| Toby McKeehan was a white rapper who began rapping under the name "DC Talk", a name given to him because he was from the the Washington D.C. area. Toby, and Michael Tait became friends while attending Jerry Falwell's Liberty University in the mid-eighties in Lynchburg, Virginia. They began making music together, and later Kevin Max (formerly Kevin Smith) joined them. They called the group "DC Talk and The One Way Crew". The group released a demo tape and traveled around the DC area. After signing with ForeFront Records in 1989, they changed the groups name back to simply DC Talk. After their record contract, the guys moved to Tennessee, and released their self-titled debut album. Although, the moniker dc talk was originally chosen as a reference to Washington, D.C., ForeFront promoted the initials as standing for "decent Christian," as a marketing effort to appeal to new listeners. Shortly after being signed, dc talk released DC TALK in 1989. This self-titled rap album was one of the first in Christian music, and it put dc talk in a class of their own. Nu Thang, the group's next album, was released in 1990. Distribution of both records was achieved mainly through Christian channels; DC TALK had sold over 100,000 copies, and Nu Thang surpassed that, but the band was just beginning to tap into a wider market. In 1991 dc talk toured with Michael W. Smith, one of Christian music's best-selling artists, as his opening act. Following the release of their Rap, Rock, n' Soul video, the group began to gain a larger audience. The success of the band's third album, Free At Last, reflected the surge in popularity of dc talk's sound. This album moved dc talk from a strictly rap act to a more pop act. Their new sound helped prompt high sales of the 1992 release, and the album went platinum. Free At Last dominated the Billboard CCM sales chart in 1993, holding at #1 for 34 weeks. The 1994 Grammy Award for Best Rock Gospel Album was awarded to dc talk for Free At Last, securing their place in Christian music history. When dc talk released their pre-album single, Jesus Freak in 1995, the group changed the initials in the group name from capitol "DC" to "dc". Along with their name, they changed their sound. When Jesus Freak, dc talk's fourth album, was released in 1995 it took the group to a whole new level. Their focus on the album was toward deeper, personal lyrics and a more rock/alternative sound with less rap. Mike Tait was quoted in Billboard: "I feel that the core fan will continue to support us, and because of the material on this album, I think we'll gain new fans." He couldn't have been more right. When Jesus Freak released it broke the first week sales record in Christian music (which has since been broken) and was by far the group's biggest album. The album soon went platinum. International fame soon followed. dc talk toured the United States Europe in 1996, discovering a devout following in European countries. While dc talk's fan base continued to grow, the music industry recognized the need for better promotion of their less commercial type of music. The growing success rate of Christian music astounded distributors who scrambled to cash in. In November of 1996, dc talk signed a deal allowing Virgin Records to handle the secular distribution of their recordings. Their Christian distribution remained with ForeFront Records. The split was a result of dc talk's popularity with the mainstream audience, and Virgin Records' ability to reach that sector through both retail and radio channels. McKeehan was quoted as responding to the deal in Billboard: "Our main hope in the Virgin situation is that they can be that promotion and marketing arm into the mainstream that we've never had. We've always wanted our art to be out there for the world to hear, and this is a dream come true for us." In 1997 dc talk released a live video titled Live in Concert: Welcome To The Freak Show. It was recorded during their US Jesus Freak Tour; it included many of the same songs as Jesus Freak and a few cover songs. An album of the same title soon followed, including a few more songs than the video. In 1998 dc talk unleashed their fifth album, Supernatural, the follow-up to their platinum-plus 1995 breakthrough Jesus Freak. Supernatural does have a few obvious distinction from their past albums. Michael Tait explains, "This is the first record we've ever written together so that makes it more of a collective vision than ever before. " The album also abandons all traces of rap and sticks with the rock/pop sound. It has had great success so far. It debuted at #4 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart (the highest of any Christian rock artist) , and broke the record for the highest selling Christian album in the first week of sales. In a short 6 months the album went gold. The next year dc talk embarked on their Supernatural Experience Tour. In this 60+ city tour , they played many major venues. Many of the concerts were sellouts, and the tour was a definite success. In the fall of '99, the band released a book they had written titled Jesus Freaks about Christian martyrs. They got help from The Voice of The Martyrs, a Christian martyr organization. In November 1999, dc talk released their 4th long-form video, titled The Supernatural Experience. It could be called a combination of their previous two videos. It contains interviews, music videos, and footage from their Supernatural Experience Tour. The year 2000 brought a break in dc talk action. There were numerous rumors circulating regarding a dc talk breakup, or Kevin leaving the band. dc talk quickly shot down rumors and announced the release of a best-of album titled Intermission: The Greatest Hits that hit stores on November 21. Toby, Michael, and Kevin took the time off to pursue solo efforts and all three planned to release albums in 2001. In 2001, dc talk released an EP in April title Solo, an EP that featured two songs from each of the guys' upcoming solo efforts and a live version of dc talk's concert favorite, 40. Tait, Michael Tait's band released an album 'Empty' in June, Kevin Max released an album' Stereotype Be' in August, and Toby, under the moniker "TobyMac", released a solo album 'Momentum' in November. |
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