A year to the month after releasing his eighth studio album, October 2018's
The Elements
,
TobyMac
lost his 21-year-old son
Truett
to an accidental drug overdose. His eventual ninth album,
Life After Death
, finds the genre-blurring Christian artist navigating the aftermath alongside a slew of guests with a poignant mix of warm appreciations and invigorated motivational songs. The album front-loads the latter in the form of funky, gospel-tinged pop entry "Help Is on the Way (Maybe Midnight)" and the equally uplifting "The Goodness," in which he trades lead vocals with
Blessing Offor
. Another lively entry, "Show Up Choose Love," features
Jon Reddick
and a full choir, although the track list soon heads in a more reflective direction with songs featuring
Sheryl Crow
("Promised Land"),
Marlee
("Everything About You"), and members of
dc Talk
("Space"). Heartfelt throughout, the 15-song set closes on a moving note with the pairing of the solo "I'm Sorry (a lament)" and "Rest," a spare, quasi-acoustic lullaby featuring
Terrian
and
Gabe Real
. With a quartet of its singles reaching the Christian Top Ten before the album's release,
became
's sixth straight Christian number one when it was released in August of 2022. ~ Marcy Donelson