Eye On It

'Eye On It' is once again a coloful tobyMac album. With it's good vocals and beats, this album has got a lot going for itself.

'Me Without You' is a perfect opening. It's got a great vibe, and wonderful lyrics.

Following the opening is 'Steal My Show'. The song is creatively arraned, and the message is about letting God control your life. Giving it up to him.

'Eye On It' is total epicness. It's such a great song of determination. Tobymac says that it's about being "Driven to pursue pationately a relationship with God", and boy, this song's got drive. Skipping to the 6th song on the album, "Unstopable" you'll find the same determination as 'Eye On It'. Featuring Blanca from Group1Crew, she adds her powerful vocals to top off this killer song.

'Lost Myself' seems to reflect Matthew 10:39. "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." It's such a great verse, and such a great song.

Going on to song 9, "Thankful for You" we are once again introduced to a catchy tune.

'Made For Me' is clever and 'Mac Daddy (Tru's Reality)' is humourous. Both song add a nice spin to the album.

The final song, and my personal favorite,...

'Eye On It' is once again a coloful tobyMac album. With it's good vocals and beats, this album has got a lot going for itself.

'Me Without You' is a perfect opening. It's got a great vibe, and wonderful lyrics.

Following the opening is 'Steal My Show'. The song is creatively arraned, and the message is about letting God control your life. Giving it up to him.

'Eye On It' is total epicness. It's such a great song of determination. Tobymac says that it's about being "Driven to pursue pationately a relationship with God", and boy, this song's got drive. Skipping to the 6th song on the album, "Unstopable" you'll find the same determination as 'Eye On It'. Featuring Blanca from Group1Crew, she adds her powerful vocals to top off this killer song.

'Lost Myself' seems to reflect Matthew 10:39. "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." It's such a great verse, and such a great song.

Going on to song 9, "Thankful for You" we are once again introduced to a catchy tune.

'Made For Me' is clever and 'Mac Daddy (Tru's Reality)' is humourous. Both song add a nice spin to the album.

The final song, and my personal favorite, is 'Favorite Song'. No joke, it is the best one on the album. Jamie Grace joins tobyMac for an amazing collaboartion full of coloful harmonies, encouragin lyrics, and great music. It's truely amazing.

'Eye On It' is a fantastic album. It's fresh, yet full of the classic tobyMac we know. You won't be disapointed!

First of all this is a must buy.Every song on this album is a repeater meaning that I can't stop listening to it over and over.Me without you is a song that says that no one can live without the help of God.Tobymac's words are very strong and applies to everyone.Steal my show means that instead of you taking everything into your own hands nothing will get done for the good.Instead you should allow God to take complete control an listen to Him everything will turn for the better.Eye on it means that keep your on the ultimate prize,heaven,and that when you put your eye on God you will most definitely gain eternal life with Him.Forgiveness means that no matter how many wrong things we have done or about to do,"No matter how lost you are your not that far yout not too far,No matter how hurt you are your not that far your not too far,No matter how wrong you are your not that far your not too far,and No matter who you are your not that far your not too far."God will always forgive us.Speak life means that you should witness to others about Christ rather than not.Unstoppable means that once you start to tell others about Him there's no stopping it.Lose myself mean...

First of all this is a must buy.Every song on this album is a repeater meaning that I can't stop listening to it over and over.Me without you is a song that says that no one can live without the help of God.Tobymac's words are very strong and applies to everyone.Steal my show means that instead of you taking everything into your own hands nothing will get done for the good.Instead you should allow God to take complete control an listen to Him everything will turn for the better.Eye on it means that keep your on the ultimate prize,heaven,and that when you put your eye on God you will most definitely gain eternal life with Him.Forgiveness means that no matter how many wrong things we have done or about to do,"No matter how lost you are your not that far yout not too far,No matter how hurt you are your not that far your not too far,No matter how wrong you are your not that far your not too far,and No matter who you are your not that far your not too far."God will always forgive us.Speak life means that you should witness to others about Christ rather than not.Unstoppable means that once you start to tell others about Him there's no stopping it.Lose myself means that you have to forget about yourself to fully follow God in everything you do.Anyway this is just a little bit of what the album has to offer.Check out one of Tobymac's greatest albums and I guarntee that his words will speak to you.

