{"id":197,"date":"2018-03-13T05:00:17","date_gmt":"2018-03-13T05:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/merechrisianity\/?p=197"},"modified":"2018-03-13T18:51:21","modified_gmt":"2018-03-13T18:51:21","slug":"sacred-cows-are-we-still-down-with-dc-talk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/merechrisianity\/2018\/03\/sacred-cows-are-we-still-down-with-dc-talk\/","title":{"rendered":"Sacred Cows: Are We Still Down With dc Talk?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"\"$ <\/p>\n

\u201cThey were The Beatles of Christian music.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Talk to anyone who grew up in \u201890s Christian subculture and you\u2019re likely to hear this phrase when you mention dc Talk. There\u2019s some truth to it. The trio of Toby McKeehan, Michael Tait and Kevin Max \u2014 formed while the three were students at Liberty University \u2014 was the closest thing the contemporary Christian music (CCM) industry had to a superband.<\/p>\n

Where Jars of Clay was esoteric, dc Talk was mainstream. Where switchfoot was content for its spirituality to be subtle, dc Talk boasted \u201cexplicit Christian lyrics.\u201d Where Audio Adrenaline and countless other bands were often derivative of \u201csecular\u2019 radio, dc Talk\u2019s \u201cRap-Rock-and-Soul\u201d was a novel combination for CCM. Unlike other groups, which continue today under changing lineups, dc Talk was in and out in less than 10 years. Like the Beatles, who altered the course of rock and roll in a decade and then disbanded, dc Talk changed the face of Christian music and then went their separate ways. The band was one of the few Christian groups to play MTV and receive positive notices in publications such as Entertainment Weekly. So it only makes sense that when you talk Christian music, you start with the biggest band.<\/p>\n

Early Days \u2014 CCM\u2019s Nu Thang<\/h2>\n
dc Talk was like nothing I\u2019d ever heard before \u2014 then again, I was 10 and I hadn\u2019t heard much.<\/p>\n
My aunt and mother, sensing that their children would be exposed to music outside of Disney or Alvin and Chipmunks, decided to indoctrinate us into the world of CCM one Christmas. My brother got a VHS cassette of music videos featuring Michael W. Smith. I got a collection of videos from Degarmo and Key, CCM\u2019s answer to Hall and Oates. I wasn\u2019t exactly thrilled, but I still played the video out of curiosity. Several songs deep, however,I was stunned by a song from another group, featuring a white rapper and two singers. From those first keyboard blasts of \u201cHeavenbound,\u201d I knew I was listening to something special.<\/p>\n
<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s hard to state what a blast of energy dc talk was to the Christian music scene. The style of most CCM at the time, from what I remember, wasn\u2019t aimed at youth but at their parents. Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant were singers you could listen to with Mom and Dad. Petra was billed as rock and roll, but it was dad rock all the way. I suppose there was Stryper, but that was still pointed toward the heavy metal lovers, not kids listening to Run DMC.<\/p>\n<p>dc Talk was the first Christian group doing music that I liked \u2014 and, as is the case with any good band, it was music my parents hated. They were unsure about the whole rap thing in general (I hate to be cynical, but part of me wonders how many parents felt better about buying the CD knowing Toby was white). When I asked for a dc Talk CD, my father actually bought me a Glad acapella album so I\u2019d have something a bit more Christian-sounding to listen to. But they were fine so long as we kept the volume down. The parental annoyance was probably a badge of honor.<\/p>\n<p>Listening to the self-titled debut album nearly 30 years on (and about 25 years after my last listen), I cringed. Aside from the energetic \u201cHeavenbound\u201d and the beat-box-backed \u201cTime Ta Jam,\u201d the album is rough. The vocal mixtures of Tait and Max \u2014 the \u201csecret sauce\u201d that made dc Talk more than just a Christian rap band \u2014 had not been perfected yet. Sure, Tait belts out the chorus on \u201cPraise Him\u201d and Max delivers one heck of an \u201cAllelujah\u201d elsewhere, but this is McKeehan\u2019s project through and through. Unfortunately, Toby hadn\u2019t quite mastered his delivery, and the result is a brash, shrill rapper who comes across as more obnoxious than confident, far from the talented entertainer McKeehan would later prove to be. The album isn\u2019t terrible, but its dated stylings and the grating rap prove why the trio abandoned mentions of this album almost immediately.