"Promised Land" is a song by American

Christian hip hop Christian hip hop (originally gospel rap, also known as Christian rap, gospel hip hop or holy hip hop) is a subgenre of contemporary Christian music and hip hop music. It emerged from urban contemporary music and Christian media in the United S ...

musician

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 ...

. The song was released as a single on September 17, 2021. TobyMac co-wrote the song with Adam Agee, and collaborated with Micah Kuiper in the production of the single. "Promised Land" peaked at No. 9 on the US

Hot Christian Songs Hot Christian Songs is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It ranks the popularity of Christian songs using the same methodology developed for the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the magazine's flagship songs c ...

chart. "Promised Land" received a

GMA Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awards ...

nomination for Short Form Video of the Year (Concept) at the 2022 GMA Dove Awards. In January 2022, TobyMac released two new versions of the song, "Promised Land (Collab New)" and "Promised Land (Collab OG)", both of which feature

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three li ...

Background

In June 2021, "Promised Land" was reported to be TobyMac's next single following " Help Is On the Way (Maybe Midnight)" which was released in February 2021, with TobyMac expecting its release in September or October. The song was dedicated to TobyMac's grandfather, a miner in West Virginia who died from

black lung disease Coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP), also known as black lung disease or black lung, is an occupational type of pneumoconiosis caused by long-term exposure to coal dust. It is common in coal miners and others who work with coal. It is similar to b ...

. TobyMac released "Promised Land" with its accompanying music video on September 17, 2021.

Composition

"Promised Land" is composed in the key of G with a tempo of 84 beats per minute and a musical time signature of .

Reception

Critical response

Jonathan Andre of 365 Days of Inspiring Media gave a positive review of the song, concluding: "Toby’s new song is one of hope and poignancy, and one that can maybe call us into action, too. As we as people living in this COVID-19 world need to ask ourselves where our promised land is, hopefully Toby can bring us into a space where we can be ok with asking the hard question of where our promised land lies, and who it lies in, and if we don’t know where, then why not, and maybe we should just start going on that journey, sooner than later." In his review for Jesus Freak Hideout, Alex Caldwell wrote a favourable review of the single, concluding "With an honest, plainspoken delivery, and with only a hint of a triumphal ending, "Promised Land" flies in the face of most Prosperity Gospel-type teachings, and wisely insinuates that not every challenge or hard time down here will have a traditional happy ending. But TobyMac rightly states that "through the seasons" of life, the Lord is the sustainer, and His presence is the "promised land". The single is a new side of this music veteran and a refreshing bit of honesty in Christian music."

Accolades

Commercial performance

"Promised Land" debuted on the

Christian Airplay Christian Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since June 21, 2003. This chart lists the 50 most-listened-to records played on multiple Christian radio stations across the country as monitored by Ni ...

chart dated September 25, 2021, at No. 49. "Promised Land" debuted at No. 37 on the US

chart dated October 9, 2021,

Music videos

The official music video of "Promised Land" was published on TobyMac's YouTube channel on September 19, 2021. The music video was filmed at Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine in West Virginia, featuring TobyMac as a miner. On November 25, 2021, TobyMac released the official lyric video of the song.

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic. * Josh Bailey — A&R * Chad Chrisman — A&R * Chris Gehringer — mastering engineer * Micah Kuiper — background vocals, guitar, producer * Scott Mills — guitar * Gabe Patillo — background vocals * Nick Rad — mixing * Jon Reddick — background vocals * Tim Rosenau — guitar * Tasha Smith — background vocals * Aaron Sterling — drums * Andrew Thompson — background vocals * TobyMac — primary artist, background vocals, producer * Emoni Wilkins — background vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Promised Land (TobyMac song) 2021 singles 2021 songs TobyMac songs Songs written by TobyMac ForeFront Records singles