Let's get the obvious over with right from the start. The cover art for Toby Mac's new CD, Eye On It is horrible. The interior art is adequate but whoever designed this cover (her name is Sarah Sung- I checked the credits) should lose her job... unless of course Sarah Sung is a young child... in that case, Mr. Mac and Ms. Sung get a pass. At any rate, Art Director Jan Cook (who is usually a phenomenal art director) should be ashamed of herself for giving this a pass. That being said, at least the design is bright and simple, which should catch an eye.

Eye On It is set to debut at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 this coming week, the first Christian album to do so since Bob Carlisle took Butterfly Kisses to the top in early 1997 (Billboard is claiming the last Christian album to go #1 was LeAnn Rimes' You Light Up My Life- Inspirational Songs in September of 1997 but I refuse to consider this album a Christian Album since the bulk of the songs were pop standards or hymns sung by an individual who does not even associate herself with the Christian Music community- so I went back to Butterfly Kisses for a proper reference point) In fact, I could not find another CCM album that h...

Let's get the obvious over with right from the start. The cover art for Toby Mac's new CD, Eye On It is horrible. The interior art is adequate but whoever designed this cover (her name is Sarah Sung- I checked the credits) should lose her job... unless of course Sarah Sung is a young child... in that case, Mr. Mac and Ms. Sung get a pass. At any rate, Art Director Jan Cook (who is usually a phenomenal art director) should be ashamed of herself for giving this a pass. That being said, at least the design is bright and simple, which should catch an eye. Eye On It is set to debut at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 this coming week, the first Christian album to do so since Bob Carlisle took Butterfly Kisses to the top in early 1997 (Billboard is claiming the last Christian album to go #1 was LeAnn Rimes' You Light Up My Life- Inspirational Songs in September of 1997 but I refuse to consider this album a Christian Album since the bulk of the songs were pop standards or hymns sung by an individual who does not even associate herself with the Christian Music community- so I went back to Butterfly Kisses for a proper reference point) In fact, I could not find another CCM album that hit #1 on the main Billboard chart that did not have a mainstream radio hit attached to it! (Amy Grant also had a #1 album with Heart in Motion, but that was basically a pop album) so this is a momentous occasion for the Christian Music community to say the least. (For those who care, Lecrae's Gravity released today with very few mainstream competitors and could make CCM two in a row for a #1 Billboard Top 200 album if properly supported- so go out and buy it too!) So the question is, does the music hold up to all the hype? In my opinion, the answer is a resounding YES. With its focus on melody and pop trends, Eye On It properly represents modern CCM to the outside world. After listening to the CD a few times, it became clear that this is not so much of a coheisive concept album as it is a collection of radio singles, finely crafted and thoughtfully calculated to push CCM beyond its average musical trends for the broadest appeal possible. The best way to review Eye On It is to review each track one by one, so here goes! 1. Me Without You- The first radio single that lightly bobs along to sunny synths and a catchy melody. The lyrics are pretty cheesy but this is the type of song that you want to hear during the summer and perfectly sets up the album. 2. Steal My Show- This is a shocking 2nd track as it pretty much pulls the energy of the opening song to a halt for an introspective pop ballad that would have served better as an album closer. Lyrically, its a passionate plea for Christ to be the center of all Toby does. 3. Eye On It-And now we're back to the upbeat with the title track that is probably the most aggressive song on the record. Toby combines rap licks and rock guitars with some pretty heavy dubstep beats and some rather generic lyrics. I'm not sure why Toby Mac picked this song as his title track (Speak Life, Lose Myself or Steal My Show would have been better album names imo) but Britt Nicole makes an surprise guest appearance during the outro of the song with some pretty impressive vocalizing. 