During
the late 1980's, Toby McKeehan met Michael Tait while
attending Jerry Falwell's Liberty University (located in Lynchburg,
Virginia). Because they shared a love for music and faith in Christ,
they decided to form "DC Talk and The One Way Crew." Toby
and Michael recorded a 2-song demo tape titled "Christian Rhymes
To A Rhythm," and shortly afterwards Kevin Max (Kevin Smith
at the time) joined them. In 1989, the guys caught the eye of a
small, new recording company (ForeFront Records) and signed
a contract with them. Soon after, they packed their bags, moved
to Nashville, Tennessee, and released their self-titled debut album.
Although the name "DC Talk" was originally a reference to Washington,
DC, ForeFront promoted the 'dc' to mean "decent Christian."
"Nu Thang" (DC Talk's second album) was released in 1990
and its sales surpassed 100,000 copies. Mixing Toby's rap verses
with Michael and Kevin's sung choruses, the guys were 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
the opening act. Following the release of their "Rap, Rock,
& Soul" video in late 1991, the group began to attract a larger
audience.
The success of their third album, "Free At Last," reflected
the surge in popularity of DC Talk's sound. This ground-breaking
album built on their former style of predominately rap to more
hip-hop and pop. This prompted 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 consecutive weeks, and in 1994 it was awarded the Grammy
Award for "Best Rock Gospel Album."
When dc Talk (no longer "DC Talk") released their pre-album,
AVCD single, "Jesus Freak," in mid 1995, the group once
again proved to the world that they were still evolving. "Jesus
Freak," (dc Talk's fourth studio album) released in late 1995,
and claimed the record for the highest first week sales of any
Christian release in history, shipping over 85,000 units. The
album soon went platinum and was followed by an international
tour. While dc Talk's fan base continued to grow, the music industry
began to recognize a need for better promotion of less commercial
music. The growing success of Christian music astounded mainstream
distributors, and they scrambled to get in on the action.
dc Talk signed a deal in late 1996 allowing Virgin Records
to handle the mainstream distribution of their recordings while
ForeFront remained their Christian market distributor. The following
year, dc Talk released a live video titled, "Welcome To The
Freak Show." The footage was recorded during their US "Freak
Show" tour and included many of the same songs as "Jesus Freak."
A live album of the same title soon followed.
In September 1998, dc Talk unleashed their fifth studio album,
"Supernatural." The album was pure pop, but still signature
dc Talk. The album debuted at #4 on the Billboard Top 200 chart
(in between new releases from Kiss and Marilyn Manson), and broke
their own previous record for the highest-selling Christian album
in its first week of sales (shipping over 106,000 copies). In
a short 6 months, the album went gold. A 60+ city tour
to promote the album followed as the guys played to sellout crowds
in major venues across the nation.
dc Talk has now been performing together for over a decade.
Since their beginning in the late 80's, they have released a greatest
hits collection (titled "Intermission"), achieved double-platinum
sales (for "Jesus Freak"), appeared on various television shows
(including "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno"), toured with
Michael W. Smith and Billy Graham, formed the ERACE
Foundation, released 4 long-form videos, and won numerous
awards. Amidst all this, dc Talk has also managed to keep their
message focused on Jesus Christ. What could possibly come
next for such a phenomenal group? The answer is "Solo,"
a special edition EP released in early 2001. Meet tobyMac, Tait, and KMax...