Last year, as a seasonal appetizer to follow-up his highly successful debut solo album Momentum, TobyMac (Toby McKeehan) released a 2-song Christmas single called This Christmas. The title track appeared as part of the WOW Christmas compilation but Toby's rendition of "O Come All Ye Faithful" can only be found on this single.

The title song, "This Christmas" features guest vocalist Nirva as well as a brief appearance from his son Truett in an original Christmas anthem about reaching out to the homeless, orphans, and needy children during this time of year. Toby delivers the tune in his signature hip-hop driven pop style, successfully weaving in the chorus to "Joy To The World" to complete what has become a worthy Christmas original.

However, the same can't really be said for "O Come All Ye Faithful." Starting out with a guitar riff similar to something you might here from Luna Halo, the song seeks a more Latin flavor with vocals from Toby that are a little too rough around the edges for a song like this. What might hurt this rendition more is the fact of how familiar we all are of the original and Toby's unique new take on the favorite maybe be too much of an acquired taste to digest easily.

An enhanced portion of the single featuring some artwork and downloads rounds out this single, making it an abbreviated Christmas effort that is a must for fans, but easy to pass up if you're not a serious Toby collector.

- Review date: 12/24/03, written by John DiBiase