4. Forgiveness- Probably everyone's favorite song on the album, including mine (it was #1 on iTunes on the top Christian & Gospel Singles chart) features a guest rap (and vocals) by Lecrae. This mid-tempo ballad has solid lyrics and a memorable melody and may be the perfect song to introduce CCM Adult Contemporary radio to rap music. 5. Speak Life- This song sounds strikingly similar to Toby's hit song "Hold On" from his last record Tonight. In fact, you could sing "Hold On" to this track without much difficulty and visa versa. Lyrically, "Speak Life" is stronger but production-wise, "Hold On" was more catchy. This should be an easy #1 song for Mr. Mac. 6. Unstoppable- Another foray into dubstep, this time featuring Blanca from Group 1 Crew (as a pay back for his guest turn on G1C's top 5 hit "Let's Go" last year, I presume) Is also pretty hard hitting (maybe too hard for CCM radio) and should be fun in concert (Diverse City alum Nirva Ready should have no problem covering for Blanca). 7. Lose Myself- Like "Me Without You", "Lose Myself" is a nice mid to up tempo pop song with dance music textures that nicely pushes CCM radio into more electronic territory without going to far or being too obnoxious. I really liked the chorus on this one, even if the melody line might be slightly too high for Toby's limited range. (it probably would have been advisable to take the key down a half step or two) 8. Family- A surprisingly slow and intimate ballad about the importance of commitment to family that melodically is similar to #1 hit "City On Our Knees" (without the repetition or radio ready drum track). This song begins a series of relationship oriented songs that is a nice change of lyrical direction for the CD. One of Toby's best songs of his career. I would love to hear this on radio! 9. Thankful For You- If you mixed Sly & The Family's "Everyday People" with Audio A's "Beautiful" and Matthew West's "Next Thing You Know" you might get an idea of how this song sounds. Musically, this is the most unique track on the record and features a vocal grit that is missing from most of the songs on Eye On It. Lyrically its a great ode to the "one's who brought him" and helped him fulfill his musical dreams. Best line: "Its always been about the music, hoping God would use it to set some people free" 10. Made For Me- This is a cute love song to Toby's wife which mixes reggae and early 2000's Black Eyed Peas like pop into a sweet little treat that should make Mrs. McKeehan very happy. 11. Mac Daddy (Tru's Reality)- The requisite guest appearance by Toby's son was pretty shocking to say the least! Tru-Dog is all grown up! I actually had a hard time telling whether father or son were rapping over all the electronic beats and voice effects. It would be nice on Toby's next album if Tru actually got to guest on a serious song with his dad as its not quite as cute or comical for post-puberty Truett to sing about wanting a Mac laptop "so I can make my own beats" as it was last album when he was asking for a bike so he could "pop a wheelie". 12. Favorite Song- Eye On It ends with its most Adult Contemporary sounding song of the album. This time featuring Toby protegee and radio stalwart in her own right, Jamie Grace, "Favorite Song" bounces to an end in an almost forgettable fashion. It's catchy and fun, for sure but not too memorable. This song would have done better somewhere in the middle of the album to bridge the dubstep with the ballads. While still a solid song, it is easily the least memorable closing track of Toby's career ("Break Open The Sky" or "Lose My Soul" it is not) and leaves the listener feeling a bit confused. Overall, this is a great collection of songs that will fit in well on anyone's iPod or workout playlist. More thought should have gone into the sequencing of the album to give the listener a better album listening experience. Lyrically, Eye On It covers standard Toby Mac territory and really doesn't break any new ground. It is nice though to see Toby embracing modern music trends and doing it just as well, if not better than his mainstream counterparts. Radio Ready: The whole record! My picks: "Me Without You", "Steal My Show", "Forgiveness", "Speak Life", "Favorite Song", hopefully "Family" also gets a chance! iPod Picks: "Me Without You", "Family", "Forgiveness", "Lose Myself", "Thankful For You", "Eye On It", "Unstoppable", "Steal My Show"

