Welcome to Diverse City

1	Hey Now / Coffee 3:44
2	Catchafire (Whoopsi-Daisy) / M.O.C. 3:24
3	The Slam 3:19
4	Poetically Correct 0:56
5	Atmosphere 4:07
6	Gone 3:26
7	TruDog: The Return 2:22
8	Diverse City 3:56
9	Stories (Down to the Bottom) / Superchic[k] Alumni 4:40
10	Getaway Car 4:26
11	Burn for You 3:49
12	Fresher Than a Night at the W 0:48
13	Ill-M-I 3:29
14	Phenomenon 5:19
15	Gotta Go 2:49
16	Atmosphere Remix 7:07

Barnes & Noble

TobyMac's second solo release is full of hip-hop attitude, funky backbeats, and rock 'n' roll grit-the kind of forceful musical statement he's been itching to make ever since his regular band, dc Talk, lost their urban edge and became a celebrated Christian pop band. Diverse City is aptly named, reflecting musical diversity while making a lyrical plea for the kind of multicultural acceptance society still grapples with a full 15 years after dc Talk first made this point. Musically, Diverse City is full of surprises, from the teeth-clenching aggression of opening track "Slam" to the pumping dance goove of "Diverse City" to the radio-ready pop of "Gone" to the smooth Latin guitar work punctuating "Atmosphere." TobyMac proves himself yet again to be one of a handful in Christian music for whom the word "artist" is truly applicable. Lisa Zhito

All Music Guide

Toby McKeehan (aka tobyMac) is a founding member of the celebrated Christian hip-hop/R&B group dc Talk, but has been slowly building a significant solo career for himself as well. His 2001 debut album was well received, and his sophomore effort is an impressive melting pot of hip-hop, dancehall reggae, and guitar rock. Like most such albums, it could stand to be trimmed by 15 or 20 minutes (the cutesy little kid cameo is overlong and unnecessary, for example), but at its core Welcome to Diverse City is well written, beautifully sung, and nicely produced, with a satisfying variety of styles and textures. "The Slam" is a sort of funky nu-metal (but that's meant in a good way); "Hey Now" is a swooningly hooky rock-R&B hybrid; "Fresher Than a Night at the W" is straight-up old school hip-hop. Best of all is the P-Funkified title track, which features a cameo by none other than Bootsy Collins himself. "Getaway Car" and "Phenomenon" should probably have been relegated to B-side status on a CD single, but they're not bad, just not up to the high standard set by almost every other song on this very fine album. Rick Anderson