is something that I will be putting in this section for the majority of my reviews).

I learned a lesson today, It's not all bad when your mother takes you with her for a day of looking around at garage sales. While she was looking at table cloths, I decied to go through the box of CDs sitting on on of the folding tables. There in the middel of the box was a coppy of the Preview EP for the Newsboys album, Born Again. Even though the album was coming out in a couple of weeks, I shelled out $2.50 for it. Man it would be nice if my local walmart would lighten up and carry CCM (contemporary christian music) CDs...

Rating Breakdown
In this section I will do two things, give a short summery of the album, and talk about wet her or not it met my expectations. I will also have a chart rating each song on a scale of  0 to 5 (displayed with stars), both lyrically, and instrumentally, the rating of the lyrics and the instrumental will be averaged to get the final rating for each song. (even though this blog will center around christian music and I probably won't need to rate anything this way, I intend to make another site about alterative music in general where I may need to rate stuff like this, songs with annoying, awful, or repulsive lyrics or instrumentals will be rated as 1 to 5 axes, 5 axes being the worst rating in the book) I will also rate, the artwork (this includes the front cover, the back cover with the track listing, the disc, any pictures under the disc, and the picture on the inside of the case door), the liner notes(these two things will not be rated if I downloaded the album through iTunes or AmazonMP3) and If the CD is enhanced, I will also rate the enhanced content. To get the album's final rating, I will average the final rating of each song, and the rating of the three things mentioned above.

Well, that was worth buying. It is no master piece, but I would do it again.

A Closer Look at: The Standouts
In this section I will take a closer look at the best (in the Standouts section), and worst songs on the album (in the Standouts... In a bad way section). I will talk about the instrumentals, the lyrics, how the two mesh, what I like about them, what I don't like about them, and on occasion I may talk about how I think the not so great songs could be improved.
Born Again.
Born Again is a song about finding yourself, and finding God at the same time. It's amazing how many people think the can just go alone. Here's a line from the chorus "I didn't want to fall, But I don't have to crawl, I met the one with two scared hands" None of us want to fall, but sometimes we need to, just so we can see that we aren't perfect, and we need help. "Born Again" illustrates this very well, showing that even if we do fall, God is there to help us up.

One Shot
This one was a good idea. This song illustrates that everybody has one chance, one try, one shot, or maybe one life is a better way to say it. One life to decide whether or not we want to be with God, one life to decide if we will live for God even though most other people don't. The lyrics are good, but the instrumental is better. The guitar is in a tone that can get annoying, but it is played in way that sounds really cool.

A Closer Look at: The Standouts... In a Bad Way

I'll Be
This one isn't terrible, but I didn't really like it. They had a good idea with the lyrics, but you know what the say, Presentation is everything. The instrumental is ok, and the lyrics have a good point, but they need to be re-worded, as they are, they just don't click in my head (I also needed something to put in this section since it will be here in every other review).

Further Discussion


Final thoughts
In this section I will say what I think about the album, and give a final rating. Sorry about the junky looking stars.
They did pretty good for this being a preview, I am satisfyed with my purchase, I hope the full album is this good.
Over All:

Band Bio: Newsboys

Newsboys
left to right, Jody Davis, Michael Tait, Peter Furler, Duncan Phillips, Jeff Frankenstein
Background information
Origin	Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia
Genres	Christian pop, pop rock, Christian rock
Years active	1985–present
Website	http://www.newsboys.com/
Members
Jody Davis Duncan Phillips Jeff Frankenstein Michael Tait
Past members
Peter Furler John James George Perdikis Sean Taylor Phil Yates Corey Pryor Jonathan Geange Vernon Bishop Kevin Mills Phil Joel Bryan Oleson Paul Colman

History

1980s

The band was formed in Mooloolaba, Queensland in 1985 by two young men: Peter Furler and his school mate George Perdikis. Two other teens were added soon after: Furler's best friend, John James, and guitarist Sean Taylor. The band's original name was The News, but once in the U.S. they changed it to The Newsboys to avoid conflict with the U.S.-based band Huey Lewis and the News. The band came to the United States in late 1987 after getting signed with Refuge Communications and released the album Read All About It in 1988 in the United States.

1990s

After signing with Star Song Communications, they released two more albums in 1990 and 1991: Hell Is for Wimps and Boys Will Be Boyz. None of the band's first three albums garnered much attention, and the band's lineup changed with every release. It wasn't until their 1992 album, Not Ashamed (containing a cover of the DeGarmo & Key song "Boycott Hell"), that the band gained notice in the Christian music scene. Steve Taylor, a singer-songwriter and producer, began a partnership with the band, producing the band's record and writing most of the lyrics for their songs. Furler remained the band's primary songwriter and beginning with this album began sharing lead vocal duties with James and continued to do so until James' departure.
In 1994, amidst continued lineup changes (which included the addition of mainstays Jody Davis and Duncan Phillips), the band released Going Public, their fifth album and first real success. The record proved to be a watershed for the group, winning a 1995 Dove Award for "Rock Album of the Year".It also produced three No. 1 hits: "Spirit Thing", "Let It Rain", and, most notably, "Shine". "Shine" won the 1995 Dove for "Rock Recorded Song of the Year". In 2006, CCM Magazine listed "Shine" in the top ten in its ranking of the 100 Greatest Songs in Christian music.
The 1996 follow-up album Take Me to Your Leader was recorded with an expanded line up with new additions Phil Joel and Jeff Frankenstein. The album produced more No. 1 hits: "God Is Not a Secret", "Reality", "Breakfast", and the title track. This album also won the group's third Dove, this time for "Recorded Music Packaging of the Year". This album spawned the newsboys only movie Down Under the Big Top (1996), which was based on the song "Reality".
In late 1997, James announced he would be leaving the band because of a drug and alcohol addiction.With his departure, Furler moved from drums to vocals and auditions were held for the now-vacant drum position. Eventually, Duncan Phillips, who had previously played keyboards and percussion for the band moved over to the drum kit. From 1998 to 2003, the band's lineup of Furler, bassist Phil Joel, guitarist Jody Davis, keyboardist Jeff Frankenstein, and Phillips stayed constant.
The first post-James record, Step Up to the Microphone, sold well with the song "Entertaining Angels" winning the 1999 Dove for "Short Form Music Video of the Year".
The band returned in 1999 with Love Liberty Disco, the band's only album to significantly deviate from their pop rock sound. Instead, this particular album featured more of a disco sound. Still, it produced several hits, including "Beautiful Sound" and the title track. The LLD tour was significantly more popular than the album. This tour featured an inflatable arena, called the Air Dome.
In 1999 Furler co-founded Inpop Records with Wes Campbell, as an independent contemporary Christian music record label.