TobyMac was basically the guy that got me into Christian music. Yes, my first CD was Steven Curtis Chapman's Speechless, but I did not really have a passion for Christian music - or any music, for that matter - until I bought TobyMac's album Renovating Diverse City. That album is basically what got me into music. With that said, Eye On It is quite a disappointment. Yeah I know it hit number one on the Billboard Top 200, but it just does not appeal to me. It is not TobyMac. The TobyMac that I loved to listen to back in the day was more of what I would describe as a mixture between hip hop and rock and a bunch of other awesome stuff. Eye On It is pop, just like everything else playing on the mainstream radio today.

I gave "Me Without You" a very optimistic review when it was released as a single like a month or two ago, hoping the majority of the album would not be like it. I still believe it is a pretty good song, but when it is mixed in with so many other songs that have that same pop sound it gets really old, really fast. I do not mind pop music at all (just take a look at my review of Britt Nicole's latest album, Gold), but pop is not what Toby does best. Crunk rock hip hop is...

TobyMac was basically the guy that got me into Christian music. Yes, my first CD was Steven Curtis Chapman's Speechless, but I did not really have a passion for Christian music - or any music, for that matter - until I bought TobyMac's album Renovating Diverse City. That album is basically what got me into music. With that said, Eye On It is quite a disappointment. Yeah I know it hit number one on the Billboard Top 200, but it just does not appeal to me. It is not TobyMac. The TobyMac that I loved to listen to back in the day was more of what I would describe as a mixture between hip hop and rock and a bunch of other awesome stuff. Eye On It is pop, just like everything else playing on the mainstream radio today.

I gave "Me Without You" a very optimistic review when it was released as a single like a month or two ago, hoping the majority of the album would not be like it. I still believe it is a pretty good song, but when it is mixed in with so many other songs that have that same pop sound it gets really old, really fast. I do not mind pop music at all (just take a look at my review of Britt Nicole's latest album, Gold), but pop is not what Toby does best. Crunk rock hip hop is what he does best. I would love to see him go back to the days of Portable Sounds; that is what I view as his best work to date. His last album, Tonight, had some really good songs, but that was when he started going down the road of soft pop songs made for the radio. Writing this I feel like the guy who is completely against any change in an artist's sound and writes huge reviews on iTunes and Amazon about how horrible the album is because it does not sound like the stuff the the band has done in the past. But with TobyMac he has built his sound from his days with DC Talk, so for like the past 25 years he has made his sound better and better with each release and now he has decided to change it up and do what everyone else is doing. There are too many pop artists out there; he had something no one else had before he started making pop music, and with this release he threw that out the window.

So, with that said, there are still some very good songs on this album that I find some enjoyment in, with one of them being the title track. The song does not quite fit the mold of a typical pop song, but is more of a mix between pop and techno; so basically it has a pretty sweet beat. The first time I heard the song I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it and how much I got into it. The track is super catchy, and easily one of my favorites on the album. "Steal My Show" is a little slower than the rest of the album, but it feels way too soft for TobyMac. When I hear the song it just does not fit him at all; it definitely does not sound right to me. However, I really love the lyrics. The song basically has the same concept of Lecrae's "Background," since both of them talk about sitting back and letting God take over our lives and control what we do, which is something I have a feeling we could all work on.

"Forgiveness" has got to be my favorite track on the album. Lecrae seems to always do a fantastic job with almost any song he is on, and this track is no exception. I have to admit Toby did a pretty good job rapping on this track too, something it seems he has not done in a really long time. The next song with a guest artists, "Unstoppable" with Blanca from Group 1 Crew, is another pretty sweet song that picks the speed up a little bit. The song definitely sounds a little more like Group 1 Crew's dance, funk music, which Toby pulls off pretty well. Blanca's background vocals also add a lot to the song, so I definitely love that he got her sing on the track. The final song with guest vocals, also happens to be the final song of the album, "Favorite Song," with Jamie Grace. If you do not think TobyMac has gone soft, just listen to this song and you will change your mind. The beat is what you would expect from a feel-good pop song: very upbeat and happy sounding. So, even though I am not a huge fan of the song, Toby was very smart to put Grace on the song because even though the style does not really suit him, it is her forte. She rescues the song in my opinion.

My hopes for this album were that TobyMac would go back to his roots a little more and do stuff like Portable Sounds and Welcome To Diverse City, but alas he did not. This album is almost entirely pop music, which after awhile gets kind of old. I can understand him trying to appeal to the younger generation and trying to make more radio friendly songs, but I almost feel like he compromised way too much on this record. Tonight had a pretty good balance of his older style and his new pop style, and it did pretty well; so, I almost wish he had at least stuck to the balance he had on that record. I do not want to completely bash the Eye On It, because if you like pop music, then more than likely you are going to enjoy this record; but the sound just does not fit him at all. Maybe you will think I am just crazy, whining about the past and how he does not sound as good as he used to, but to me this album just does not show how great of an artist TobyMac truly is. Toby is one of the greats of Christian music, and I will continually support him, so it is with great sadness that I say this album is a disappointment to me.

Favorite Song: Forgiveness (Feat. Lecrae)

This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from The Christian Music Review Blog. Click here to visit today!

