''Jesus Freak'' is the fourth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the American Christian rap and

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

trio

DC Talk DC Talk (stylized as dc Talk) is a Christian hip hop, Christian rap and Christian rock, rock trio. The group was formed at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1987 by tobyMac, Toby McKeehan, Michael Tait, and Kevin Max, Kevin Max Smith ...

, released on November 21, 1995, on

ForeFront Records ForeFront Records is a contemporary Christian music and Christian rock record label founded in 1987 by Dan R. Brock, Eddie DeGarmo, Dana Key, and Ron W. Griffin. It was purchased by EMI in 1996 from Dan R. Brock and Eddie DeGarmo, and is a divis ...

. The style was a marked departure from the group's previous releases, incorporating a heavier rock sound and elements of

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

that was popular at the time. The album was released to both critical and commercial acclaim. It peaked at number 16 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and six of the album's seven singles reached number one across various Christian radio formats. It won the 1997 Grammy Award for

Best Rock Gospel Album The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by m ...

. ''Jesus Freak'' is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influential albums in the history of

contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...

(CCM).

Background

After three albums of hip-hop oriented sound, including DC Talk's

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

award-winning third album, '' Free at Last'', which was based primarily on hip-hop- and pop-oriented songwriting, the trio decided to innovate and reinvent their style. After three years, DC Talk returned with songs featuring a more alternative rock sound. Thus, the album's lead single, "Jesus Freak", was considered unexpected by fans and critics alike.Taff, pg. 6

Michael Tait Michael DeWayne Tait (born May 18, 1966) is an American contemporary Christian music artist. Michael Tait met Toby McKeehan in 1984 when he was in high school. Both Toby and Michael met Kevin Max while attending Liberty University in the late 19 ...

said, "I was totally into rock and roll at the time ..I really wanted to make a rock record."Taff, pg. 8 The band decided to focus on more rock-oriented music, with touches of rap and pop interwoven into the mix. Tait later explained, "We wanted to write songs that would hopefully touch a

generation A generation refers to all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively. It can also be described as, "the average period, generally considered to be about 20–⁠30 years, during which children are born and gr ...

."Taff, pg. 9

Recording and production

Compared to DC Talk's other albums, ''Jesus Freak'' was, stylistically, an experiment. The album was a fusion of various musical genres, including pop,

, and

, all combined with hip hop. The title track, "Jesus Freak," is also of historical importance. It is believed to be the first link between grunge and rapcore in CCM. The song was even played on some secular stations.McNeil, pg. 99 In addition, the album contains two cover songs: " Day by Day," from the musical ''

Godspell ''Godspell'' is a musical composed by Stephen Schwartz with book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set to lyrics from traditional hymn ...

'', and a heavily overhauled version of "In the Light" originally by Charlie Peacock. Two spoken-word samples are also heard; "Mind's Eye" features the words of

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...

and "What If I Stumble" contains a quote from

Brennan Manning Richard Francis Xavier Manning, known as Brennan Manning (April 27, 1934 – April 12, 2013) was an American author, laicized priest, and public speaker. He is best known for his bestselling book '' The Ragamuffin Gospel''. Biography Born and ...

Lyrical themes

As with the genres, the themes of ''Jesus Freak'' are varied, ranging from the spiritual–such as accepting Jesus,

hypocrisy Hypocrisy is the practice of engaging in the same behavior or activity for which one criticizes another or the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform. In moral psychology, it is the ...

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...

–to the social, such as seeking forgiveness from a friend,

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

, facing intolerance, and

acceptance Acceptance in human psychology is a person's assent to the reality of a situation, recognizing a process or condition (often a negative or uncomfortable situation) without attempting to change it or protest it. The concept is close in meaning to ...

Track listing

Release

''Jesus Freak'' was released on November 21, 1995. It debuted at number 16 on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling over 85,800 copies in its first week of release. This number was the highest debut for a Christian album at the time. After the album, released through

, proved to be extremely successful, the band signed an exclusive distribution deal with

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

. The label made it a priority to promote the album to mainstream music fans. Due to this promotional increase, " Between You and Me" became a hit for the band, managing to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Reception

After the initial success of its release, ''Jesus Freak'' was

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

-certified as Gold by its first month, for shipments exceeding 500,000 units. The album has gone on to sell over two million copies in the United States, achieving

double platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

certification by the

. Critical response to ''Jesus Freak'' was generally positive, and many of the album's singles were met with positive reception. For instance, "Jesus Freak" was the first non-AC song to win the Dove Award for Song of the Year. The album also spawned several hit singles. Six of the album's singles became number-one hits across various Christian radio formats. " Between You and Me" was even a cross-over hit on secular radio, peaking at number 29 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Legacy