2000s

In 2000, Newsboys headlined the annual, traveling CCM concert, Festival Con Dios, with Audio Adrenaline and The O.C. Supertones. That same year, Newsboys released a greatest hits compilation, Shine: The Hits, which did not include any songs from the Love Liberty Disco album but included four new songs, two of which ("Joy" and "Who") went to No. 1. After this album, the band did not release any new material until the 2002 release of Thrive. Also in 2002, The Newsboys recorded the track "In the Belly of a Whale" for the end credits of the 2002 Veggie Tales movie Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie.
The Newsboys then followed with two praise and worship albums: Adoration: The Worship Album in 2003 and Devotion in 2004. Late in 2003, Davis departed and was replaced by Bryan Oleson on guitar. In 2005, The Newsboys co-authored a book of devotions with Jim Laffoon entitled Our Daily Blog which was published by Inspiro and released on 1 November. In 2006, Oleson left the band in order to focus on his own band Casting Pearls and was replaced by Paul Colman, formerly of Paul Colman Trio.
More radio hits came in 2006 with a live version of "I Am Free" (originally written by Jon Egan of the Desperation Band), and "Wherever We Go". On 31 October 2006, The Newsboys released a pop/rock record entitled GO. GO featured David Eri as a co-writer and the songs "Something Beautiful" and "In Wonder" were big hits on Christian Radio. That December, Joel announced that he would leave the band to pursue his own projects and albums. On 8 May 2007 the band released GO Remixed which was made up of new versions of the songs from GO and featured remixes by Tedd T., Jeff Frankenstein, Max Hsu of Superchick and Lee Bridges.
On 20 November 2007 the Newsboys released their second greatest hits compilation, The Greatest Hits.  This album was followed by Newsboys Live: Houston We Are GO, a CD/DVD combo recording package of a show from the GO Tour, which was released on 30 September 2008. Also in 2008, the band, with Steve Taylor providing vocals, recorded the song "Yo Ho Hero" for The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie

Books

On July 15, 2002, the band released their first book, Shine: Make Them Wonder What You've Got. This book stresses the need for Christians to be unafraid to show their faith, and includes a glow in the dark cover and journaling space. In April 2003, this book was re-released in a Spanish version.
The band co-authored a book with Pastor Jim Lafoon, named Our Daily Blog: Devotions by Pastor Jim Lafoon. This book, released in 2005, contains daily devotions written by Lafoon, with reflections by the band.

Current members

• Duncan Phillips (1993–present) Drums, percussion, formerly keyboards
• Jody Davis (1992–2003, 2009–present) Lead guitar, backing vocals
• Jeff Frankenstein (1994–present) Keyboards, synth bass, backing vocals
• Michael Tait (2009–present) Lead Vocals

Discography

John James era

• Read All About It (1988)
• Hell Is for Wimps (1990)
• Boys Will Be Boyz (1991)
• Not Ashamed (1992)
• Going Public (1994)
• Take Me to Your Leader (1996)

Peter Furler era

• Step Up to the Microphone (1998)
• Love Liberty Disco (1999)
• Thrive (2002)
• Adoration: The Worship Album (2003)
• Devotion (2004)
• Go (2006)
• Go Remixed (2007)
• In the Hands of God (2009)

Michael Tait era

• Born Again (2010)
• God's Not Dead (2011)

Band Bio: Red

Red
Background information
Origin	Nashville, Tennessee, US
Genres	Christian rock, hard rock, heavy metal, post-grunge
Years active	2004 (2004)–present
Website	http://www.redmusiconline.com/
Members
Michael Barnes Anthony Armstrong Randy Armstrong Joe Rickard
Past members
Andrew Hendrix Hayden Lamb Jasen Rauch

Red is an American rock band from Nashville, Tennessee, formed in 2004. The band's lineup consists of singer Michael Barnes, guitarist Anthony Armstrong, bassist Randy Armstrong and drummer Joe Rickard. They are known for their Christian rock music which incorporates other sounds such as alternative rock, hard rock, heavy metal and post-grunge. Jasen Rauch and Andrew Hendrix were the rhythm guitarist and drummer, respectively, at the time of the band's formation. Hendrix was replaced by Hayden Lamb in 2006, who was then replaced by Rickard. Rauch left the band in 2009.
To date, Red has released three studio albums: End of Silence (2006), Innocence & Instinct (2009), and Until We Have Faces (2011). The first two albums earned the group Grammy Award Nominations for Best Rock Gospel Album.

History

Early years (2004–2005)

Red was formed by twin brothers, guitarist Anthony and bassist Randy Armstrong, lead vocalist Michael Barnes, drummer Andrew Hendrix, and guitarist Jasen Rauch. According to the End of Silence album booklet, Rauch is the band's primary composer. Enlisting the talents of Grammy-nominated and Dove award-winning rock producer, Rob Graves, Red signed a development contract with Graves' independent production company. After recording several demo songs, the band was quickly signed by Sony BMG imprint, Essential Records. Hendrix parted ways with the band and after an extended search, the band chose Hayden Lamb (twin brother of former Paramore guitarist, Hunter Lamb) as his replacement on drums. As a result of his successful early work with Red, Graves was chosen to produce the band's debut album End of Silence.
When asked if they are a "Christian band," Anthony Armstrong states, "We always like to call ourselves a Christian band because that’s what we are. If they ask us if we’re a Christian band, we tell them yes. And if they ask us why, we tell them why."
In an interview on Always Acoustic, Jasen Rauch talks about the meaning of the band name, Red. He states that redemption has been used but says that it's not short for anything, it's just Red. He gives credit to Hendrix for the name.
The band is well known for their fiery and energetic live shows, performing an impressive 2000+ concerts since End of Silence was released. They have sold more than 700,000 copies of End of Silence and Innocence & Instinct combined.
Red occasionally offers Acoustic Experience tickets, in which fans are allowed an opportunity to hang out with the band aboard the tour bus with them and hear an acoustic song before the main show.

End of Silence (2006–2008)

The band's debut album End of Silence was released in 2006, and was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Rock Gospel Album at the 49th Grammy Awards.
The album's first single, "Breathe Into Me," peaked at No. 15 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart and won the "Rock Recorded Song of the Year" award at the 38th annual GMA Dove Awards in 2007. The music video is set to photographs in a film lab, where the band plays. "Breathe Into Me" also broke the top ten on Active Rock charts.
On November 27, 2007, Red's van and trailer crashed on Interstate 24. There was major damage to the vehicles involved, and former drummer Hayden Lamb suffered injuries to his shoulder that forced him to sit out on their headlining tour.

Red was voted for the best rock recorded song “Lost” at the 40th Annual GMA Dove Awards.
The song "Let Go" was featured in the Activision video game Baja 1000. The song "Pieces" was featured in the trailer for The Blind Side.

Innocence & Instinct (2008–2010)