<\/p>\n<p>Christian music didn\u2019t quite know what it was doing in its early days, and it shows here. There\u2019s always been the push-pull between worship, entertainment and evangelism. Like young seminary students, dc Talk leans hard into preachiness, delivering rhythmic sermons instead of spiritual contemplation. Every song is either centered around the mistake of being a nonbeliever (\u201cSpinnin\u2019 Round,\u201d \u201cFinal Days\u201d), a flat-out altar call (\u201cGah Ta Be\u201d), or pious boasting (\u201cTime Ta Jam\u201d). The album closes with \u201cJesus Loves Me,\u201d which boasts a killer gospel chorus by Tait but also features one of McKeehan\u2019s most ill-advised raps. The album has slight hints of what the group would become, but overall it suffers from that CCM problem of sounding like preachers trying to be cool with the kids of the day.<\/p>\n<p>The group\u2019s second album, \u201cNu Thang,\u201d was released just a year later, and is responsible for the greatest thing ever put on the internet.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Nu Thang\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6MUVNuD3MiU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cNu Thang\u201d is not great, but you can see dc Talk emerging as the group\u2019s \u201cRap, Rock and Soul\u201d aesthetic begins to coalesce. There\u2019s still rap on every song, but it\u2019s more often used as an accent, not the main event. The group drives into rock on \u201cNo More\u201d and \u201cWalls,\u201d the latter being the first of their many attempts to address racism. \u201cChildren Can Live (Without It)\u201d gives Tait a chance to shine and \u201cCan I Get a Witness\u201d is a fun gospel-flavored number that hints at the standout title track on the group\u2019s next album. McKeehan has also honed his skills, bursting out with a more confident, powerful voice that anchors the ensemble instead of overshadowing it.<\/p>\n<p>Lyrically, the group still hasn\u2019t learned embraced subtlety (to be fair, they never did). The opening track \u201cWhen dc Talks,\u201d is fun, but the electronic voice chirping \u201cWe Got Some Nonbelievers Out There\u201d tips its hand at the proselytizing to come. In \u201cHe Works,\u201d McKeehan brags about how now that he\u2019s a Christian he doesn\u2019t smoke pot or hang with his non-Christian friends. It comes off condescending and self-righteous. \u201cThings of This World\u201d is an anti-materialism sermon that gets by on a haunting melody, and \u201cTalk it Out\u201d might be the nadir of dc Talk\u2019s library. A song about talking to your parents if you\u2019re having problems, it feels like pandering to Christian helicopter parents. That said, there are far more hits this time. \u201cWalls\u201d is on the nose, but its attempts to address racism are admirable. I\u2019ve already talked about \u201cCan I get a Witness,\u201d and the title track is great fun. Playfulness fuels the album\u2019s standout track, \u201cI Luv Rap Music,\u201d which seems designed to placate skeptical adults, but still holds up as a Fresh Prince-inspired jam.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"I Luv Rap Music - dc Talk\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/L4Nd7lZgp4o?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Two albums in, dc Talk was starting to make a stir in the CCM scene. As Forefront Records began to sign groups like Audio Adrenaline and make its mark, dc Talk was touring with some of Christian music\u2019s biggest acts. Christian music was making a shift that would change the music world \u2026 at least for many \u201890s youth group kids. But its biggest moment was still to come.<br>\n<\/p>\n<h2>\u201cFree at Last\u201d \u2014 The turning point<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-251\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/872\/2018\/03\/dctalk1.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"363\"><\/p>\n<p>The boys wouldn\u2019t take on grunge for another three years, but \u201cFree at Last\u201d was CCM\u2019s \u201cNevermind.\u201d In the same way that \u201cSmells Like Teen Spirit\u201d forever changed the music world, this album rocked contemporary Christian music on its axis. This is what many evangelicals had long hoped was possible \u2014 music that was explicitly pro-Christian but also, you know, good.<\/p>\n<p>More than 20 years on, \u201cFree at Last\u201d just plain works. The album explodes out of the gate with \u201cBatman\u201d-inspired shouts of \u201cBam! Biff! Pow,\u201d followed by a chant of \u201cAre you down with dc Talk.\u201d\u201cLuv is a Verb\u201d is as energetic an album starter as you\u2019re going to have, and even the Proverbs 31-inspired \u201cThat Kind of Girl\u201d overcomes its lyrical awkwardness by being a fun jam. Then, after a quick sketch, the album roars to life with an adrenalized, club-ready rendition of the Doobie Bros. \u201cJesus is Just Alright.\u201d As on-the-nose as the lyrics might be, the song is a blast, a Jesus freak anthem you can dance to.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"DC Talk - Jesus Is Just Alright (Official Music Video)\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NqCccV6Y31s?