The album is considered one of the greatest and most influential

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

albums of all time and is viewed as a landmark of the 1990s

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

scene. It is one of the biggest-selling Christian albums of all time and has been certified double platinum in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and gold in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. On June 20, 2006,

Gotee Records Gotee Records is a record label founded by Christian hip hop performer Toby McKeehan (known professionally as ''TobyMac''), Todd Collins, and Joey Elwood. The label began as a production company. At the time of the label's founding, McKeehan wa ...

released a ten-year anniversary tribute, ''

Freaked! ''Freaked!: A Gotee Tribute to DC Talk's'' Jesus Freak is a 2006 tribute album primarily featuring covers of songs from the American Christian rap and rock trio DC Talk's 1995 album ''Jesus Freak'', performed by various artists signed to the ...

'', featuring artists from record labels Gotee and Mono vs Stereo covering songs from the original album. "In the Light" and "Jesus Freak" are both featured in ''

Alive and Transported ''Alive and Transported'' is a live album by Christian hip hop artist tobyMac. It was released on May 27, 2008 and debuted at No. 112 on the ''Billboard'' 200, and also placed at No. 4 on ''Billboards Top Christian Albums chart. It ...

''. In addition, the songs are still regularly sung in

tobyMac Toby McKeehan (born Kevin Michael McKeehan; October 22, 1964), better known by his stage name TobyMac (styled tobyMac or TOBYMAC), is an American contemporary Christian music singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He was first known f ...

Kevin Max Kevin Max Smith (born August 17, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, and poet. He is best known for being a member of the Christian pop group dc Talk. As a solo artist following the band going on hiatus, he has recorded 12 full-length studi ...

, and

Newsboys Newsboys (sometimes stylised as newsboys) are a Christian rock band founded in 1985 in Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia, by Peter Furler and George Perdikis. Now based in Nashville, Tennessee, the band has released 17 studio albums, 6 of which ...

concerts. In 2006,

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

released a commemorative 10th-anniversary version of the album, ''Jesus Freak: 10th Anniversary Special Edition''. This special edition contained a bonus disc of brand-new remixes, rarities, live tracks, and demos. A single-disc remaster was released in 2013. For the 20th anniversary of the album in November 2015, SMLXLVinyl.com released a double lp 180-gram vinyl of the album. It was its first pressing on the format.

Chart positions

Personnel

DC Talk *

TobyMac Toby McKeehan (born Kevin Michael McKeehan; October 22, 1964), better known by his stage name TobyMac (styled tobyMac or TOBYMAC), is an American contemporary Christian music singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He was first known f ...

– raps, lead and backing vocals *

– lead and backing vocals, poem (13) *

– lead and backing vocals, additional BGV arrangements (1, 4, 7, 8, 10, 12) Musicians * Mark Heimermann – programming (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13),

Hammond B3 organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs ...

(1, 3, 5, 7, 11, 12),

upright bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

(3), additional vocal arrangements (4),

Wurlitzer electric piano The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptua ...

(5), pads (7, 12),

finger cymbals Zills or zils (from Turkish 'cymbals'), also called finger cymbals, are small metallic cymbals used in belly dancing and similar performances. They are called () in Egypt. They are similar to Tibetan tingsha bells. In Western music, several pa ...

(8),

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...

(8), acoustic piano (10), broom (12), keyboards (13) *

Dann Huff Dann Lee Huff (born November 15, 1960) is an American record producer and songwriter. For his work as a producer in the country music genre, he has won several awards, including the ''Musician of the Year'' award in 2001, 2004, and 2016 at the Co ...

– programming (1), guitars (1, 3, 5, 7, 13) * George Cocchini – guitars (2, 13) * Chris Rodriguez – guitars (2, 4, 10) * Oran Thornton – guitars (3, 5, 8) * Sean Turner – guitars (3) * Jerry McPherson –

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

(4), guitars (11, 12) * Brent Barcus – guitars (5), bridge arrangements (10) * Dave Perkins – guitars (11) * Jackie Street – bass (1, 2, 12) * Otto Price – bass (2, 5, 7, 10), bridge arrangements (10), wah bass (11) *

John Mark Painter John Mark Painter (born c. 1967) is an American multi-instrumental musician, composer and arranger. He is best known for his role, with his wife, singer Fleming McWilliams, in the rock duo, Fleming and John. Painter grew up in Miami, and beg ...

– bass (3, 4, 11),

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

(4), guitars (4) *

Brent Milligan Brent Milligan is an American record producer and session bass guitar player currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee. Background Brent Milligan was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and moved to Nashville after graduating from Louisiana State U ...