The band's second album, Innocence & Instinct, was released on February 10, 2009 and debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at No. 15 selling 39,000 copies in its first week. The album peaked higher on the charts than the band's previous album and has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics. The album also peaked at No. 5 in its first week of release on iTunes overall top albums chart. The album features 10 songs, including the first rock radio single, "Death of Me". The Deluxe Edition was released the same day, featuring 4 additional tracks: Including "Forever", the "Death of Me" music video, photo gallery and a behind-the-scenes "Making of Innocence & Instinct" video documentary. The track "Shadows" was co-written by Breaking Benjamin guitarist/vocalist Ben Burnley.
Red made Radio & Records history as the first band in Christian rock history to have a song debut at No. 1 when the band's single "Fight Inside" was released in November 2008.
For the album, an alternate reality game was orchestrated by the band members. Red fans went through hidden web pages and passwords until around the time the album itself was released, when the final page was revealed, which contained a video message from the band itself, nine "treasures" (including posters, videos, and an unreleased track), and a message telling the puzzle participants not to post the contents on the internet or share them.
The album was inspired by a car crash involving the band where their van and trailer of gear were rolled over on a highway. Lamb was injured in the crash, leading to his departure from the band. Lamb was replaced with Joe Rickard; a friend and drum tech of Lamb's who was looking for another band to play in after leaving his previous group The Wedding. Rickard was only a touring and studio drummer up to this point in his career with Red, but was recently made an official member of the band.
The meaning behind Red's video, "Death of Me", is explained by Randy in an interview with NewReleaseTuesday.com: "We used (the) twins (and a double of vocalist Michael Barnes) to symbolize two opposing forces in the video, 'Death of Me.' In it, we see the positive side of things being chased by the negative side of things, and in the end there’s a battle. The battle doesn’t seem to resolve itself in the video. That’s because we will face struggles in our lives, even though we do find resolve in certain situations."
Red unveiled their new site on September 24 which they will now use as their main hub in connecting with the fans. Coinciding with the release of their new site, Red released the music video for their new single, "Forever", which was made using clips from their tour much like the video for "Let Go." Soon after the band announced in a podcast on Kyte.com that Joe is a member of Red and Hayden will not be returning due to the injuries sustained from the car crash. Red also announced soon after that Jasen Rauch will not be a touring member of the band anymore due to needing to spend more time with his family. Rauch will still be part of Red and will continue to write for Red as well. There will be no replacement.
The band embarked on tour with Saving Abel, Pop Evil, and Taddy Porter on the Class of 2009 Tour. On their website the band announced that they will be touring with Pillar and The Wedding on their new tour "Nothing and Everything" Tour which started in January 2010. In March the band toured with Breaking Benjamin, Thousand Foot Krutch and Chevelle.
The band has announced an April and May tour with Skillet and The Letter Black which will be called the Awake and Alive Tour part two; a continuation of Skillet's headlining 2009 tour.
Red won "Rock Album Of The Year" for Innocence & Instinct at the 2010 Dove Awards. Their music video for Ordinary World came out on July 6, 2010 on iTunes. They are scheduled to open up a few dates of Creed's 2010 summer tour. They are also scheduled to headline a few dates with 12 Stones starting July 13. Red recently announced their second leg part of their Nothing and Everything Tour featuring Disciple, Brian Welch, and Silverline. The tour is mainly going to be in the west coast, starting October 28.

Until We Have Faces (2010–present)

Until We Have Faces was released February 1, 2011. The band released a teaser video on Facebook via YouTube which featured the band name on a sheet of parchment, which burned away, revealing the album title. Vocalist Michael Barnes stated on his Facebook page that the new album will be produced by Rob Graves, who also produced the first two albums. A picture was recently posted on producer Rob Graves's Twitter account showing three guitars with tape on them showing tunings of A#, A, and G#, which hints that this record may be heavier than the previous two. Also, videos are displayed from the making of the record on Red's Youtube, Facebook, and website. Christian Book Distributors released a partial track listing on their official website. As part of the preliminary hype for the album, Red asked fans to send photos of their faces to the band. On December 9, codes were given to all fans that sent in pictures of their faces to download an MP3 for the song "Feed the Machine". On January 6, the new Red website has been unveiled. The fan photos were used to create a mosaic poster. Red appeared on Conan O'Brien on February 8, 2011, as their first ever live television performance and appeared on The Tonight Show on February 16, 2011. The album also debuted at No. 2 on the billboard list. "Feed the Machine" started to be added to Active Rock Radio stations in mid-February. Until We Have Faces has sold more than 100,000 copies. "Start Again" won the award for Best Rock Recorded Song of the Year at the 2011 GMA Dove Awards.

Red was a part of the 2011 WinterJam lineup which started up in January. They joined Union Entertainment label-mates Hinder on their All American Nightmare Tour which kicked off on May 10, 2011. On June 5, 2011 they started their Kill Th3 Machin3 Tour with Oh No Fiasco, Taddy Porter, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and Evans Blue. In September 2011 they went on the "Rock Allegiance Tour" with Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Puddle of Mudd, P.O.D., Crossfade and Drive A. They hit the road immediately after this to start their second leg of the Kill Th3 Machin3 Tour, with Brian "Head" Welch, Echoes the Fall and Icon for Hire. The tour ended in Atlanta, Georgia on October 26. RED is finishing the WinterJam 2011 WEST COAST in November and will participate in Christmas Rock Night. Red was also the first band to ever enter Loudwire's Cage Match Hall of Fame, beating bands like Skillet, Seether, and Nickelback.
In February and March 2012 they will be on "The Redvolution" tour with Thousand Foot Krutch, Manafest, Nine Lashes, and Kiros. Red announced a European Tour in April 2012.

Band members

• Michael Barnes – lead vocals (2004–present)
• Anthony Armstrong – guitar, backing vocals (2004-2009); lead guitar, backing vocals (2009–present)
• Randy Armstrong – bass, piano, backing vocals (2004–present)
• Joe Rickard – drums, percussion (2009–present)

Former members

• Andrew Hendrix – drums, percussion, rhythm guitar (2004–2006)
• Hayden Lamb – drums, percussion (2006–2008)
• Jasen Rauch – guitar (2004–2009)

Band Bio: Coffey Anderson

Coffey Anderson
Birth name	Coffey Anderson
Origin	Bangs, Texas, United States
Genres	Pop, R&B, Soul Country, Gospel
Years active	2002–present
Website	icoffy.com

Coffey Anderson is an American singer-songwriter originally from Bangs, Texas. His unique brand of country music blends in distinct influences from pop, contemporary Christian, gospel and soul that has attracted many. He came to fame through his You Tube videos and in 2008 took part in Nashville Star. He has released four albums: Southern Man, Me and You and the spiritual Christian albums Inspiration Vol. 1 and Worship Unplugged 1. He also has his own indie label Coffey Entertainment. A new album, the self titled Coffey Anderson was released on 28 September 2010 on Coffey Entertainment / Dream Records / Universal and entered the Billboard 200 at #134. In 2012, Anderson is unsigned now and working all over the world touring, recording in Los Angeles, CA, and still putting out records for hundreds of thousands of fans worldwide.

Career

Coffey Anderson is a graduate of Howard Payne University (HPU) where he played college basketball with HPU's Yellow Jackets. Coffey walked away from his first love, basketball, to focus on his music. After graduating in 2002, he moved to Los Angeles, California opting for a musical career and started composing his own material. Anderson became famous for his You Tube videos where he received wide following through lively renditions of original and cover materials. singing pop, country and Christian spiritual songs. He is very well known for his lively presentations addressing the watching public and explaining the guitar chords on his viral video segments on YouTube. Some of the most popular renditions include his compositions "Memphis", "Southern Man" "Rock and Roll Sally", "Can I?" and "Better Today". He has also resorted to Direct-to-Fan networks in the music community, launching his "Direct-to-Fan Live Sessions". He was briefly a contestant on season 2 of American Idol in 2003, making it to the Hollywood round. Anderson was also one of the 12 finalists on Nashville Star (season 6), broadcast nationally on NBC and repeats on American and Canadian CMT networks and a companion radio show entitled Nashville Star Radio featuring the week's performances from the television show, as well as exclusive in-studio performances and interviews with the finalists and judges.Coffey Anderson placed 4th overall. In addition to cover renditions, Anderson sang from his own compositions including "Southern Man" from the CD of the same title, and "Rock'n'Roll Sally."
Anderson has performed live more than 150 times in less than one-and-a-half years. On April 30, 2010, Coffey signed a record deal with Los Angeles label Dream Records. His self-titled album Coffey Anderson released on September 28, 2010 is his first charting album on the US Billboard 200 albums chart. The first single from the album is "You Are All I'm After" with an accompanying music video. He has followed it up with two new singles, "Seek Your Face" and "Sunshine".
In March of 2012, Anderson is independent, living in LA, working on a new pop singer songwriter album, and looking for a great record company to partner with.

