In addition to being a songwriter, producer and performer, he is also a studio owner, a husband and father, a wannabe basketball player, golfer, owner of Gotee Records and creator of the E.R.A.C.E. foundation, a charitable organization focused on combating racism — all of which he happily bases in his historic home in the heart of downtown Franklin.

Now McKeehan, or TobyMac, as his record reads, can officially wear the solo artist lid, too.

His first solo project, Momentum, went on sale Nov. 6 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard magazine Heatseekers chart, which lists best-selling titles by new and developing artists who have never appeared on the Billboard Top 200 chart. McKeehan will kick off the Momentum tour in January and will come through Nashville on Feb. 4 at the new Allen Arena at Lipscomb University. All the members of dc talk are touring together and performing their solo works before closing the show by jamming together.

Although the members of dc talk are still together after 14 years of performing, recording and expanding the parameters of Christian music, each member of the trio recently took time off to record solo projects. But first they collaborated on a dc talk project, appropriately called Solo, that was released in April.

McKeehan said he spent time helping his band mates do their albums and ended up doing his last. Michael Tait released Empty in July and Kevin Max released Stereotype Be in August.

McKeehan said he focused on helping Tait and Max with their albums before devoting his attention to working with some of his Gotee artists, such as Out of Eden, Jennifer Knapp and the Katinas.

''Every time I work with the Gotee artists, I get inspired,'' McKeehan said. ''I eased into the studio with no real plan. My wife asked me what I was doing and said I really needed a plan. We prayed about it and before I knew it I had about 30 songs.''

Solo vs. dc talk

After being one-third of a successful group for more than 10 years, flying solo was a leap of faith of sorts for McKeehan. He said he couldn't pin down which was harder.

''It's different because we each feel a little more comfortable in pursuing our own creative ideas in a solo setting,'' he said. ''On the other hand, we've each gained more respect for each other. We are proud of each other for what we've done. It makes me proud to be associated with them and their creativity, which makes me look forward to working with them again.''

McKeehan expects dc talk to be stronger as a result of the solo projects of the members. But he predicts that it will also bring a new set of collaboration wars to the table. He said the group has always had them on some level, but that the band has managed to develop the conflicts into evolution of the group.

''When you collaborate, essentially you are compromising,'' McKeehan said. ''When I take a song all the way, it can't work in dc talk, where I'd have to compromise. In our case, though, compromise has made for better artistry. It has been nice for each of us to get an idea and take it all the way.''

Momentum message

In writing and recording a project all his own for the first time, McKeehan says if it comes with a message, it's about real life.

''There are socially conscious songs to my own stumblings to a prayer for my son,'' he said. ''I think it is not an extremely abstract record. It's fairly literal and in-your-face. I am a human being living in this world. I go to Starbucks, but my faith plays a role in how I communicate to people.''

The Truett factor

McKeehan happily admits his three-year-old son Truett, who makes his very special musical debut on Momentum, has completely changed his outlook on life.

''He has inspired a side of writing that's brand new to me,'' he says. ''I see things for the first time again and have a new appetite for life. I see the beauty around us because I am literally seeing things through his eyes. Having a child opens up pockets of creativity you never knew you had.''

He says having a child also teaches you how much parents love their children.

''You never really know how much your parents cared for you until you have a child. It blows my mind.''

Growing a Gotee

McKeehan, who generally sports some shape of goatee on his face, started growing a record label about seven years ago with Joey Elwood and Todd Collins, aka the ''Gotee Brothers.'' Today, the company has offices in Cool Springs and employs about 15 people. It also remains an independent label in an age where most small labels — Christian especially — are being bought by large conglomerates.

''I had a dream to start a label when we met Out of Eden,'' he said. ''We made a record that was R&B, and the Christian community didn't know what to do with it. We shopped it but didn't feel comfortable giving it to anyone, so we started the label hoping to bring different styles of music to the Christian community.''

The label boasts groups in every genre from urban, punk and R&B with a goal of making top 40 what it is supposed to be — a little bit of everything.

''The top 40 should be all over the place,'' McKeehan said. ''Top 40 in the Christian community seemed to be pretty much the same. We wanted to take care of artists the way we should and not change them to make them fit the market. We promote their art. It's an artist-led label.''

E.R.A.C.E.

One-third of dc talk — Michael Tait — is African-American. McKeehan says their long association sometimes makes him forget that there still is resistance to racial integration. So he, along with Max, Tait and manager Dan Pitts and Gotee Records President Joey Elwood, decided to do something about it. He and several others founded the E.R.A.C.E. Foundation. The acronym stands for ''eliminating racism and creating equality,'' and McKeehan said he hopes the foundation will help provide the tools to open people's minds about racism.

''Dc talk has always been living integration,'' he said. ''We don't think about it, but in our travels, we've seen people who don't live that way. People don't always have the opportunity we do to live around other races. The main thing is we are trying to get people to communicate. People need to start asking questions and leaving their comfort zones and look at the diversity of people as a beautiful thing.''

E.R.A.C.E. does an annual event on the square in Franklin called ''The Gathering,'' where multicultural churches come together to worship and cross any racial lines that exist in the community. The last Gathering drew upwards of 4,000 people to the square on Sept. 30. Other E.R.A.C.E. programs include college campus outreach events, a series of issue-oriented public service announcements, special events and a Web site, http://www.erace.com/.

''People are open to it, but to go to the next level is tough. That's why we are doing these college campus things. It gets people talking.''

E.R.A.C.E. is planning a grand prix on Memorial Day at the Factory at Franklin to raise money, but also to bring the business and service communities together at an event that reaches beyond the crowd that might attend a banquet or concert, according to E.R.A.C.E. foundation Executive Director John Maguire.

''We thought, 'Why not create an event that will benefit other organizations as well?''' Maguire said. ''This will be street racing on go-carts where corporations buy a car, put a logo on it and send a driver out to race other corporations. We hope it will be another way to bring the community together.''

Balance

McKeehan credits his wife Amanda, son Truett and his colleagues in each of his endeavors for helping him maintain a state of balance in his hectic life. He says that having the right people around him is ''crucial.''

''I literally have Godsends everywhere,'' he said. ''When I came to Nashville, I didn't pray for No. 1 hits; I prayed to have the right people around me. I wanted to do more than have hits.''

And McKeehan says he has no aspirations to leave Franklin. He and his family have lived in their historic home, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, for about eight years. He said he looked at the home for years when it was out of his price range, before he was able to buy and restore it.

''I do love Franklin,'' he said. ''I have no desire to go anywhere else. I'd love to give this house to my son.''

He said, however, there are aspects of a cosmopolitan city that he misses and would love to see here.

''I'd like to see Franklin grow right,'' he said. ''I would love to see more local, intimate restaurants, local coffee shops and things that come with city living. I'd love to see Calvin LeHew get a Kenneth Cole or Diesel in the Factory!''