Popular Gospel rapper, TobyMac has confirmed the unexpected death of his son, Truett Foster Mckeehan at the age of 21.
Truett passed away at home in the Nashville area sometime Tuesday night or Wednesday morning,” a representative for TobyMac confirmed in a statement to Entertainment Tonight. “Cause of death has not been determined.”
The Davidson County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed he died Wednesday after medics responded to a cardiac arrest call at the family’s home.
“Toby was travelling back from Canada and did not get home to be with his family until after midnight last night so there is no statement,” representatives told The Tennessean. “We just ask that everyone please be respectful of their privacy during this time and allow them to grieve their loss.”
“Truett Foster McKeehan had joy that took the room when he entered. He was a magnetic son and brother and friend. If you met him you knew him, you remembered him,” TobyMac wrote in a statement.
“His smile, his laugh, the encouragement he offered with words or even without. He had an untamable grand personality and dreams to match. And he hated being put in a box.”
TobyMac (born Kevin McKeehan), went on to praise his son’s musical talents, calling him a “true artist.”
“He expressed himself through the music he made. And by made I mean, written, recorded, produced, mixed, and designed the art. All of it. A true artist,” the rapper added, before reflecting on his son’s first show a week ago, which was “nothing short of electric.”
“Everyone felt it, everyone knew it. He could’ve easily taken the easy route and put music out when he was 12, 14, 16, even 18, but he always said he wanted to live some life and have something to say before he did it. He didn’t want to be a child star, he wanted to be a man with scars and a story to tell. I always admired, respected and encouraged that stand,” he continued.
Foster McKeehan was also an aspiring Christian rapper, releasing music on various platforms under the names TRU, Shiloh and Truett Foster. Over the years joined forces with his father on several tracks. TobyMac (born Kevin McKeehan) recently penned “Scars” after his eldest son left home to pursue his dreams.
“When life cuts so deep try and remember, you are not alone, we’ve all been there, scars come with livin’,” he raps on the song. “You are not alone, we’ve all been there. So lift your head, lift your head, lift your head to where your help comes from.”
“He moved to L.A. and he’s making music and he’s doing his thing,” TobyMac told The Tennessean last October. “But to watch him go through that, and watch him get bruised, it’s not easy. So that’s one of the ways life has changed. In that song, I just want him to know he’s not alone.”
“I still believe a song can move somebody’s heart,” he continued. “And I think that’s important. It’s easy when you’ve been doing it a long time to grow cold to that. But I haven’t. Every song I write, I still think, ‘This is for someone out there.’ That’s the way I go about it.”
TobyMac reportedly paused his week-long Canadian tour to be with together his family at their home in Franklin, Tennessee, Entertainment weekly had reported.