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cNu Thang\u201d made attempts to keep the album from becoming \u201cThe Toby Show,\u201d but Kevin and Michael\u2019s showcases often felt awkwardly integrated. \u201cFree at Last\u201d is a true collaboration, with the hip-hop complimenting the rock, and the soul and gospel weaving through it all. McKeehan is content to be on the sidelines on several songs, coming in for a bridge or verse when the album slows down on \u201cSay the Words\u201d and \u201cThe Hardway.\u201d The album moves at a quick pace, veering from dance jam to ballad to all-out rocker; it\u2019s great fun to drive to.<\/p>\n<p>The energy propels the album through its clumsier lyrical moments. \u201cThat Kind of Girl\u201d hasn\u2019t aged well; Toby\u2019s attempts to talk about \u201cthe garden where I guess they grow the olives\u201d is a groaner and, let\u2019s just face it, Christians talking about dating is never going to be sexy. \u201cSocially Acceptable\u201d has a nice, soulful sound that carries you through on-the-nose lines like \u201cSomething\u2019s missing, and if you\u2019re asking me, I think that something is the G-O-D\u201d (but it still can\u2019t rescue the more problematic, \u201chuman rights have made the wrongs okay\u201d). I don\u2019t know that all the \u201cStar Wars\u201d references in the world could make the abstinence anthem \u201cI Don\u2019t Want It\u201d work, but even that track\u2019s fast pace couples with its ham-fisted lyrics to give it some camp value.<\/p>\n<p>Listen: Part of dc Talk\u2019s appeal was that the trio never watered down its evangelicalism. For better or worse, they knew that their job was to keep the \u201cChristian\u201d in \u201cDecent Christian Talk.\u201d So look elsewhere for subtlety. That\u2019s to the group\u2019s credit. These three could have found much more mainstream success had they dialed back on the doctrine. Instead, they went all in on the God stuff and married it to quality music. \u201cWord 2 the Father\u201d is worship jam as party tune, \u201cTime Is\u201d is a rock anthem about using spiritual gifts, \u201cFree at Last\u201d doubles down on the gospel-tinged raucousness of \u201cCan I Get a Witness\u201d and when you hear it, I defy you not to want to get up and dance (unless you\u2019re Baptist, in which case you might be able to clap\u2026maybe). The musical stylings shift, but it never feels awkward \u2014 it feels like a group of artists experimenting as they go along. There\u2019s a vibrancy that still crackles.<\/p>\n<p>And those lyrics? They\u2019re still blunt, but more introspective and (a little) less preachy. \u201cThe Hardway\u201d is a quiet meditation on failure.\u201dJesus is Alright\u201d prefigures \u201cJesus Freak\u2019s\u201d self-awareness about the weirdness of being a believer. \u201cLean on Me\u201d seems to have been written expressly to give youth group kids something to sing together. In many ways, this is the pinnacle of what Christian music could be: quality music, youth pastor-approved.<\/p>\n<p>This was when dc Talk emerged as the biggest thing in Christian music since Johnny Cash. They sold out arenas and played on MTV. Toby, Kevin and Michael were on their way to becoming artists. And their next album would cement their legacy.<\/p>\n<h2>The artists<\/h2>\n<p>The \u201cJesus Freak\u201d single was released in summer 1995. I picked it up, looking for some more rap, rock and soul. I wasn\u2019t prepared for the group\u2019s radical change.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJesus Freak\u201d is a weird, loud song. It leaned hard into grunge, with shredding guitar solos, bombastic drum beats, and rhymes that weren\u2019t so much rapped as yelled. To sheltered youth group kids, it sounded real and edgy, and it urged us to embrace an uncomfortable, dangerous faith. The song\u2019s music video, helmed by Simon Maxwell, who directed the Nine Inch Nails video for \u201cHurt,\u201d was like nothing we\u2019d ever seen. This wasn\u2019t fun-loving, let\u2019s party dc Talk. This was a band that was saying that being a Christian was edgy and weird.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"DC Talk - Jesus Freak (Original Video)\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kbB0QrBIs9k?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>With two decades of hindsight, I can see that what was happening was likely more strategic branding than creative experimentation. Alternative music was popular and rap was thought to be on its way out, and the album, released in November 1995, leans hard into a grunge aesthetic. The album cover is a dull, dingy brown. The boys sport longer hair, ratty goatees and dreadlocks. The tour made room for acoustic sets and favored rock over hip-hop. As an adult, I laugh at how hard they tried to mimic mainstream styles; as a kid, I thought it was awesome.