Christian rapper TobyMac (Toby McKeehan) released a song and video on Friday as a tribute to his son, Truett Foster McKeehan, who died in October from an accidental overdose of fentanyl and amphetamines.
Truett was pronounced dead after paramedics responded to a cardiac arrest call at a house on Harlin Drive in Nashville, Tennessee, on Wednesday, October 23.
TobyMac titled his new song 21 Years, a reference to Truett’s age at the time he died.
TobyMac took to Twitter and Instagram on January 9 to post a statement about his son’s death and the song in his honor.
“21 years is a song I wrote about the recent passing of my firstborn son, Truett Foster McKeehan. I loved him with all my heart. Until something in life hits you this hard, you never know how you will handle it.”
TobyMac said writing 21 Years “felt like an honest confession of the questions, pain, anger, doubt, mercy and promise that describes the journey I’m probably only beginning.”
https://t.co/CLRTOCBy0F pic.twitter.com/Wi47ZQhmeS
— TobyMac (@tobymac) January 10, 2020
According to The Tennessean, the Grammy Award-winning Christian rapper sings in the chorus:
“Are you singin’ with the angels?/ Are you happy where you are?/ Well, until this show is over/ And you run into my arms/ God has you in Heaven/ But I have you in my heart.”
Truett was the eldest of TobyMac’s five children, according to NBC. He was following in the footsteps of his father as an aspiring rapper. He released songs under several names, including Truett Foster, TRU, truDog, and Shiloh.
TobyMac had released a heartfelt statement after Truett’s death in October. In the statement, he described his son as a “magnetic” young man with an “untamable grand personality and dreams to match.”
TobyMac rose to fame as a member of the Christian group DC Talk in the late 1980s and 1990s. He started a solo career after the group broke up in 1999. He has released several solo albums, including Momentum, Welcome to Diverse City, Portable Sounds, This Is Not a Test, and The Elements.
He is a multiple Grammy Award-winner with several singles that hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Christian Songs chart. He is best known for songs such as I Just Need You, Me Without You, Gone, Made to Love, and Lose My Soul.
In honor of Truett, TobyMac and his family launched the Truett Foster Foundation to raise education funds for underprivileged youths.