LITTLE ROCK — At day’s end, when TobyMac finishes recording his faith-based urban rock, it’s only a short distance from his recording studio to his house in Franklin, Tenn. And how does the Grammy- and Dove-award winning, Christian music hit machine spend his down time? By playing Mr. Mom.

“I have five kids and a lovely wife, and as I say in one of my songs [“Lose My Soul”], I want to be a daddy whose in the mix, so I get home,” said TobyMac via a telephone interview from his Franklin recording studio. “I only work from about [10 a.m. or 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. or 6:30 p.m.], and come home and eat dinner with my family every night and get to do all the nighttime things. Everything from running the vacuum to doing the dishes to chasing the kids and putting them to bed — reading them a story and saying our prayers.”

Born Kevin Michael McKeehan in the Washington, D.C., area, TobyMac, whose 45th birthday is Thursday, rose to fame in the music world as a member of DC Talk, an influential Christian music trio that won multiple Grammy and Dove awards for blending hip-hop, rock and pop rock. But since 2000, DC Talk has been on hiatus, and the three members have all focused on solo careers, with TobyMac releasing three albums, including 2007’s Portable Sounds. Currently, the artist, producer, songwriter and Christian music industry leader is wrapping up work on his fourth solo album, Tonight, due to drop Feb. 9, 2010.

TobyMac took a small break from finishing the album to chat about his recording and songwriting process, his interest in music and the possibility of a DC Talk reunion.

So what’s the genesis of this newest album? When did you begin recording this batch of songs?

“I didn’t view it as a batch of songs; I viewed it as songs that were coming out of my life over the past three years. It wasn’t something where I was like, ‘Let’s run into the studio and record a bunch of songs.’ Some [of these songs] are a year and a half old, some are two years old, some are six months old and some are six weeks old.”

What’s the songwriting process for you?

“I’ll usually write a chorus and maybe a verse, and then put [a song] on the shelf until it is time to get a little more serious about it. And then hopefully, when I start to focus on a record, I look up on my shelves, and I have 40 different things to choose versus running in there with the only 10 things I have. I think it makes for a better record — just more quality. I look for the things that I am most passionate about. The things I think will resonate with the people out there who are probably going through the same things I’m going through.”

So you had about 40 songs for this album and 11 are going to end up on the record. How do you narrow the songs down?

“[I select] the ones that are most dear to my heart. The ones that sort of feel very real and will resonate with people. Of course, there’s the stylistic concerns as well. There’s people out there who want me to do rock ‘n’ roll with rap, and there’s people who want a more urban or R&B sound. I’m all over that. I call what I do urban rock. I try to just be true to who I am. I try not to listen to the market too much because when you start chasing that you’re going to get into trouble. I try to just listen to or take advantage of the things that I’m most passionate about at the moment. And just count on the fact if I’m passionate about it most people are as well.”

What’s the story behind the first single “City on Our Knees”?

“If somebody was to follow my career there’s the concept of we are all different, but we are more beautiful together rather than broken up. I think it’s just the matter of taking that step toward each other. The lyric that stands out to me is: ‘Tonight could last forever/We are one choice from together.’ We all have different backgrounds, different cultures, different denominations, different thoughts and views. But I really believe we are more lovely and beautiful together than separated and divided. And the thought really was tonight could be that night when we take that step.”

Listening to the music, there’s touches of hip-hop, rock, pop, R&B, funk and a lot of different sounds. What were some of your musical influences?

“I call it a big ol’ pot of musical gumbo. If you go back into history with what I grew up listening to, it is everything from Run-D.M.C. to Bob Marley to The Police. Anything from rock ‘n’ roll to funk always had my attention — rock ‘n’ roll to funk to hip-hop. I just really always loved everything. I really did. I was one of those kids that just took to a lot of styles of music. I just didn’t live in one box. That just sort of found its way into my music. I just sort of try to draw from the past. Sure, I listen to what is going on right now, but I try not to listen too closely, especially when I am making a record.”

What made you decide to spread your message of faith through music?

“What happened with me was I began writing songs in high school — songs that mixed rap with melody. I was just writing the typical songs a teen would about — girls or partying — and it hit me that I didn’t have to write about that. It would be way more substantial if I wrote about the things I was passionate about. I don’t have to write about the exterior; I can write about the center of my life. And I started thinking what’s dearest to me, and it’s my faith — my faith in God. So I started down that road, and I wasn’t even going after a record deal. I was just writing songs that mattered to me. I didn’t even know there was this whole Christian side to the music industry.

“I don’t look at Christian music as proselytizing or trying to beat somebody over the head. I think people are singing about what they are passionate about. People are singing about something that matters to them. You can label it however you want. I don’t even like the label Christian music. I’m a Christian making music, singing about something that I’m passionate about. It might be some social issue, but everything sort of relates to my faith.”

Reunion shows are happening all the time. Any chance of a DC Talk reunion?

“You never know. I think what I’m doing right now is really fulfilling to me. Frankly, I’ve had the same band [The Diverse City Band] for going on nine years which is about as long as I was in DC Talk. You got to understand that we are pretty close — the guys I’m with right now. I never envisioned when I did this solo thing I would be as close to people as I was with [Michael Tait] and Kevin [Max]. But then you start this whole new phase in life, and you find yourself among these guys that you deeply love. You care about them and their family, and they’ve walked with me steadily for eight years going on nine. That has really become as much of a family to me as Mike and Kevin.

“For me to step away from [my present band] would be very difficult. That’s not to say that we can’t do a reunion tour. I would look forward to that. I think that would be fun. You never know when that might happen. I don’t think there’s anyone who said it won’t happen; I just think it’s a matter of when.”