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the over-calculated marketing, \u201cJesus Freak\u201d is, as the kids today say, tight, even if its production is more polished than a true alternative band would sound.The group fully gels as an ensemble, with Toby dialing way back on the rap, and Tait and Max coming in hard on the vocals. Everything sounds cohesive and of a piece. There are slight variations between something like \u201cSo Help Me God,\u201d \u201cJesus Freak,\u201d \u201cDay by Day\u201d and \u201cLike It, Love It, Need It,\u201d but overall this is the band settling on a sound and then nailing it. I might prefer the diverse personalities that bounce around on \u201cFree at Last,\u201d but \u201cJesus Freak\u201d is a supremely well-executed piece of craftsmanship, highlighting just how well the three work together. If dc Talk was really The Beatles of CCM, \u201cJesus Freak\u201d was their \u201cAbbey Road,\u201d an album that showcases the artistry of collaboration.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-245 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/872\/2018\/03\/snm3jss0_400x400-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\"><\/p>\n<p>Lyrically, it\u2019s the highlight of dc Talk, burrowing into the fears and insecurities of being a Christian in the spotlight. \u201cSo Help Me God\u2019s\u201d theme is self-evident, and \u201cColored People\u201d is a beautiful ode to the joys of diversity. \u201cWhat if I Stumble\u201d is a vulnerable meditation on the dangers of being Christian role models. \u201cIn the Light\u201d is an infectious earworm and acoustic worship jam. \u201cWhat Have We Become\u201d is a mournful cry of lament, and \u201cMind\u2019s Eye\u201d is an arena-rock album closer. Despite the more serious tone, dc Talk still has fun, with the toss-off \u201cMrs. Morgan\u201d and Tait\u2019s lounge lizard-inspired \u201cJesus Freak Reprise\u201d lightening things up.<\/p>\n<p>Many would argue that \u201cJesus Freak\u201d is not just peak dc Talk, but peak CCM, and I would definitely entertain that argument. It occupied rarefied air for the industry, garnering mainstream respect. Through it all, dc Talk continued to resist urges to water down the music and go the dreaded \u201csecular\u201d route. Next up was a live album, \u201cWelcome to the Freak Show,\u201d which is a lot of fun. But it would be three years before dc Talk\u2019s next \u2014 and, as of this point, final \u2014 album.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSupernatural,\u201d released in 1998, is another twist. Looking back, it\u2019s also probably indicative that the trio was looking to move on to more fulfilling creative ventures. A shift from grunge, it\u2019s a mix of influences that owes quite a bit to R.E.M. or U2.<\/p>\n<p>In a nod to being deigned \u201cCCM\u2019s Beatles,\u201d Kevin Max starts the first track \u201cIt\u2019s Killing Me\u201d with a cheeky \u201cHello goodbye\u201d before belting into a song about how hard it is to be a Christian around non-believers. By now, the rap has been completely abandoned, aside from some background rhymes on \u201cWe All Want to Be Loved\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m Into Jesus.\u201d It\u2019s a polished album, and the trio has always been skilled at creating catchy hooks. The driving chorus of \u201cIt\u2019s Killing Me\u201d kicks things off with energy and \u201cConsume Me\u201d is a poetic ode to the Holy Spirit. The latter is also about as close as the group gets to ambiguity; squint hard enough and you could mistake it as a love song.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout, however, you can hear the three getting restless. The album is a bit too calculated, safe and, honestly, a bit dull. \u201cFearless\u201d is fine, but sounds like at least three other tracks on the album, including \u201cConsume Me\u201d and the band\u2019s one venture into love songs, \u201cGodsend.\u201d Where the cohesiveness of \u201cJesus Freak\u201d was a benefit, here it feels less like top-notch artistry and more like laziness. Lyrically, the songs are fine, but they lack vitality. \u201cInto Jesus\u201d is another attempt at \u201cJesus Freak\u201d-level outsider status, but the lyrics are trite, the sound monotonous. \u201cThe Truth\u201d is just flat-out bad, a belabored and blatant attempt to cash in on the popularity of \u201cThe X-Files.\u201d The experimentation of \u201cFree at Last\u201d and craftsmanship of \u201cJesus Freak\u201d are replaced by what appears to be an attempt to create pop singles. The trailblazers of Christian culture have, instead, become part of the industry. Maybe they always were, but here it feels less fun and more like selling out.<\/p>\n<p>When the three let their hair down, the results are much better. \u201cMy Friend (So Long)\u201d might be subtweet as song. A poke at a Christian musician who\u2019s sold out to the secular world \u2014 some rumored it\u2019s a dig at Amy Grant, but they trio has denied it\u00a0\u2014 the song risks preachiness, but a catchy chorus and cheeky lyrics keep it light. \u201cWe All Wanna Be Loved\u201d lets Kevin lean into some soul music, but its bouncy stylings also hint at the solo path Toby would take. The pop-punk \u201cSince I Met You\u201d is a fun, fast-paced jam. While the title track never reaches the heights of \u201cJesus Freak,\u201d it still boasts a killer chorus. The final track, \u201cRed Letters,\u201d is an ambitious worship song that suffers from overproduction.