Review: Tonight (TobyMac)

A little bit of Beyonce, Eminem, Switchfoot and John Mayer, not to mention Bob Marley. The love child of Fall Out Boy and Daft Punk; a mish-mash of rock, rap, hip-hop, soul, and just a little in between. Such is the diversity of TobyMac’s latest release, Tonight, that I find myself at odds in attempting to discover exactly what the purpose of this conglomerate is. Curiously, though, the record’s meandering seems to work, as TobyMac blends together rigorously creative instrumentation, an understated knowledge of many musical genres and an aptitude for choosing supporting artists to glue the introspective yet catchy lyrics together. Undisputedly one of the most influential Christian artists of the past decade or so, TobyMac returns with a bang, and a loud one at that.

Dance rock is the first stop of the whimsical musical journey on which every listener is taken by TobyMac; John Cooper of renowned nu-metal band Skillet fills in with characteristically aggressive vocals as Toby complements the hooky chorus with the electronic rhythm section and the synth/keys. Already launched as a single alongside “City on our Knees”, this sounds like something that could really hit the mainstream market, especially since it has no explicitly religious lyrics. “Get Back Up” retreats into much more recognisable TobyMac territory, groove added to rock instrumentation to satisfy Toby’s typical hip-hop leanings. “Showstopper” is another rap/rock, bass-filled jam that is the very definition of fun; I can just envision the “rock on!” signs made by the crowd as Toby plays it. The music and very style of it somewhat hides the rather cringeworthy lyrics (“You came to ride the highs of this junk/Baby, we came to guarantee the big crunk”), but concessions can be made in the somewhat party-like atmosphere that the song evokes.

Supporting artists add plenty of variety to Tonight; Toby blends perfectly with Haiti-born soul artiste Nirva Ready in “Changed Forever” (one of the best tracks on the album, by the way), while Matt Thiessen of Relient K makes a customarily quirky appearance on ”Wonderin’”, driving the track with his inventive piano loops and pained yet exuberant boyish vocals. It’s as well that these artists perform on the album, because Toby would be otherwise panned for relying too much on the rap-rock formula; as it is, he works each track to its relevant supporting artist and manages to inject a sense of him/her in that track, as opposed to the usual trend of squeezing a supporting artist into the album artist’s mould.

As if it wasn’t sufficient, Toby delves into reggae and R&B for even more variety; Israel Houghton combines with Toby for a feel-good Carribean island celebration in “Break Open the Sky”, a trumpet section contributing perfectly to the floral-shirted coconut drink feeling. “Hold On” sees Toby’s Bob Marley accent come to the fore (well, slightly, anyway), which is as well because he preaches hope and love (“the clouds are moving faster now, and the sun is breaking through”) to an R&B based groove. Just to top it off, there’s a sprinkling of Toby’s oldest son Truett (going under the moniker of “trudog”) in the abstract kiddy-rap tune “LoudNClear”, in which father and son combine for a “freestyle battle” (quote: Truett McKeehan) with another one of Toby’s children, making a comical appearance in the middle of the song. All in all, the instrumentation, arrangements and styles are one thing: unmistakeably TobyMac.

Lyrically, there’s the usual CCM subject matter of living for something more than material wealth (“and I'm wonderin' bout the way I spend my days, wonderin' if it's even worth the chase,”), and living a joyful life of praise (“We wanna rise, We wanna touch the other side (It starts tonight!)”); Toby somehow manages to keep it fresh without reverting to the stereotypical Christian music preachiness. Strangely, there’s no lyrical subtlety here a la Switchfoot or Family Force 5; TobyMac is as blatantly Christian on this record as he has always been, but there is a mainstream accessibility about him that has become even more apparent in this album. I can confidently say that anyone in the secular market who picks this record up without any anti-Christian prejudices will be captivated by the lyrics, even if they don’t believe in God; the great instrumentation plays a part as well, and Tonight certainly has the potential to be one of the standout crossover albums of the year, if marketed properly.

Given that TobyMac’s last release was in 2007, many of his fans would have been waiting in sweaty-palmed anticipation for his next record; I can safely assert that not one of these fans will be disappointed. It is early in the year, but Tonight has my tentative vote for CCM album of the year. It is everything that any Christian pop album aspires to be and fails, and TobyMac once again underlines his status as the undisputed master of Christian pop. Masterful, inspired and with a touch of buoyant enthusiasm; TobyMac at his very, very best.

Rating: 5/5

Tracks you must check Out:

1. Changed Forever – if there was ever a successful mix of R&B, rap and rock, this is surely it.

2. Tonight – catchy, bass-driven dance rock with a hooky chorus instantly stamps Toby’s return to form.

Review by Joshua Y