DC Talk is a Christian rap and rock trio. The group was formed at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1987 by Toby McKeehan, Michael Tait, and Kevin Max Smith. They released five major studio albums together: dc Talk (1989), Nu Thang (1990), Free at Last (1992), Jesus Freak (1995), and Supernatural (1998). In 2002, the Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music called dc Talk "the most popular overtly Christian act of all time."
Christian hip hop is a cross-genre of contemporary Christian music and hip hop music. It emerged from urban contemporary music and Christian media in the United States during the 1980s.
Toby McKeehan, better known by his stage name TobyMac, is an American contemporary Christian music singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. His road band is known as Diverse City. He was first known for being a member of the Christian rap and rock trio dc Talk, staying with them from 1987 until they went on hiatus in 2000. He has since continued a successful solo career with the release of nine studio albums: Momentum (2001), Welcome to Diverse City (2004), Portable Sounds (2007), Tonight (2010), Christmas in Diverse City (2011), Eye on It (2012), This Is Not a Test (2015), The Elements (2018), and Life After Death (2022) as well as five remixed albums: Re:Mix Momentum (2003), Renovating Diverse City (2005), Dubbed and Freq'd: A Remix Project (2012), Eye'm All Mixed Up (2014) and The St. Nemele Collab Sessions (2019). He also has two full-length Christmas albums: Christmas in Diverse City (2011) and Light Of Christmas (2017). He became the third Christian artist to have a No. 1 debut on Billboard 200 chart with Eye on It.
Mars Ill is an emcee/DJ hip-hop duo from Atlanta, Georgia. The duo consists of Gregory Owens (Manchild) and Nathan Corrona. They are also part of the hip-hop collective and supergroup Deepspace5.
Gotee Records is a record label of Christian hip-hop, based in Franklin, Tennessee in the United States.
Michael Boyer II, better known by his stage names Knowdaverbs and later Verbs, is a Christian hip hop artist. He has recorded for Gotee Records.
John Reuben is an American Christian hip hop artist signed to Gotee Records until late 2010. Reuben has sold over 200,000 copies of his first four albums. He released his sixth album, Sex, Drugs and Self-Control on December 22, 2009. The album was nominated for a Dove Award for Rap/Hip-Hop Album of the Year at the 42nd GMA Dove Awards, while the song "No Be Nah" was nominated for Rap/Hip-Hop Recorded Song of the Year.
Tyree Cinque Simmons, known professionally as DJ Drama, is an American disc jockey (DJ), record executive and music promoter. He initially gained recognition as the DJ for Atlanta-based rapper T.I., and continued to gain prominence hosting mixtapes for other hip hop artists. His trademark Gangsta Grillz series is present on releases of which he has compiled; it has been popularized by artists including Lil Wayne, Tyler the Creator, Snoop Dogg, Yo Gotti, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Fabolous, Jeezy, Meek Mill, and Gucci Mane, among others. Alongside record producer and fellow Philadelphia native Don Cannon, he co-founded the record label Generation Now in 2015, an imprint of Atlantic Records which has signed artists including Lil Uzi Vert and Jack Harlow.
Grits is a Christian hip hop group from Nashville, Tennessee. Their name is an acronym, which stands for "Grammatical Revolution In the Spirit". GRITS is made up of Stacey "Coffee" Jones and Teron "Bonafide" Carter, both of whom were DC Talk dancers.
Hip Hope Hits is an annual collection of Christian rap songs. The series is produced by tobyMac's Gotee Records. It began as a one off collection titled We Are Hip Hope. In late 2004, the first of the albums in the current format, Hip Hope Hits 2005 was released. It featured many more artists and tracks as well as an enhanced disc featuring a documentary about DJ Maj, a prominent Christian hip hop producer, having produced many tracks on the album.
BoogiRoot is the first album by American Christian rapper DJ Maj. Before this, his primary releases were mixtapes which did not feature his voice very much.
This is the discography of TobyMac. He was originally a member of dc Talk from 1988 to 2001. Since 2001 he has released eight studio albums, two Christmas albums, five remix albums, three live albums, and three extended plays as a solo artist.