Personal life

Coffey Anderson has a bachelor degree in Ministry from Howard Payne University (HPU). He also played basketball as a second class All American for the HPU Yellow Jackets team in Brownwood, Texas for period 1999-2002. As a basketball player, he had already been chosen All-State, All-West Texas Super Team and All-Area teams for two seasons along with being named District MVP for his junior and senior seasons before joining the Yellow Jackets.
He is married to hip-hop dancer Criscilla Crossland. He has one daughter, Savannah Jean, from a previous marriage and a son, Ethan Coffey-David, with his second wife, Criscilla Crossland Anderson.

Band Bio: Lecrae

Lecrae
Background information
Birth name	Lecrae Moore
Genres	Hip hop, Christian hip hop, Christian rap
Years active	2004–present
Website	http://www.lecrae.net/

Biography

Born and raised by his single mother in Southern Houston, Texas, Lecrae moved often early in life, living in San Diego, Denver, and Dallas. He started rapping as a musical outlet to help him convey his feelings. He didn't become a Christian until after he had graduated from high school.Lecrae gives credit to a man named James White for giving him "the clearest Gospel presentation I've ever heard" at the Impact 98 conference in Atlanta, Georgia. At that conference, Lecrae realized that he "was in need," "empty" and that he "needed Jesus." At the age of 19, Lecrae became a Christian and went back to his college, the University of North Texas, with a printed version of his testimony to pass out on campus. From there, he teamed up with fellow Christian rap artist Trip Lee to start Reach Records. At the age of 25, Lecrae released his first album, Real Talk.
Lecrae co-founded ReachLife Ministries in 2005 to help reform urban culture. The non-profit organization exists to help equip local Christian leaders with tools and media projects that are culturally relevant and based on the teachings of the Bible.
Lecrae currently resides in Atlanta, GA with his wife and children.

Releases

Real Talk (2004–2005)

Real Talk was Lecrae's first studio album. It reached #29 on the Billboard 'Gospel Albums' chart, and was on the chart for 12 weeks.

After the Music Stops (2006–2007)

After the success of Real Talk, Lecrae released his second studio album on August 15, 2006. After the Music Stops charted at No. 5 On the Billboard 'Gospel Albums' chart, No. 7 on the Billboard 'Christian Albums' chart and No. 16 on the Billboard 'Heatseeker Album' charts. The album was nominated for a Dove Award, as was the single "Jesus Muzik".

Rebel (2008–2009)

On October 8, 2008, Lecrae's third album, Rebel, entered the Billboard charts at No. 60 with 9,800 units sold. It also reached No. 2 on the iTunes' Rap/Hip Hop section, and topped the Billboard 'Christian Album' charts for two weeks, the first Christian rap album to do so. The album gained some of the highest praise for Christian rap yet. CCM website Jesus Freak Hideout said, "Musically, it's easily as good as (if not better than) anything you will hear on mainstream rap stations. Lyrically, there's no comparison. Lecrae's message is better, and better for you." The album maintained a 78-week run on the Billboard 'Gospel Albums' chart. It has sold more than 125,000 copies.

Far Away and Rehab (2010)

On February 5, 2010, a new single was released called "Far Away". The song is a tribute to the victims of the devastating 2010 Haiti earthquake, and Lecrae has promised that all proceeds from the single's sales will go directly to the Haiti relief effort. A music video was released for the song on February 10, 2010. The single peaked at No. 32 on the iTunes 'Hip Hop Singles' chart, the first Christian hip hop song to do so. In January 2010, Lecrae confirmed that he was working on a new album that would be due out September 28, 2010. On July 7, in a blog post on the Reach Records website, Lecrae announced that the title of his new album would be Rehab. On August 5, 2010, a new song from Lecrae called "Amp It Up" was released on Rapzilla.com. Lecrae would clarify on his Twitter account that the song was not a single off of Rehab, but rather a theme song that he wrote for Camp Kanakuk, which he now writes theme songs for annually. On August 31, 2010, the tracklist for Rehab was revealed, the album became available for preorder, and a promotional video for the album called "Idols" was released. The second promotional video, entitled "I Am Dust", was released on September 9, 2010. Rehab debuted at No. 16 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it one of the highest selling Christian Rap/Hip Hop albums of all time.

Rehab: The Overdose (2011)

On September 22, 2010, Rapzilla.com reported that the Rehab packaging came with an advertisement encouraging buyers to purchase another upcoming album, Rehab: The Overdose, which was released on January 11, 2011. It included 11 new songs, which featured several other Christian artists such as Thi'sl and Swoope. The album was released as planned, peaking at No. 1 on iTunes and No. 1 on the Hip-Hop and Christian Hip-Hop chart, before settling at the No. 4 position through its debut week.
On August 29, 2011, on his Twitter account, Lecrae officially set September 27, 2011 as the release date for the deluxe edition of Rehab, entitled Rehab: Deluxe Edition, which included five new songs and extensive DVD coverage. This was also the date on which the collaborative group, 116 Clique, of which Lecrae is a member, would release their fourth album, entitled Man Up.
On September 7, 2011, Rapzilla.com announced that Lecrae would be featured on BET's Hip Hop Awards Cypher on October 11, 2011. Lecrae gained popularity after his verse on the cypher, and trended nationwide on Twitter. He also was featured on AllHipHop.com due to the verse.^[ Lecrae was the first Christian Hip Hop artist to perform on any BET cypher.
On October 24, 2011, Lecrae was featured on Statik Selektah's song "Live and Let Live", from his Population Control album.

Church Clothes & Gravity (2012)

On February 16, 2012, Rapzilla.com announced that Lecrae was preparing to release his first mixtape, Church Clothes, which was released on May 10 and was hosted by Don Cannon. The mixtape was downloaded more than 100,000 times in less than 48 hours on DatPiff.com.
On April 27, Lecrae announced that his new album would be titled Gravity, and that it'd be coming out in fall 2012.

Discography

Albums

• 2005: Real Talk
• 2006: After the Music Stops
• 2008: Rebel
• 2010: Rehab
• 2011: Rehab: The Overdose

Band Bio: Audio Adrenaline

Audio Adrenaline
original members
Background information
Origin	Grayson, Kentucky
Genres	Christian rock, alternative rock
Years active	1989–2007
Website	http://www.audioa.com/
Members
Mark Stuart Will McGinniss Tyler Burkum Ben Cissell Brian Whitman
Past members
Bob Herdman Barry Blair David Stuart Phil Vaughan Jonathan Schneck Ron Gibson

Audio Adrenaline was a Christian rock band that formed in the late 1980s at Kentucky Christian University in Grayson, Kentucky. During the band's 17-year existence, they were awarded two Grammy awards, multiple Dove Awards and they released 17 number one singles. They were regular performers at the annual Creation Festival, Spirit West Coast festival and Agape Music Festival. Audio Adrenaline also performed at the Alive Festival every year up to their last performance in June 2006.

