First Impressions is a segment where we let you into our early thoughts on a highly anticipated album, This week, we have our early views on TobyMac’s Tonight. It drops February 9th, 2010.

I am 22 years old. That means that I have been alive almost as long as tobyMac [born Kevin Michael McKeehan] has been making music. That’s an absolutely mind blowing fact, especially due to how strong his presence remains in the music industry. Having completely changed the way people looked at contemporary Christian music through his work in the group DC Talk, he’s considered a modern icon by many in the industry. However, it’s his genre blurring solo efforts that have truly cemented his place in the music world and on February 9th he will release his fourth solo effort, Tonight.

The thing that really separates tobyMac’s releases from others in the music industry is that they always push the boundaries of genre blurring and atmospheric cohesiveness. The man simply doesn’t make a rock album or a hip hop release. Instead, he tends to create a musical effort that at least dips its toes in everything from rock to hip hop, salsa, folk, soul, r&b, and more. If you can name the genre, he probably touches on it. This has always been a factor in Mac’s music and what’s continually made him a mainstay on multiple radio formats and Tonight is no different. From the near electronica rock riffs of “Tonight” to the soul meets funk fusion sound of “Funky Jesus Music,” this album truly has it all.

When you’ve been in the game as long as tobyMac, pushing yourself is often something that tends to go by the wayside. I mean, at this point, he’s developed a built in audience that’s large enough to support anything he would choose to release, but what separate him as an artist and performer is that he never seems to be content with being static. Tonight stands as a declaration of refusal to settle ever, both in life and career. Just when you thought he couldn’t take music any farther, you look up, and he’s miles ahead of the pack once again.

-James Shotwell

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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