Alive and Transported is a live album by Christian hip hop artist tobyMac. It was released on May 27, 2008 and debuted at No. 112 on the Billboard 200, and also placed at No. 4 on Billboard's Top Christian Albums chart. It is currently sold as a CD/DVD combo. The live show recorded for the album was also played on Monday, June 9, 2008, in movie theaters. The film was filmed at the Richard E. Berry Educational Support Center in Cypress, Texas.
The Ringleader: Mixtape Volume III is a 2003 Christian hip hop album mixed by DJ Maj. It was his first commercial success. While it is his third mixtape for Gotee Records, his first two received little media attention. This DJ mix has an overall hip hop feel, but some tracks, specifically "Under Pressure", "A Friend", and "Showpiece", are more precisely rhythm and blues. While the album combines the talents of many different artists, the theme that God is in control is a maintained through all the tracks. The Ringleader marked the debut solo for Jason Eskridge, who had previously been a guest singer with GRITS in Grammatical Revolution. Other artists represented include tobyMac, Kirk Franklin, Out of Eden, LA Symphony, 4th Avenue Jones, Camp Quest, GRITS, Verbs, Bobby Bishop, Shonlock, and Pigeon John.
Brian James Reith, better known as B. Reith, is a Christian hip hop/pop singer and rapper. He began his musical career with the release of his first album, "Urgent Message", in 2003. In 2008, Reith signed to Gotee Records and released his EP The Forecast. Later that year, he toured with TobyMac on the Winter Wonder Slam tour. In September 2009, Reith released his second album, Now Is Not Forever, which charted at No. 2 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 32 on the Heatseekers chart. The album spawned the singles "Antidote", which peaked at No. 50 on the Christian Songs chart, and "The Comeback Kid".
"Ooh Ahh" is a single by American Christian hip hop group GRITS featuring TobyMac. It was recorded for their fourth studio album, The Art of Translation. It was produced by Ric "DJ Form" Robbins and Otto Price for Incorporated Elements. The song was written by Ric Robbins, Otto Price, Coffee and Bone of Grits, and TobyMac. It is sometimes referred to as "My Life Be Like" or "My Life Be Like ". A cut from the song is featured on tobyMac's song, "Catchafire (Whoopsi-Daisy)" from his album Welcome to Diverse City. To date, "Ooh Ahh" has been RIAA Digital Certified Gold for over 500,000 downloads and on-demand streams, subsequently going Platinum in January 2019.
Michael Jones, better known by his stage name Wax, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, musician, producer, and comedian. He became a YouTube star after uploading several videos of himself rapping and singing. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California. Wax is widely known for his popular single "Rosana", which was released in 2012.
Capital Kings is an American pop, EDM, and Christian pop act. The group went on hiatus on January 3, 2018 before returning on July 7, 2023 with the single "Higher". The group consists of producer-rapper Cole "Saint X" Walowac and producer-singer Jonathan "Nevada" White who was briefly replaced by Dylan Housewright.
Christian Walcott Webster, better known by his stage name Chris Webby, is an American rapper from Norwalk, Connecticut. Chris Webby has released many mixtapes such as the DJ Drama-hosted Bars On Me (2012) and his EP There Goes the Neighborhood (2011), which peaked at number 101 on the Billboard 200. He has worked with various artists such as Freeway, Mac Miller, Joell Ortiz, Big K.R.I.T., Method Man, Apathy, Prodigy, Bun B, Tech N9ne, Jarren Benton, and Kid Ink. In 2013 he and his label, Homegrown Music, signed a deal with E1 Music. He then released Homegrown, another EP, in November 2012. Webster released his debut studio album Chemically Imbalanced on October 27, 2014.
Aaron Tyrese Cole is an American Christian hip hop recording artist and songwriter. He began his career at the age of four. He signed to Gotee Records, a record label founded by Christian hip hop performer Toby McKeehan. Cole is known the best for his songs "Right on Time", "One More Day" and "Like You".