History

Audio Adrenaline, along with other Christian music acts like dc Talk and Newsboys, helped fuel a revolution in the "alternative" Christian music genre. This was started by bands like Under Midnight, Mortal, Circle of Dust and the indie labels Blonde Vinyl, Frontline/Myx, Tooth & Nail, and 5 Minute Walk.
Over the course of the band's career, several other Christian artists were influenced by Audio Adrenaline. These bands include MercyMe, Sanctus Real, and Hawk Nelson. Interviews with these bands are available at the Audio Adrenaline website.

Early history

The band was formed in 1986 under the name of A-180 by Mark Stuart, Barry Blair, Will McGinniss, David Stuart, and Phil Vaughan, who all attended Kentucky Christian University. The next year, the band temporarily disbanded when Mark went to Haiti for a semester. Upon Mark's return to Kentucky, the band reformed with Ron Gibson on drums. They became a popular local band, booked by the school nearly every weekend; traveling as far west as Texas, north to Chicago, south to Florida. The band did over 100 shows during this time and recorded two independent releases under the name A-180. The first was You Turn in 1989 and Reaper's Train in 1990. Reaper's Train featured the original version of the song "DC-10", also found on the first Audio Adrenaline release.
The band's big break would come in the form of Bob Herdman. Herdman approached A-180 with two songs he had written, one of them called "My God", and asked A-180 to record it. After "My God" was recorded at Landmark Recording Studio, Ohio, A-180 asked Herdman to join them as their songwriter. The demo tape was sent to radio stations and scaled the charts quickly. The song caught the attention of Toby McKeehan (from dc Talk), who brought it to the executives at ForeFront Records. The label decided to offer a record deal to A-180 but had them change their name to "Audio Adrenaline". The name Audio Adrenaline comes from an incident in which Bob Herdman had been listening to some loud and fast music; he was so enthralled by it that he apparently exclaimed "This is like... audio adrenaline!" while jumping wildly.
Late in 1991, David Stuart left the band to focus more on his family. Ron Gibson also left in December 1991 as he claimed Forefront Records was guiding the band into hip-hop and away from the band's rock roots, as evident in the band's first release.

1990s

After signing their deal with Forefront, the band started writing and recording songs similar to "My God". Their first album under Forefront, the self-titled Audio Adrenaline, was released in 1992. It included "DC-10", the only track from the original A-180 recordings. The album was well received selling 75,000 copies. The follow-up album, Don't Censor Me, came the next year and featured what is considered the biggest hit of the band, and arguably one of the biggest hits in Christian music history – "Big House". The album sold 250,000 copies and launched the band into stardom. The album also includes the song "We're a Band", which remained one of their live staples until their retirement. After that, they released a live album titled Live Bootleg.
In 1996, their third album, Bloom, was released. The album featured the band returning to their original rock roots, as opposed to their experiments with rap music. The album was a huge hit becoming the only album of the band to be certified gold by RIAA in 1999. It also marked guitarist Barry Blair's final album, who decided to become a music producer. Blair still contributed to a song from their next album.
With Blair gone, Audio Adrenaline needed a new guitarist. They found a temporary fill in Brian McSweeney (from Seven Day Jesus), but he decided to stay with his fulltime act. They then turned the guitars over to Tyler Burkum, who joined the band at only 17 years of age, just in time to record some guitars on the band's next album, Some Kind of Zombie. The album, released in 1997, was also the first to feature Ben Cissell as the band's full-time drummer, though Cissell had played percussion on their previous album. In 1999, the band released Underdog, its fifth studio album. The band also opened for dc Talk on the "Jesus Freak World Tour".

2000s

After a short break, Audio Adrenaline released their first greatest hits compilation, Hit Parade, in March 2001. Among Audio Adrenaline's most notable performances are three of their most popular songs, "Big House", "Hands and Feet", and the live staple "We're A Band", as well as a duet with The O.C. Supertones, "Blitz", from the album Some Kind of Zombie. It was at this time that Bob Herdman left the band to become president of a new record label, Flicker Records, which he co-founded along with Stuart and McGinniss.
In November 2001, the band released a new studio album, Lift. Several critics have classified it as the best from the band. This album also marked the first time that guitarist Tyler Burkum shared lead vocals with Mark Stuart. They followed it with their ninth album, Worldwide, released in 2003. Worldwide went on to win a Grammy Award for Best Rock Gospel Album in 2004, the first of two Grammys for the band. In 2004, the band, along with former member Bob Herdman, founded a project in Haiti called the Hands and Feet Project, in which the band built an orphanage for children.
The band's tenth album, Until My Heart Caves In, was released on August 30, 2005. The album featured most of the lead vocals by Tyler Burkum, with only a few sung by Stuart. Until My Heart Caves In received another Grammy Award for Best Rock Gospel Album in 2006. "Clap Your Hands" was also played on ESPN with football game highlights.
On January 18, 2006, Audio Adrenaline announced that they were retiring from active music ministry. The band cited Mark Stuart's "ongoing vocal challenges" stemming from vocal cord damage as the primary factor. On July 27, 2006, the band played at the popular Christian music Creation Festival for the last time. They had performed there every year since they had begun as a band. On August 1, 2006, they released their final compilation album, Adios, a farewell album containing two new tracks as well as more of the band's greatest hits.
For their final national tour in February until April 2007, Audio Adrenaline opened for MercyMe on the "Coming Up To Breathe Tour". The band performed their last live concert on April 28, 2007, at the Waikiki Shell in Honolulu, Hawaii. Their final project, which was released on August 28, 2007, is a live CD–DVD combo entitled Live From Hawaii: The Farewell Concert. The album earned two nominations at the 39th GMA Dove Awards, winning Long Form Music Video of the Year.

Reunions

On March 21, 2008, Australian festival Easterfest announced that Audio Adrenaline would be getting back together for a world exclusive concert at Easterfest '09 in Queens Park, Toowoomba.
On February 21, 2012 Mark Stuart mentioned a possible Audio Adrenaline reunion on his and on the new Audio Adrenaline Facebook pages.

Band members

• Mark Stuart — vocals, guitar (1989–2007, founding member)
• Will McGinniss — vocals, bass guitar (1989–2007, founding member)
• Dave Stuart — keyboards, vocals (1986, 1991, founding member)
• Ron Gibson — drums (1988–1991)
• Bob Herdman — keyboard, guitar (1991–2001, founding member)
• Barry Blair — guitar, vocals (1989–1996, founding member)
• Ben Cissell — drums (1995–2007)
• Tyler Burkum — guitar, vocals, keyboard (1997–2007)

Band Bio: KJ-52

KJ-52
Background information
Genres	Christian hip hop, Christian Rap
Years active	1993–present
Website	http://www.kj52.com/

KJ-52 is a Christian rapper from Tampa, Florida. The "KJ" part of his name refers to his old rap alias, "King J. Mac," a name which he later described in one of his podcasts as "horribly cheesy." "52", which is pronounced "five two", not "fifty-two", is a reference to the Biblical story of Jesus feeding the multitude with five loaves and two fish, which is also sung about in his song "Push Up" from The Yearbook and in the "KJ Five Two" on It's Pronounced 'Five Two'. He was awarded the Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song of the Year for "Never Look Away" and Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year at the GMA Dove Awards of 2007. On July 28, 2009, KJ-52 released "End of My Rope", which is the first single for his album Five-Two Television. His song "Dear Slim" is based on Eminem's song "Stan" and is a sort of personal message from KJ-52 to Eminem.