– bass (8) *

Jimmie Lee Sloas Jimmie Lee Sloas is an American session musician, producer, and songwriter, who plays bass guitar. History Jimmie Lee Sloas, born in Ashland, Kentucky, grew up in Fairborn, Ohio and Isonville, Kentucky. His father, Dave, was a member of the p ...

– bass (13) * Scott Williamson – drums (1, 11), drum fills (7),

hi-hat A hi-hat (hihat, high-hat, etc.) is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock, pop, jazz, and blues. Hi-hats consist o ...

(7) * Aaron Smith – drums (2, 10) * David Huff – drums (3, 5, 12) * Shaun McWilliams – drums (4) * Will Denton – drums (8), bridge arrangements (10) * Todd Collins –

bongos Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...

(1, 12), loops (1, 12), programming (3, 5, 7, 11, 12), drums (3),

cowbell A cowbell (or cow bell) is a bell worn around the neck of free-roaming livestock so herders can keep track of an animal via the sound of the bell when the animal is grazing out of view in hilly landscapes or vast plains. Although they are t ...

(3), percussion (4),

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...

s (5, 7),

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

(5),

cabasa The cabasa, similar to the shekere, is a percussion instrument that is constructed with loops of steel ball chain wrapped around a wooden cylinder. The cylinder is fixed to a long, wooden or plastic handle. The metal cabasa was created by Mart ...

(7), vocals (9), brush snare (11),

Akai MPC60 The Akai MPC (originally MIDI Production Center, now Music Production Center) is a series of music workstations produced by Akai from 1988 onwards. MPCs combine sampling and sequencing functions, allowing users to record portions of sound, mod ...

(13) *

Terry McMillan Terry McMillan (born October 18, 1951) is an American novelist. Her work centers around the experiences of Black women in the United States. Early life McMillan was born in Port Huron, Michigan. She received a B.A. in journalism in 1977 from ...

– percussion (2, 10, 13) * Greg Herrington – loops (10) * Denis Solee –

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

(11) * Ronn Huff – string arrangements and conductor (2, 10) *

Jason Halbert Jason Halbert (born June 3, 1974) is an American producer, music director, musician, engineer and songwriter. He has been Kelly Clarkson's music director since 2003, shortly after her ''American Idol'' win. He has also served as music director for ...

– bridge arrangements (10) *

– ragamuffin intro (4) *

Charlie Peacock Charles William Ashworth (born August 10, 1956), known professionally as Charlie Peacock, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, record producer, and author. His albums include ''Love Press Ex-Curio'', ''Arc of the Circle'' and ''No Man's L ...

– guest vocals (10) *

– spoken word (12)

Production

* Dan R.Brock – executive producer *

Eddie DeGarmo Eddie DeGarmo (born October 3, 1954) is an American contemporary Christian music recording artist, keyboardist, producer and singer. He became best friends with guitarist/lead vocalist Dana Key in first grade, and co-founded the Christian rock ...

– executive producer * Toby McKeehan – producer, collage photos * Mark Heimermann – producer (1, 2, 3, 5-13) * John Mark Painter – producer (4) * Joe Baldridge – engineer, mixing, collage photos * Lynn Fuston – string recording * Russ Long – additional engineer * Todd Robbins – additional engineer * Dave Dillbeck – assistant engineer * Dan Fritzsell – assistant engineer (1, 2, 3, 5-13) * Patrick Murphy – assistant engineer (1, 2, 3, 5-13) * Ed Sharpe – assistant engineer (1, 2, 3, 5-13) * Penn Singleton – assistant engineer (1, 2, 3, 5-13) * Shane Wilson – assistant engineer (1, 2, 3, 5-13) * Chuck Linder – mix assistant * Ronnie Thomas – editing at MasterMix (Nashville, Tennessee) * Ken Love – mastering at MasterMix (Nashville, Tennessee) * Nate Yetton – A&R * Kevin Max Smith – art direction * Paul Venaas – design, layout * John Falls – individual band photos * Norman Jean Roy – back cover photography

Music videos

*''

Colored People ''Colored'' (or ''coloured'') is a racial descriptor historically used in the United States during the Jim Crow, Jim Crow Era to refer to an African Americans, African American. In many places, it may be considered a Pejorative, slur, though it ...

'' *''

Jesus Freak ''Jesus freak'' is a term arising from the late 1960s and early 1970s counterculture and is frequently used as a pejorative for those involved in the Jesus movement. As Tom Wolfe illustrates in '' The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test'', the term "fr ...

'' *'' Day by Day'' *'' Between You and Me''

References

*McNeil, W. K. ''Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music''.

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...

, 2005. *Taff, Tori. ''100 Greatest Songs in Christian Music''. Integrity, 2006.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jesus Freak (Album) DC Talk albums 1995 albums ForeFront Records albums Grammy Award for Best Rock Gospel Album