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"DC Talk - My Friend (So Long)\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fYX75wCS0rM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSupernatural\u201d is not bad, but it\u2019s a step back from \u201cJesus Freak.\u201d It feels like the ambition to be accepted by Christian and mainstream worlds overshadowed the goal of making good music. At its best, it\u2019s fun and energetic; at its worst, it feels too neatly packaged. The cohesion that made \u201cJesus Freak\u201d so memorable begins to fray. I\u2019m glad to see Max and Tait getting the spotlight here, but there\u2019s also a sense that they\u2019re itching to go off and do their own things.<\/p>\n<p>So it\u2019s probably inevitable that a break was coming. But I don\u2019t think anyone expected that it would be pretty much the end of Christian music\u2019s biggest success story.<\/p>\n<h2>Solo and beyond<\/h2>\n<p>The year 2000 saw the release of a greatest hits album titled \u201cIntermission.\u201d If that wasn\u2019t enough of a hint that Toby, Michael and Kevin were ready to branch out, their next album made it explicit. Titled \u201cSolo,\u201d the seven-track EP is composed of two tracks apiece from each of the band members\u2019 upcoming solo albums, preceded by a live cover of U2\u2019s \u201c40\u201d. The group\u2019s tour leaned heavily into idea that dc Talk\u2019s days an ensemble were coming to an end, opening with individual sets from each artist and then segueing into a greatest hits celebration. There was never another album or tour.<\/p>\n<p>Each has crafted individual careers that have lasted longer than dc Talk did. McKeehan, now Toby Mac, is one of the Christian world\u2019s most popular showmen and a successful producer. Kevin Max has had a healthy career as an independent artist \u2014 his Christmas album is fantastic \u2014 and was briefly the lead singer for a revamped Audio Adrenaline. Michael Tait did two strong albums under a band of his own name, starred as Jesus in a modern-day rock opera about the life of Christ, and since 2010 has been the frontman of one of CCM\u2019s other major acts, The Newsboys, most famously belting out the title track for the film \u201cGod\u2019s Not Dead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What the three have not done? Reunite, at least for anything longform. They\u2019ve cameoed on each other\u2019s projects and sometimes turn up at each other\u2019s shows. A 2016 cruise was the closest thing to a reunion. While they sometimes hint at something coming along, it appears that a reunion might just be a pipe dream for nostalgic youth group kids.<\/p>\n<p>And I\u2019m fine with that. Some bands can reunite and that old spark is still there. Some can shift the lineup and keep going. But sometimes, the spotlight just can\u2019t be shared. Yeah, I love my memories of dc Talk, but I\u2019ve had a blast at Toby Mac concerts. I\u2019ve loved watching how the freedom afforded Kevin Max has allowed him to flourish. I may not be a fan of recent Newsboys stuff, but I know it\u2019s been a blessing to others. The show might be over, but I\u2019m glad each member still lets their freak flag fly.<\/p>\n<p><em>Sacred Cows is an occasional column where I revisit some of the best and worst of Christian culture and ask whether it holds up. <\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"fb-page\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/merechrisianity\/\" data-tabs=\"timeline\" data-small-header=\"false\" data-adapt-container-width=\"true\" data-hide-cover=\"false\" data-show-facepile=\"true\">\n<blockquote class=\"fb-xfbml-parse-ignore\" cite=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/merechrisianity\/\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/merechrisianity\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Chris Williams<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cThey were The Beatles of Christian music.\u201d Talk to anyone who grew up in \u201890s Christian subculture and you\u2019re likely to hear this phrase when you mention dc Talk. There\u2019s some truth to it. The trio of Toby McKeehan, Michael Tait and Kevin Max \u2014 formed while the three were students at Liberty University \u2014 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2598,"featured_media":233,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,65,1],"tags":[71,74,89,86,83,80,68,77],"class_list":["post-197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-sacred-cows","category-uncategorized","tag-ccm","tag-dc-talk","tag-free-at-last","tag-jesus-freak","tag-kevin-max","tag-michael-tait","tag-sacred-cows","tag-toby-mac"],"yoast_head":"\n<title>Sacred Cows: Are We Still Down With dc Talk?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"dc Talk is often heralded as the greatest Christian rock band of all time. 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