Works

In 2002, Sorrentino released his second album, Collaborations. The album's title referred to the numerous contributions made to the album by guest artists, including Ill Harmonics, Pillar, John Reuben and Thousand Foot Krutch. Collaborations also represented his first nomination for a Dove Award for "Rap/Hip Hop/Dance Album of the Year" in 2003.
KJ-52 has won four Dove Awards, three in the "Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year" category. He took the 2004 award for It’s Pronounced Five Two, the 2006 award for Behind the Musik (A Boy Named Jonah), and the 2007 award for Remixed. He received an additional honor in 2007, for "Never Look Away" from Behind the Musik, in the "Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song" category. KJ never tried out for American Idol, but suggested such in his song "Fivetweezy".
On October 2008, he released his album, The Yearbook: The Missing Pages, a re-release of his album, The Yearbook. It comes with the original record with a slip over cover that has a code to download the 13 songs.
2009 Dove Awards Another productive year for KJ-52 as he was awarded with "Rap/Hip Hop Song of the Year" for “Do Yo Thang”; The Yearbook; KJ-52; Jonah Sorrentino; BEC Recordings/Uprok
In 2009, he released "Five-Two Television", and album covering a variety of themes and rap styles. It is his first album in which autotune is used, a controversial step among his fans. The album brings us the (fictitious) story of Chris Carlino, a man who has ruined his life, through a series of interludes. As usual for KJ-52, the album includes both songs with a strong Christian message and songs that are meant only to entertain.
KJ-52's song "You're Gonna Make It" appeared at the end of Cold Case Season 5 Episode 8 "It Takes a village".
KJ-52 also rapped in the Newsboys version of "Jesus Freak".
KJ-52 also rapped in the tobyMac remix of the song "One World" on the album Hip-Hope which also includes the KJ-52 remixed song "What You Want".
KJ-52 released Dangerous on April 3, 2012. It mixes hip hop album with quite a bit of synth, and has some pop-electric. The first released single, "Dangerous", is more light rock-pop. The second single is called "Shake Em Up", but is commonly spelled "Shakem Up^" It features guest artists such as Canton Jones on "It's Goin Down", Lecrae on "They Like Me", This'l on "Shake Em Up", George Moss on "Do the Bill Cosby", and more.

Discography

• Insightful Comprehentions (1997)
• 7th Avenue (2000)
• Collaborations (2002)
• It's Pronounced Five Two (2003)
• Soul Purpose (with T.C. aka Todd Collins) (2004)
• Behind the Musik (A Boy Named Jonah) (2005)
• KJ-52 Remixed (2006)
• The Yearbook (2007)
• Five-Two Television (2009)
• Dangerous (2012)

Band Bio: This Hope

Almost anything can happen during a live performance. Nothing illustrates this better than the time when a fly landed on Dave's nose at the same moment he was supposed to step forward to sing his solo in "Criminal on the Cross"! While Dave went cross-eyed, staring at the big black bug on the end of his nose, the rest of us held our breath and just stared at him in disbelief. Needless to say, the song crashed and burned. You might be surprised to find out how often little complications like that really make life interesting. As you read this, please keep in mind that most of the stories in this "history" are still a little bit embarrassing to some of us! (We trust that you'll guard this information with the strictest of confidence.)

Our group began in the small town of Soldotna, which is located about three hours from Anchorage, in Southcentral Alaska. Most of us grew up in the same church, and we all spent a lot of time together. Daniel and Mikah were attending the Soldotna Bible Chapel when Dan, Dave, and Tim Inabnit moved up from Montana with their family. Ted Inabnit filled the Chapel's vacant pulpit and pastored the church for many years. Later on, Daniel and Tim met Jeane in the high school choir, and the foundation for the group was complete. Before we go on, we have to tell you that we are all related! Here's how this works: Dave Inabnit married Daniel Johnston's sister, Carrie. Then, Daniel Johnston married Shelby, who is Jeane Bope's sister. Also, remember that Dave and Tim are brothers. Now to make this even easier to understand, we like to say that Jeane is Tim's brother's brother-in-law's brother in law! The funny thing is that all those relationships began before the group even formed.

In the early days, different combinations of us sang special music at our home church and at other churches in the area. Eventually, there was enough local interest in our group for us to schedule an entire summer of church services in Alaska. Now, every good musical group needs to have wheels! Our first "This Hope Mobile" was an old blue and white suburban that was donated to us by Pastor Ted. One weekend we were scheduled to sing at a wedding in Soldotna on Saturday night and a church in Anchorage on Sunday. The wedding went well, and we left very early on Sunday morning for Anchorage. Dave was driving while everyone else slept in the back. As he turned a corner, the entire right front wheel came off the axle and rolled in front of our "land yacht" and right off a cliff into oblivion. The friction of the axle grinding against the pavement quickly brought the "blue goose" to a screeching halt. By this time, we were all very awake, and everybody got out to check for damages. Fortunately for us, the Best Man from the previous night's wedding was passing by on his way back to Anchorage in a rented minivan. He saw us all hovering on the side of the road, and remembered our stellar performance from the night before, so he offered to help us out. We piled our sound equipment in the back of the van, and away we went. Back then, our sound equipment consisted of Tim's car speakers and Dan's computer speakers! We used the car speakers for the mains and the computer speakers for our monitors. (The whole sound system was powered by a little gerbil, chasing after his lunch on a circular gerbil treadmill thingy that we would set up in the baptistry!)

To complement a good set of wheels and a high powered sound system, any musical group has to have a great name. For that first summer in Alaska, we called ourselves "The Watchmen". Unfortunately, we later found out that we were not the first group to think highly of that name, and we were forced to begin the search for another more unique, but equally meaningful moniker. The task seemed easy enough, but when you put our entire group on a simple project like this, the complexity increases exponentially. We searched for quite some time, and racked our brains for an interesting name that had some degree of spiritual substance. At times we even tried brainstorming sessions where we would all start writing down the first thought that came to mind. This technique generated pages and pages of hopeless possibilities. (Yes, we still have those pages!) To give you an idea of what we came up with, we've decided to include a list of our Best and Worst New Group Names. Take into consideration that some of these were generated in the wee hours of the morning!

• This Hope
• One Intent
• Legacy
• Safe Harbor
• Northern Lights
• Way Station
• Strong Hold
• Awake
• Perfect Fifth
• Just a Glimpse

• Five Guys in Bad Pants (obviously)
• Only (you...can make my dreams come true)
• Five Smooth Stones (how smooth is 'smooth'?)
• In View of Eternity (a short theological essay)
• Niacea (as in the creed???)
• Remind (...me not to pick this one!)
• Next Exit (acoustic jazz trio?)
• For Reservation (...call our toll-free # at...)
• With That in Mind (...let's move on to some more likely candidates!)

