TobyMac’s new rap

TobyMac has released three solo albums, all certified gold for sales of more than 500,000 copies. His mix of rap, rock and pop has made him a Christian-radio heavyweight, and 2007’s Made to Love was one of the year’s most played singles. He sold millions of records as part of Christian band dc talk and also has collaborated with genre giants Michael W. Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman and Kirk Franklin.

But this early Tuesday morning in Franklin, a “small sort of town” just outside of Nashville, TobyMac is just dad.

“I had to drop the kids off at school this morning,” he says, referring to two of his five children. “I’m still on tour hours. I’m not used to popping up this early.”

TobyMac, whose real name is Kevin McKeehan, returns to Houston on Friday as part of his Winter Wonder-Slam. He recorded a live DVD in 2007 at the Berry Center.

After completing his dad-ly duties, he took time talk with the Chronicle’s Joey Guerra about new music, Christmas memories and Kanye West:

Q: How did Portable Sounds, your last studio disc, change your outlook on music?

A: I think Portable Sounds was definitely a labor of love. It took me a little over a year to make the record. In Jamaica they call it a one pot. Here they’d probably call it a big ol’ pot of gumbo. My music really derives from hip-hop meets guitars. I think I grew artistically. I sang more on this record than I did in the past. I definitely have spread my wings in that area. These songs come from life. They come from my experience, my failures, my struggles, my success stories. My resolve is in my faith in God.

Q: Was rapping always part of the musical picture?

A: That’s where I entered. I guess I sang in some choral groups in school. But I would take 12-inch vinyl, turn it over to the instrumental and rap to it. I would make tapes for my friends. I would rap about us, the boys in the D.C. area, rolling down to Georgetown and hanging out. I began to see it as an outlet and a way to express something I was more passionate about. It was always this sense of rhyming verses with a melodic hook in the chorus.

Q: Have you been thinking yet about a new record?

A: I’ve been hard at work the last couple months in the studio. I have about four or five tracks finished. I’ll probably put out a record late fall next year. I’m going to try to work in between shows. I’m definitely a writer that writes and just runs to the studio. I was going through something last night, where my wife and I were sitting up with a friend, trying to speak truth into their lives — even out of that, I would hope to get something. Just a morsel of truth I can share with people. Hopefully, they can glean from that.

Q: What’s the balance like of making quality music and family life?

A: I have the Rock of Gibraltar as a wife. My wife (Amanda) is an incredibly strong, loving woman. That’s the beginning of all the great people around me. It makes things a lot easier. I have amazingly talented people around me that make me better and bigger than who I am. Half of life is balancing our lives. Not indulging in one area. It’s putting little things in place. And it’s hard sometimes.

Q: Everyone is revving up their ‘best of ’08’ lists. What are some of your favorite musical moments of the past year?

A: I got to go a Coldplay show, which I thought was amazing and totally inspiring. There was a lot of production, and there were a lot of tricks, but they were used in a way that supported the song. It didn’t take away from the music. I’ve definitely been sniffing around what Kanye’s doing with (808s & Heartbreaks). I don’t always agree with his philosophies, but I’m interested in the kind of songs and the music he makes. He’s almost stepping a little bit away from beats and rhymes. I can appreciate somebody moving in a new direction. He could’ve rested on his laurels.

One song that just feels good to me, whenever I hear that Pocketful of Sunshine song, that ‘Take me away …,’ it just makes me feel good.

Q: What about movies?

A: I love film. I don’t get to go as much as I want, but we definitely catch up on the bus. I went out and saw The Duchess with my wife. I thought that was great, even though it’s not the most action, thrilling type movie. She loves those period pieces. My wife’s from Jamaica, so she’s got a lot of love for England. It was pretty intense drama.

I took my kids to see Bolt. It was great, man; I enjoyed it. If I didn’t look at my watch or my phone for two hours, then the film was good enough to take me on a trip.

Q: What are your memories of Houston?

A: We shot our live DVD (Alive & Transported) there. That, obviously, and the intensity of that and the vulnerability of that all comes to mind. Houston really embraced us early. It’s become my favorite touring city right now. It feels very welcoming to what I’m doing. Of course, I hit the Galleria and bought things for the DVD shoot. Houston’s gone from one of the toughest touring markets to one of the best, and KSBJ (89.3 FM) has a lot to do with that.

Q: Your songs have popped up in lots of commercials and films. Where’s the strangest place one has ended up?

A: Probably Transporter 2. I definitely didn’t expect that. I didn’t even know it was happening. I got crazy calls from my friends. I definitely was super-dad when it showed up in that film with the Rock, where he played football (The Game Plan). My kids were tripping on that. They were like, ‘Daaad!’

Q: What were the best and worst Christmas gifts you received as a kid?

A: The best gift was definitely when I was about 10. I got a Mono Shock bicycle, and it was canary yellow. My parents didn’t wrap stuff. They would put things under the tree, as if Santa had come during the night and left them there. I woke up, walked out, and there it was. It was, like, the greatest moment of my life.

I remember my neighbor’s father, who was also my little-league football coach, was always the prankster. I was so excited to open this gift he got me. It was in a tin, like a pie tin, this big brown thing. He was like, ‘It’s a cow pie.’ I didn’t know what it was. Cow dookie, man. I remember being utterly confused. I didn’t even understand it.

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