But somehow, I always find myself in 'em
Robert James Ritchie, a.k.a. Kid Rock (born January 17, 1971), is an American rapper and singer-songwriter from Michigan. In The '90s, he became known for performing a Genre Roulette which includes Hip-Hop, Rap Rock and Country Rock, although most of his output since 2003 has leaned more into the Country Rock side of his musical equation.
At the age of 11, after becoming interested in rap, he began break-dancing in a breakdance crew, and used the money made to get turntable equipment. He then became a DJ who would play in clubs for beer, getting his nickname after clubgoers called him "that white kid that can rock".
Kid Rock formed the rap group The Beast Crew with local rapper Champtown, but it broke up when he signed to Jive Records. He released his debut album Grit Sandwiches for Breakfast soon afterwards in 1990, but it was perceived as a Beastie Boys ripoff, and he was dropped from the record label due to the backlash towards Vanilla Ice (who claimed Kid Rock took his record deal) leading Jive to decide they didn't want a white rapper on their label.
Kid's next two albums, The Polyfuze Method and Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp, were released independently and changed up his sound. Polyfuze displayed Psychedelic Hip Hop tendencies à la Paul's Boutique (with heavy use of experimental sampling and some live instrumentation, including guitars and a flute solo), and EMSP featured a mix of different styles including Rap Rock, Soul and Funk, solidifying the Genre Roulette approach he'd take on subsequent albums. To help with the recording, Kid Rock recruited a band of musicians known as the "Twisted Brown Trucker Band", who provided the instrumental backing for his rhymes.
After years of independent records, he and his band got signed to Atlantic Records, where they released the breakthrough album Devil Without a Cause in 1998. This successful fusion of Southern-fried Rap Rock inspired Kid Rock to re-work his previous songs in History of Rock, but his love for Country Music and Southern Rock caused him to change emphasize the Country Rock side of his sound more, starting with his 2003 self-titled album, and he continues to work in this style today. His #1 single "All Summer Long" borrowed from both the Lynyrd Skynyrd hit "Sweet Home Alabama" and Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London", and had extensive radio play across the Rock and Country charts.
Kid has also had occasional acting roles in films including Joe Dirt, Osmosis Jones and Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector.
He is close friends and a frequent collaborator of Uncle Kracker, who is also a Country, Rap, and Rock-influenced musician from Detroit that used to play for Kid Rock during his biggest era.
He also has an association with the WWE, with some of his songs used for Pay-Per-View and Superstar Entrance Themes, particularly "American Badass" for The Undertaker during his early "Bikertaker" days. He was inducted into the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018.
Discography:
- Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast (1990)
- The Polyfuze Method (1993)
- Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp (1996)
- Devil Without a Cause (1998)
- The History of Rock (2000)
- Cocky (2001)
- Kid Rock (2003)
- Live Trucker (2006)
- Rock N Roll Jesus (2007)
- Born Free (2010)
- Rebel Soul (2012)
- First Kiss (2015)
- Sweet Southern Sugar (2017)
- Bad Reputation (2022)
"Devil Without a Trope":
- Artifact Title: "Kid" Rock has been an adult for a very long time now. More so now that he is a grandfather.
- As the Good Book Says...: In "Lonely Road of Faith", during the bridge, Kid Rock says a verse that is similar to Psalm 23:4: "Though I walk in the valley of darkness / I am not afraid / 'Cause I know I'm not alone."
- Badass Boast: "I'm goin' platinum sellin' rhymes/I went platinum seven times...", from "American Bad Ass," and referring to the sales of his previous breakthrough album, Devil Without a Cause. He was referring to the previous album's sales at the time, but it would eventually sell past the 10 million mark.
- Bittersweet 17: "All Summer Long":It was 1989 my thoughts were short my hair was long
Caught somewhere between a boy and man
She was seventeen and she was far from in-between
It was summertime in Northern Michigan. - Bowdlerise: Lampshaded on "Cowboy":"Curse like a sailor/Drink like a mick/My only words of wisdom are to <RADIO EDIT>"
- Also on the video of "American Badass""I'm an American Badass, watch me kick! You can roll with rock or you can <RADIO EDIT>"
- "Picture" had different edits to censor the line "Fueling up on cocaine and whiskey". One version changed "cocaine" to "water", and another just muted the word entirely.
- Also on the video of "American Badass"
- Early-Installment Weirdness: His debut album Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast is traditional Hip-Hop, as opposed to the Rap Rock of his later albums. It's also the only album of his to contain no influences from Country Music.
- Fake Shemp: Due to label issues, the official single version of "Picture" has Allison Moorer singing Sheryl Crow's part. However, most stations played the Sheryl Crow version anyway, and it was even listed as "Kid Rock with Sheryl Crow or Allison Moorer" on the charts. He also recorded the song with Gretchen Wilson on the Live Trucker album.
- Genre Mashup: His albums Devil Without a Cause and Cocky fused Punk Rock, Hip-Hop and Southern Rock.
- New Sound Album: After the Hip Hop sound of his debut, The Polyfuze Method started to feature a Rap Rock sound. His self-titled album emphasized Country Rock more compared to his previous albums. Born Free was the first album of his in which he didn't rap at all, and First Kiss was the first album of his to contain no rapping.
- Progressive Instrumentation:
- "Celebrate" starts with drums, then keyboards and bass, then guitars, then voice.
- "New Orleans" starts with what sounds like a drum sample, then guitars, then trumpet, then voice, then sax, then piano and claps, and finally the rest of the band.
- Rap Rock: Prominently from The Polyfuze Method to Cocky. Sporadically thereafter, with Born Free, Rebel Soul and First Kiss containing no Rap Rock whatsoever.
- Rock Star Song: So, so many of them.
- Sampling: Most blatantly for "All Summer Long", sampling "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Werewolves of London", which are both in the same key and, coincidentally, have the same chord progression.
- Self-Titled Album: Kid Rock (2003).
- Shout-Out: "American Bad Ass" has Kid Rock name-drop bands he listened to or toured with, mentioning AC/DC, ZZ Top, Beastie Boys, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Limp Bizkit, Korn, Hank Williams Jr., The Rolling Stones, Run–D.M.C., David Allan Coe, Bob Seger and George Jones.
- Singer Namedrop:
- "Bawitdaba" gives us this:
"My name is KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIID...Kid ROCK!!"- "Cowboy" gives us two "Kid Rock"s in the first verse and a third in the third.
- "American Badass" ends with "Kid Rock's in the house and that's where I'm at".
- Take That!: From "Ya' Keep On": "Don't call me Joe 'cause the Joes I know can't even flow".
- "Back From the Dead" from The Polyfuze Method features the line "My first LP wasn't pushed for shit, so Jive Records, yo, go and suck a fat dick".
- The song "Half Your Age" from Rock And Roll Jesus paints a very unflattering picture of Kid Rock's ex-wife Pamela Anderson.
- The music video for "Never Met A Motherfucker Quite Like Me" includes a scene of Kid Rock using toilet paper with Radiohead's name printed all over it.
- Wolverine Publicity: In Southeast Michigan, at least. His music has constant airplay on the local Rock and country stations there (especially the area's flagship rock station, 101 WRIF), and he is frequently featured in the local media.
- Word Purée Title: "Bawitdaba."