After all our cerebral effort, the Lord brought someone's attention to a refrigerator magnet that read: "Hebrews 6:19: We have 'this hope' as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure..." Go figure?! Although we all like the name, it does generate some confusion for people who aren't familiar with our group. Pastors are not excluded from this group of people. We know this because we have been introduced in several creative ways. For example: "New Hope", or "The Hope Group", and sometimes "The New Hope Gospel Singers", and every once in a while "Jeane Bope and his quartet."

In June of 1996, after a year of prayer and planning, we felt that God was leading us to take the step to full-time ministry. We reached a point where the stress of regular jobs, group recording sessions after work, and weekend church services weighed too heavily on our young families. We stayed in Alaska for a year, and took several tours to the "lower 48" states. During this time, we felt that God was calling us to relocate our ministry somewhere outside of Alaska. So we began searching for an area that might be more suitable and less limiting than our beloved home state. This was also a transition time for some of the individual group members. After a month-long tour in September of '96, Dan Inabnit left This Hope, after sensing that God was leading him and his family in a different direction. In the spring of '97, Mikah Boudreaux graduated from college and officially joined the group.

That same spring, we established the Atlanta area as the place we wanted to live! Plans got underway to make the 5,321 mile trek. The Lord blessed us with a 40-foot 1972 Crown bus that we affectionately named the "Silver Slug." (We have such a good time naming things!) As you can imagine, a 25 year old bus presents its own collection of challenges! For one tour, we had to park it on an incline because our starter had gone out, so we had the privilege of push-starting the 28,000 lb. monster each time! (We've also used some creative hotwiring to keep the blinkers functioning.) God graciously allowed the bus to take us from Soldotna to Atlanta without any major setbacks.

Since moving to Atlanta, we have met so many wonderful people, and we've really enjoyed ministering in the churches here. We've been working on our southern accents, too! (If you live in Georgia you'll understand what we mean when we say that: "ya'll just don't know how much all ya'lls hospitality has meant to us!") This location has made it much easier for us to travel more extensively throughout the "lower 48." We are excited about what God holds in store for the future!


Well, we didn't get a chance to tell you about the time when we narrowly escaped a bear attack at a hot springs in Canada; or our multiple encounters with the widely-feared, ravenous, blood sucking, Alaskan mosquitoes; or the time when the "Silver Slug" ran out of diesel five miles from a church in Indiana. I guess we'll have to tell you those stories the next time we see you. It's all part of the history of This Hope!



Here's some more on each member:

One of the most influential molding factors in the lives of Carrie and I has been our Godly families. My father has been a pastor for the majority of my life.
more...

I grew up in a home where both music and athletics were encouraged, so as long as I can remember, I’ve loved playing piano and football.
more...

I love the outdoors!! I have such great memories of hunting, fishing, and hiking with my family. Every fall when the nights begin to cool down and the leaves are changing I start thinking of the time spent in the woods.
more...

You’ve got to start with the Avocado Egg-rolls, then try Spicy Cashew Chicken, or Tai Chicken Pasta, or Bang Bang Chicken and Shrimp. In fact why don’t you just invite me and I will order for you!!!!
more...

My mom still had to force me to sing in church with our family until I was in high school. I remember crying as I walked on stage one time. Not because I was shy or embarrassed. It was just because I DIDN’T WANT TO dog-gone it!
more...

Band Bio: TobyMac

TobyMac
Background information
Genres	Christian hip hop, Christian rock, Christian pop
Years active	1987–present
Associated acts	DC Talk, Kevin Max, Michael Tait
Website	http://www.tobymac.com/

TobyMac is a Christian recording artist, music producer, hip-hop/pop artist, singer-songwriter, and author.
TobyMac was one of the first Christian rappers. He was first known for being a member of the Christian singing trio DC Talk, staying with them from 1987 until their announced hiatus in 2000. He has since continued a successful solo career with the release of four studio albums: Momentum (2001), Welcome to Diverse City (2004), Portable Sounds (2007), Tonight (2010), as well as two remixed albums of the first two albums titled Re:Mix Momentum and Renovating Diverse City and one remix album for the last two albums titled Dubbed and Freq'd: A Remix Project (2012), respectively. He also has a full-length Christmas album Christmas in Diverse City (2011).
Between DC talk and his own solo career, he has sold more than 10 million albums. TobyMac has had six No. 1 hit CHR singles including "Gone", "Made to Love" and "Lose My Soul." His live concert CD+DVD combo album, Alive and Transported, was released in 2008 and received the Grammy Award for Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album at the 51st Grammy Awards in 2009. His fourth studio album, Tonight, was released on February 9, 2010.

Musical career

DC Talk (1988–2001)

Toby formed DC Talk with Michael Tait in 1987, at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA. He and Tait released Christian Rhymes to a Rhythm in 1988, while they recruited classmate, Kevin Max Smith. The three set out on tour after they released their first album in 1989, DC Talk. In 1990 They released their first gold album, Nu Thang. After the Nu Thang tour they recorded their first platinum album, Free at Last. The Free at Last Tour was a success. They were invited to play on The Jay Leno Show and The Arsenio Hall Show, getting mainstream attention. They released their first single for their next album which immediately became a hit single. The album went multi-platinum and the best Christian album in the face of CCM music, Jesus Freak, which they released in 1995. The album led to the extremely popular Jesus Freak World Tour. They eventually released the tour CD, Welcome to the Freakshow. The tour ended in success in time for Supernatural, which would be their last album. The album would sell platinum. They then went solo in 2001.
The band has not toured together since 2001 (except for one show in Redmond, Washington in 2005, and when TobyMac made surprise guest appearances at Winter Jam in 2010 in Nashville and in 2011 in Greensboro, NC and sang "Jesus Freak" with Michael Tait). However, DC Talk has recorded several songs together since their hiatus: "Let's Roll" (a song about the September 11 attacks) in 2002, "Atmosphere (Remix)" on TobyMac's 2004 album Welcome to Diverse City, and "The Cross", a track on Kevin Max's 2007 album The Blood.

Solo career

Momentum (2001–03)

In 2001, TobyMac released his first solo album titled Momentum. McKeehan composed and recorded the song "Extreme Days" for the 2001 Truth Builder Productions film Extreme Days, which was featured on the Momentum album. The song Extreme Days was also used in the movie, Hangman's Curse, based on the popular book by Frank Peretti. His song "Get This Party Started" was featured on an episode of the TV show Roswell. His song "Irene" was a big hit. His song "Yours" made it to the Top 5 on ChristianRock.net. His songs "Yours", "Extreme Days", "Get This Party Started", and "Momentum" were all recently featured in the Xbox 360 video game Crackdown. Momentum gained five Dove Awards and a Grammy nomination. In 2002 he released his first Christmas album, This Christmas with only two tracks: "This Christmas" and "O Come All Ye Faithful". In 2003 he remixed the Momentum album. This album was titled Re:Mix Momentum.His song "Yours" was used in TNA (Total Nonstop Action Wrestling) as "Sting's" Theme song.
On Kirk Franklin's 2002 album The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin he was featured on "Throw Yo Hands Up".

