Did Homosexuality Kill DC Talk?
- Fred
- Jun 27
- 4 min read
Jesus Freak by DC Talk is the greatest Christian Rock album of all time.
I mean, like, by a mile.
Now let's say you don't trust my judgement. DC Talk still won 4 Grammys and a wheelbarrow full of Dove Awards in the 90's. For a brief flash of time, they were unequivocally the biggest Christian Musical act in the Western World.
When the Jesus Freak album came out the year after Kurt Cobain killed himself, the album was as good as anything in the mainstream. If you go back to 1995, no Rock album was better. There might have been different sounding Rock albums than Jesus Freak, but the album had depth and spirituality. Mind's Eye, In the Light, and Day by Day, are all great deep cuts that stood the test of time.
The Jesus Freak album was as big for God as 1996's Antichrist Superstar album was for the Devil.
In 1998, the band released Supernatural and the album was okay, I guess. The band toured behind their material and then went on a semi-permanent hiatus in the year 2000.
Now when they broke up, the band members were all in their mid-thirties after making DC Talk their career since meeting and forming at Liberty University in the late 80's. I didn't give the band breaking up a second thought, lots of bands have behind the scenes drama. But they were all remarkably civil and wished each other well in each others' solo projects.
As the years went by, they got back together for 5 minutes here, and 5 minutes there, but they haven't been an active band in a quarter of a century.
Which always struck me as strange for a group of guys that were on the cusp of mainstream success. I could find no reason for the band breaking up other than creative differences. All great bands get back together for the money, right? All 3 members continued to sing about their love of God in different harmonies.
Kevin Max got married and started a solo career. By all accounts he is a successful solo artist, but in the last month he has been on Instagram promoting his art.
Kevin Michael McKeehan got married and started a solo career. By all standards, he is a successful solo artist under the moniker of TobyMac. He has continued to win Grammys and Dove Awards as a solo artist. This week he has been very active on Social Media promoting his Fall Tour:
Michael Tait stayed single and started a solo career. First he released solo music under the moniker of Tait, then in 2009 he joined the Dove Award winning band the Newsboys. What got my attention about Michael Tait today?
Uh, what confession?
And it continues-
.
Now since the beginning of time, you know how many Rock Stars have done too much cocaine or drank too much alcohol? A ton.
The USA Today also reported that allegedly Tait took advantage of intoxicated men on Newsboys Tours.
Again, if you work at the local school district, very bad. The list of Rock Stars who have taken advantage of intoxicated fans, though, is also quite long.
For the Newsboys' part, they said the right things and sent their "brother" to rehab. But even they were stunned by the depths of Tait's depravity. I am not making light of the allegations, Tait himself categorizes them as "mostly true," but unless I missed it, both Kevin Max and TobyMac have yet to comment.
Earlier this week at the Christian Post: "Christian singer Cory Asbury has claimed that “everyone knew” about Michael Tait’s history of misconduct and alleged that many other Christian artists are also living “double lives,” following bombshell reports accusing the former Newsboys and DC Talk frontman of grooming, drugging and sexually assaulting young men."
There is a lengthy thread on the Christian Post's Facebook page calling out, specifically, TobyMac. When I googled TobyMac on Michael Tait, a ton of TikTok videos from fans came up, but nothing, apparently from TobyMac himself.
Listen, I am not here to judge Michael Tait, I am a music fan. The allegations will work their way through the court system.
But I am saying that if you're a Christian Man in your 30's, you have a good feel for whether one of your best friends (at one time) either hasn't found the right woman, or if he's gay.
Just this week, both the lead singers of the Sex Pistols and Mastodon came out and said they "HATED" their ex-bandmates. There is no such (public) acrimony with DC Talk.
From the outside looking in, with the Michael Tait story now escalating into the national news cycle, it appears in hindsight that DC Talk either broke up due to Tait's Lifestyle or his Homosexuality. There is an extra layer of scandal due to Tait being a Christian Artist, but the question is: Should there be?
Side Note I: Kevin Max briefly made national news when he said he was "deconstructing" his faith in 2021.
Side Note II: I asked AI what the most popular Christian Rock band was of all time and it said "Skillet."
Comments