Founding member of the band dc Talk, Toby McKeehan, better known as tobyMac has long been established as a thoughtful songwriter as well as both a soulful singer and solid rap artist. With perhaps the exception of such covers as Larry Norman’s “I Wish We’d All been Ready”, Norman Greenbaum’s “Spirit in the Sky”, Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me”, “Day by Day” from the musical Godpsell and REM’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know of it (And I Feel Fine)”, he was the writer for dc Talks greatest hits including Socially Acceptable, What if I Stumble, in The Light, Colored people and Jesus Freak. As a solo artist, he has done some amazing collaborations with other artists, including Audio Adrenaline, Jamie Grace, and Owl City on “Light of Christmas” for a VeggieTales DVD that feels so joyous and celebratory it would actually be perfect for a major holiday event like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
That’s said, considering his experience as a rapper first and foremost for some, he may have seemed like an odd choice for an inspired by album for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. At least two of the artists had a reputation as a worship leader, while others tended to be closer to pop or rock style. However, while he is technically classified as “rapper’ tobyMac can actually sing and doesn’t just yell or talk his lyrics, and in many ways his style may be closer to Hip Hop or even Bebop (or Rocksteady. Sorry, not sorry).
I would argue that given his status as a founding member of dc Talk and as one of the earliest Christian rap artists, he helped pave the way for other current artist who’ve incorporated a rap style into their work in the genre, including Tauren Wells and Phil Wickham, demonstrating that rap doesn’t have to be rude or crude, dude. It could be excellent, praiseworthy, and admirable, and extol virtue. Moreover he demonstrated that rapper didn’t just have to tell every lyric or talk fast, they could, and can actually sing, as is evidenced by his incredible song “Faithfully” written after the tragic death of his son, while at the same time he delivered strong purpose pumping anthems with “Your Love Broke Through”, and an excellent number “I Just Need U” that defiantly positions the singer as standing up to the forces of Darkness by resting in Christ.
However, while the genre of music may feel like an odd fit, the song itself could only be on an inspired by album for Narnia, as tobyMac tells the full story of Lucy Pevensie from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. He doesn’t position himself as a character in the story as much as a “translator” of Lewis’s story in music and communicates it to a next generation that appreciates the drive and story that can accompany a good rap or hip hop number. He begins his song after she’s returned to “Spare Oom” from Narnia and deals with the disbelief of Peter and Susan and the scorn and mockery of Edmund, their trip into Narnia, and their encounter with Aslan.
Not only does he deliberately and explicitly mention Narnia by name. Sure, in classic rap convention, some of his rhymes may seem a little silly (Land Beyond/Babylon), but it at least takes a degree of talent to make such a rhyme actually work. Most rappers seem to have the creativity of a kid in fourth grade who figures out that “g” and “P” rhyme and writes a poem about needing to go to the bathroom, except with more explicit content. TobyMac is telling a story, one that can inspire young people in their own walk with God, and the seemingly silly rhymes are, in effec,t more relevant to the story.
As an additional Easter Egg, in the traditions dc Talk’s songs like “Free at Last”, “Time is Ticking Away” “What if I Stumble”, and “Mind’s Eye” that used an eclectic collection of sound clips from the such eclectic sources as Martin Luther King Jr, Willaim Dozier ( narrator for TV’s Batman), LaVar Burton’s Geordie LaForge from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Brennan Manning and Billy Graham, “New World” does the same, featuring dialogue from Lucy from a radio drama of The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe.
As a result, he just doesn’t tell the story of Lucy’s journey into Narnia; he also invites the readers and the audience to follow her into this new world. It’s a dangerous business, in doing so, but all that is required is o simply open the door and step through the doorway. There may be danger in the form of the witch, but Aslan is there, and through TobyMac reminds us that Aslan gives us more than magic; he gives Lucy, her siblings, and us, something to believe in.
Side A: “New World”( Narnia Album Version)
“I Just Need U”
Side B
“Love Broke Thru
“Faithfully”
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