Welcome to Diverse City (2004–06)

Welcome to Diverse City was released in October 2004. The album debuted and peaked on the Billboard 200 at number 54, selling 21,000 copies that week. The album's song "The Slam" was featured in the film Never Back Down, advertisements for the films Transporter 2, Aeon Flux, and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, as well as advertisements for the television show Prison Break. The song was also featured in car commercials, men's NCAA clips, NBA Finals (Miami Heat, 2006), World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) programming, NFL Football commercials, and "The Ultimate Highlight" on Sportscenter. Ohio Valley Wrestling performer Matt Cappotelli (who currently is unable to perform due to a brain tumor) uses "The Slam" as his entrance theme. In the movie Never Back Down Toby's song "The Slam" is featured in the main fight scene. "Diverse City" was featured in the Veronica Mars episode, The Wrath of Con. "Atmosphere" was used in a Volvo car commercial, "Burn For You" was used for cinnamon gum commercials (as well as on a Dr. Phil advertisement). The album gave TobyMac another Dove Award for Rap/Hip-Hop Album of the Year. A remix version of the album, Renovating->Diverse City, was released in 2005.

Portable Sounds (2007–08)

McKeehan's next album, titled Portable Sounds, was released in 2007 and sold 50,645 copies in its first week, debuting at No. 10 on the Billboard 200, and at No. 1 on the SoundScan Contemporary Christian Overall chart. The album also received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album. The songs "Made to Love" and "I'm For You" both hit No. 1 and were the second and third most played songs on Christian Hit Radio stations in 2007. "Ignition" is being used by ABC/ESPN to promote its coverage of NASCAR, and "Boomin'" has also been used to promote a new crime-drama, The Women's Murder Club, on ABC, as well as others. In September 2007, his song "Feelin' So Fly" appeared in the film The Game Plan starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Recently, "Ignition" received worldwide exposure when it was used as the Arizona Cardinals entrance music during the pre-game of Super Bowl XLIII. Then in March 2011, it was played during NCAA tournament promo during Arizona vs UConn game. TobyMac was awarded two Dove Awards for his work on this album, including Artist of the Year. His music video featuring the song "Boomin" was awarded a Dove Award for Short Form Music Video of the Year. Around this time also, he wrote his song, "New World" for the "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and recorded the song "What We Gonna Do?" for the VeggieTales movie, The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie. "Feelin' So Fly" and "I'm for You" appear in Thrillville: Off the Rails.

Alive and Transported (2008–09)

TobyMac released his first live album as a solo artist in 2008. Alive and Transported was a live recording of the Portable Sounds Tour in Houston, TX. It included covers of popular DC Talk songs "Jesus Freak" and "In the Light". The album included a DVD of the concert and gained him a GMA Dove and a Grammy Award.

Tonight (2010–present)

TobyMac's fourth studio release, Tonight, was released on February 9, 2010. The album debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200, selling 79,000 units in its first week. The album's first single, "City on Our Knees", was released on August 14, 2009. The song reached No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs and No. 1 on both Christian AC and CHR. Christopher Stevens and Dave Wyatt joined McKeehan in producing the album, as with the production of his 2007 release, Portable Sounds. Truett, aka TruDog, Toby's oldest son, was once again featured on a song as in the previous albums. The album is a mix of pop, rock, hip-hop, Latin, and funk, similar to his album Portable Sounds. The album charted No. 6 on the Billboard Top 200 and No. 1 on the Billboard Christian albums chart; selling 79,000 units in its first week.^[9] He recently finished touring with Skillet and House of Heroes on the "Awake Tonight Tour". The title track of the new album is featured in the intro of MLB Network's TV show 30 Clubs 30 Days. In March, he announced the "Hello Tonight" summer 2010 tour with Chris Tomlin. The song "City on Our Knees" earned TobyMac a Dove Award for Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year. The song "Showstopper" was used to promote World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) June 2010 Pay Per View, "Fatal 4-Way", and was used at least once in NCAA Basketball. It was also used as an introduction to Thursday Night Football in 2009-2010. His single "Tonight" was also used as a pregame introduction at home games for the Baltimore Orioles during the 2011 MLB season. The song was also promoted for ESPYS' Best U.S Male Olympian. TobyMac's "Tonight" was listed best Christian album of 2010 on iTunes and his Christmas single titled "Christmas This Year" (featuring Leigh Nash) was awarded the holiday song of the week on iTunes. He won the "Artist of the Year" at the 2011 Dove Awards. Additionally, the songs "Get Back Up" and "City On Our Knees" were recognized for being two of the Top 25 most performed songs on Christian radio over the past year.
TobyMac just ended a tour with Third Day, Michael W. Smith, Jason Gray and Max Lucado on the World Vision-sponsored "Make a Difference Tour 2010".
Tonight was nominated for a Grammy in the category "Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album" for the 53rd Annual Grammy awards.
TobyMac's first full-length Christmas album, Christmas in Diverse City, was released October 4, 2011. It contains songs from each of the Diverse City members as well as TobyMac. Its other guest artists include: Leigh Nash, Owl City, Jamie Grace, Victor Oquendo, Superherose, Arch Nemesiz, Tim Rosenau, Todiefunk, and Byron "Talkbox" Chambers.
TobyMac released his third remix album, Dubbed and Freq'd: A Remix Project, on March 26, 2012 featuring remixes of songs from his prior two studio albums.
On May 8, 2012, a follower of TobyMac's on twitter account correctly guessed the name of the upcoming fifth full-length studio album, Eye On It, to be released August 28, 2012.

Other work

TobyMac has written two books with Michael Tait and Kevin Max entitled, Jesus Freaks: DC Talk and The Voice of the Martyrs – Stories of Those Who Stood for Jesus, the Ultimate Jesus Freaks,^[13] and, Jesus Freaks: Revolutionaries: Stories of Revolutionaries Who Changed Their World: Fearing God, Not Man. These books are mainly focused on Christian martyrs. Toby Mac has also written two more books with Michael Tait, one titled, Under God, containing stories of America's spiritual battles, and another book called, Living Under God: Discovering Your Part In God's Plan.
TobyMac has written a fifth book called, City On Our Knees. The book is about how Christians past and present have set aside differences, come together in unity, and stepped forward in action and prayer.
TobyMac is the president of the record label Gotee Records. He created the label with Todd Collins and Joey Elwood in order to produce Out of Eden's Lovin' the Day after efforts to sign the group to an established label proved unsuccessful. "We all collectively said, 'Let's just give this a shot'", Elwood recalls; "Three naïve guys, a willing band, and some really good songs." Gotee features artists such as Relient K, House of Heroes, Jamie Grace and Abandon Kansas. However, as a recording artist, TobyMac is under contract with ForeFront Records.
Toby also performs in "Rock the Universe" in Universal Studios and "Night of Joy" in Walt Disney World annually each September. Toby usually alternates between Rock the Universe and Night of Joy.
Toby has also helped establish a camp, called Camp Electric, located near Nashville, Tennessee, for young musicians who want to have pop and rock skills.
Toby released a DVD, TobyMac: Moving Pictures, featuring his Entire work of music Videos, on November 10, 2010.

Discography

• 2001: Momentum
• 2002: This Christmas
• 2003: Re: Mix Momentum
• 2004: Welcome to Diverse City
• 2005: Renovating-> Diverse City
• 2007: Portable Sounds
• 2008: Alive and Transported (CD+DVD)
• 2010: Tonight
• 2010: Moving Pictures (DVD)
• 2011: Christmas in Diverse City
• 2012: Dubbed and Freq'd