Kevin Michael McKeehan, better known by his stage name, tobyMac, has been on the Christian Hip-Hop/R&B ever since 1987 with dc Talk. When they broke up 14 years later, Toby decided to release his first solo project Momentum. Three years later comes the very successful Welcome to Diverse City. A few of the songs were featured in Movie/TV ads, SprortsCenter, and The Dr. Phil Show. Let's fast forward another three years and Toby releases Portable Sounds, his first album with collaborations. Those include American Idol contestant Mandisa, Shonlock, and Kirk Franklin. That was yet another very successful album for Toby. If you go ahead about 2 1/2 years, City on Our Knees, the lead single from Tonight is released, this song becomes number one on billboard and win him yet another Dove award. This album has another bunch of huge collaborations including his nephew, lead singer of Relient K, Matt Theissen, John Cooper, lead singer of Skillet, and Israel Houghton. You think that's successful? Let's forward to this week and he releases Eye On It. As I'm writing this review, it is still number 1 AND 2 overall on iTunes. You can tell already this is going to be a successful album...

Kevin Michael McKeehan, better known by his stage name, tobyMac, has been on the Christian Hip-Hop/R&B ever since 1987 with dc Talk. When they broke up 14 years later, Toby decided to release his first solo project Momentum. Three years later comes the very successful Welcome to Diverse City. A few of the songs were featured in Movie/TV ads, SprortsCenter, and The Dr. Phil Show. Let's fast forward another three years and Toby releases Portable Sounds, his first album with collaborations. Those include American Idol contestant Mandisa, Shonlock, and Kirk Franklin. That was yet another very successful album for Toby. If you go ahead about 2 1/2 years, City on Our Knees, the lead single from Tonight is released, this song becomes number one on billboard and win him yet another Dove award. This album has another bunch of huge collaborations including his nephew, lead singer of Relient K, Matt Theissen, John Cooper, lead singer of Skillet, and Israel Houghton. You think that's successful? Let's forward to this week and he releases Eye On It. As I'm writing this review, it is still number 1 AND 2 overall on iTunes. You can tell already this is going to be a successful album! Mr. tobyMac, I would love to thank you for releasing another album to make my iPod and me smile! All the great things I'm about to say in this review are well deserved!

Me Without You, the first single off the album is one of Toby's most "poppy" songs ever. It talks about his faith and how he basically cannot be without God, or he would be lost. The second song on the album, Steal My Show, is a more mellow song off the album that is Toby saying, "God, whatever you want me to do, I'm in!" Probably my favorite song off the album is the title track. It is that one heavy rock song Toby always has to have on his albums, and also features Britt Nicole. Toby needed one more song for the album at the end of June and was currently on writer's block. He wanted to quit, but knew he couldn't, he had to keep his eyes on the prize and eventually wrote this anthem.

Forgiveness features one of Christian music's biggest rappers, LeCrae. It talks about, even though sometimes we feel like we don't deserve it, God is always there with forgiveness. Speak Life is another amazing anthem from the album. It's telling you to tell people great things, because you never know when those few words can be life-saving/-changing for someone. Unstoppable is a song that features Group 1 Crew's Blanca Reyes. It's saying that even though Christianity is a hard religion to be a part of, we are an unstoppable religion.

Does it ever seem like you act bigger than God? Toby can't explain it better than in Lose Myself. He feels like sometimes he is bigger than God and is telling God to take everything that he is and loves. Family, the 8th song on the album, is an anthem for couples who are on the edge of divorce. In the song, he is portraying a family struggling to stay together. In Thankful For You, McKeehan is working in a diner at the beginning of the song, as he is on the verge of his rapping career.

One thing Toby loves less than God, but more than anything else is his wife. He portrays that love perfectly in Made For Me. He's saying, that even though his wife and him have a lot of differences, that doesn't stop him. If you're a long-time tobyMac fan, you will know that every one of his solo albums has one song that his son, TruDog sings. He has matured so much with the new track Mac Daddy (Tru's Reality). He talks about saving up for a Mac laptop and looking for a job in the song. Favorite Song, the final track on the standard version of the album, features Jaime Grace. It compares God to his favorite song, because He sticks with him all the time.

Eye On It is going to be yet another hit album from Christian pop's biggest artist. There are slow ballads, such as Family all the way to going-to-be-dance-anthems like the title track. Even though the album has so many summery songs, it will be on your playlist even when it is snowing or freezing outside! This album is a must-buy for pop fans!