TobyMac‘s new album, Life After Death, is out now. The 15-track record marks the Christian singer’s first project since losing his son, Truett, in an accidental overdose in 2019. It’s a loss that TobyMac reflects on heavily, along with the grace and courage he found to move forward after the tragic loss, in all of the tracks on the poignant project.
“I was taking a step of faith and pushing myself to believe, pushing myself to recognize that God might have a bigger plan than I do,” TobyMac said on Good Morning America, calling the record his “journal over the last three years.”
Life After Death includes the song, “21 Years,” which TobyMac released only a couple of months after Truett passed away.
“I think the only possible way I could do that was because it was a tribute to him. It was a tribute song more than it was me getting my art on,” TobyMac acknowledges. “I wanted to create a sort of monument to how amazing he was.”
TobyMac is continuing to move forward with new music, but he admits he is not the same person he was when he released any of his previous records.
“I will forever be a different man,” TobyMac tells People. “I thought, honestly, with my five kids and my bride, that I had the perfect life. And we’re really messy now. It’s not so neat anymore.”
All of the tracks on Life After Death are not only TobyMac’s quest to chronicle his own journey of grief and healing, but to be a message of hope for others who have also experienced a heartbreaking loss.
“The pain and anguish was just killing us. I never thought I would ever have it together again,” he says. “I want to write songs that resonate. It’s amazing how many people have experienced loss and how a song just loves them well, wherever they are. I’m so grateful for that.”
TobyMac will forever miss his son, but he still feels his presence with him, whever he goes.
“We’re not scared to talk about it. It’s not a taboo subject. It’s something beautiful,” the 57-year-old says. “[We have] the faith to believe, is Truett laughing at this right now? Is he saying, ‘Come on Dad, give him a break’ when I’m hard on his little brother? All that has been really good for us.
“He’s part of an ongoing conversation,” TobyMac continues. “We meet every year at the park across the street where we had his service, and we tell stories about him — things he had done or said or made us laugh or when he was a bad boy or when he was so kindhearted. We remember him all the time.”
TobyMac has several tour dates on the calendar, including his headlining TobyMac The Theater Tour. Find Life After Death and all of his tour dates at TobyMac.com.