Kid Rock: A Rocker Is Born
Born Robert James Ritchie on January 17, 1971, Kid Rock was heavily influenced by the music roots around which he grew up living in suburban Detroit. As the product of a middle-class upbringing, Kid Rock often traveled to inner-city Detroit to pursue his musical interests with hip-hop producers. At age 11, Kid Rock began his career as part of The Furious Funkers, which imitated the famous hip-hop styles of the time, such as Run DMC. After The Furious Funkers, Kid Rock began a DJing career followed by short stints in several other small hip-hop groups before starting his solo career. Kid Rock made it big with the release of his first studio album Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast.
Kid Rock: A Promising Career
Kid Rock released his first album Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast in December 1990. While Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast did not garner much notoriety among the mainstream, the albumgained a cult following among diehard hip-hop fans. Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast gained some news coverage for its single “Yo-Da-Lin in the Valley,” which featured numerous expletives and ultimately led to the largest FCC fine ever given to a radio station for playing the uncensored version of the song. The press coverage of “Yo-Da-Lin in the Valley” gave Kid Rock’s Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast inadvertent publicity, leading to over 100,000 copies of Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast sold.
Kid Rock: Move to the Big Leagues
After several album releases, including The Polyfuze Method and Early Morning Stoned Pimp that failed to chart, Kid Rock released his first chart-topping studio album Devil Without a Cause. Often referred to as his breakthrough album, Devil Without a Cause launched Kid Rock’s career with such singles as “Welcome 2 the Party” and, most notably, “Bawitdaba,” which reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. However, Devil Without a Cause was not an immediate success. Selling only 5,000 copies in its first week, the album didn’t reach its momentous success until Kid Rock’s chance performance on MTV in December 1998. After the almost overnight fame of Kid Rock that resulted from “Bawitdaba,” the hit machine that was Kid Rock could not be stopped. Devil Without a Cause singles “Cowboy” and “Only God Knows Why” repeated the success with widespread radio play.
Kid Rock: Moving in a New Direction
In November 2001, Kid Rock released Cocky, his second studio album as a mainstream rock artist. Even with the release of singles, like “Forever” and “Lonely Road of Faith,” Cocky initially failed to perform like Devil Without a Cause. However, the release of Cocky’s fourth single “Picture,” a country-ballad duet with Sheryl Crow, helped to increase album sales and introduced Kid Rock to a whole new demographic. The mellow and stripped-down sound of “Picture” gave Kid Rock the opportunity to develop more authentic country-rock sound for his self-titled album Kid Rock released in 2003. While the album failed to sell like the more mainstream albums Devil Without a Cause and Cocky, Kid Rock still sold about two million copies to date with singles, like “Cold and Empty” and “Jackson, Mississippi.”
Kid Rock: The Resurgence
After the release of his lone live album, Live Trucker¸ in 2006, Kid Rock made his way back to the studio, releasing Rock N Roll Jesus, in October 2007. Rock N Roll Jesus garnered much attention among mainstream music lovers, selling 170,000 copies in its first week and reaching No.1 on the Billboard 200 chart, Kid Rock’s first album to plateau at No. 1. The first single from Rock N Roll Jesus “So Hott” is Kid Rock’s highest charted single to date, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. Rock N Roll Jesus is noted for Kid Rock’s continued divergence from his rap and hardcore rock ‘n’ roll roots, using some elements of jazz, bluegrass, soul and funk to create a new sound.
Kid Rock: Greatest Hits
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