Tobymac Opens Up to CBN About 'Life After Death', His First Album Since the Passing of His Son

Christian music hit-maker TobyMac is opening up more about his most personal album yet, Life After Death. 

"This one was hard," the singer-songwriter admitted in an interview with CBN News recorded in the lead-up to the K-LOVE Fan Awards, airing June 2.

The album was released in August of 2022, but it had been roughly three years since his last one. CBN News asked the recording artist what made him decide it was time to release new music to share with the world. 

"I take three years because I like to live a little bit of life and experience some things," TobyMac, whose real name is Toby McKeehan, responded. "That's about when I live enough life to write a record about it."

The songwriter's project is a journey through the hardest places and his reliance on God through it all. In 2019, TobyMac lost his firstborn son Truett Foster McKeehan to an accidental overdose of fentanyl and amphetamines. 

"Most of the songs are about the journey from losing him, to where I am today," he explained. "I'm thankful that God is in the hardest places and that He meets us in the deepest valleys." 

He credits his faith in God, as well as his surrounding community when reflecting on his journey in dealing with the grief of losing his son.

One single from the album titled Cornerstone features Grammy Award-winner Zach Williams. 

"That song comes from a heavy place," TobyMac shared. The lyrics to the song came directly from his son's funeral. "I stood in front of a people at a park in Franklin, Tennessee, in a field at my son's funeral service. I thought I knew what I wanted to say, you know, but something different came out, and it was the beginning of that song."

He knew his family needed to rebuild after this tragedy. He looked at his grieving family and said, "We're not going to build on the promises of this world. We're going to build on the solid rock. We're going to build on the cornerstone." 

From that point, the song was born. 

It's inspiring to watch the award-winning artist use his personal tragedy to honor God in his music, but it hasn't been easy. He credits the people around him who helped him through this journey. "All along the way, they were just the right people that came and talked to me."

He recalls one time specifically when he decided to return to the recording studio. 

"I remember driving to the session, maybe it was four months after, and I was like, I felt so strange. I was like, 'Am I actually going to just write a song like everything's normal?'" he continued. "I pressed on and I walked in and there's this one guy there, Kyle Williams. I remember he was just so warm," TobyMac shared while fighting back tears. "He was just so tender with me, you know, and so kind."

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He also credits his commitment to reading God's Word as a crucial part of his healing. 

"I decided a few months before Truett passed to read the Bible from the beginning to the end. It really helped me," the singer-songwriter said. "I came across the scripture that led to that song, The Goodness where it said that God is rolling up his sleeves." 

That song, featuring Blessing Offor, was TobyMac's realization that God was working on his behalf. 

He also believes the song is especially important for others to hear in their own lives. 

"I think The Goodness is important. And I think the reason it is because no matter what valley you're in right now in your life, no matter how hard someone's life is, whatever they're facing, I think maybe that song could inspire someone that they could make it to where they see God as good." 

He ended the interview by closing with the lyrics to the inspiring song. 

"Through the good and the bad and the ugly, I could still see the sunshine above me. Lord, I love all the ways that you love me. You're the good, You're the good, You're the goodness," the singer said. 

TobyMac is on tour now, and the Life After Death album is available wherever music is sold.