Kid Rock
Robert James Ritchie, known professionally as Kid Rock, is an American musician, singer, rapper, and songwriter. After establishing himself in the Detroit hip-hop scene, he broke through into mainstream success with a rap rock sound before shifting his performance style to country rock. A self-taught musician, he can play every instrument in his backing band and has overseen production on all but two of his albums.
Kid Rock started his music career as a rapper, releasing his debut album Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast, on Jive Records. His subsequent independent releases The Polyfuze Method and Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp saw him developing a more distinctive style, which was fully realized on his breakthrough album Devil Without a Cause, which sold 14 million copies. This album and its follow-up, Cocky, were noted for blending elements of hip-hop, country, and rock.
His most successful single from that time period, "Cowboy", is considered a pioneering song in the country rap genre. His best-selling singles overall are "Picture" and "All Summer Long". Starting with his 2007 album Rock n Roll Jesus, his musical output has tended to be in the country rock style. Politically, Ritchie is a vocal supporter of the U.S. Republican Party and holds libertarian views.
Early life
Robert James Ritchie was born in Romeo, Michigan, on January 17, 1971, the son of Susan and William "Bill" Ritchie, who owned multiple car dealerships. He was raised in his father's large home on extensive property, which included an apple orchard and barnyard for their horses. He attended Romeo High School. His younger sister, Jill Ritchie, is an actress. In the 1980s, Ritchie became interested in hip-hop, began to breakdance, and taught himself how to rap and DJ while performing in talent shows in and around Detroit.Career
Early career, signing with Jive Records, and ''Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast'' (1988–1991)
Kid Rock began his professional music career as a member of a hip-hop group called the Beast Crew in the late 1980s. During this time, he met D-Nice. That relationship would eventually lead to him becoming the opening act at local shows for Boogie Down Productions.During this time, Kid Rock began a professional association with producer Mike E. Clark, who, after some initial skepticism with the idea of a white rapper, found himself impressed with Kid Rock's energetic and well-received performance where the artist, using his own turntables and equipment, actually prepared his own beats to demonstrate his skills for Clark.
In 1988, Clark produced a series of demos with Kid Rock. These demos eventually led to offers from six major record labels, including Atlantic and CBS Records.
In 1989, Kid Rock became a shareholder in an independent record label that was formed by Alvin Williams and Earl Blunt of EB-Bran Productions, called "Top Dog" Records. Later, that investment would become a 25% ownership stake.
With the help of D-Nice, Kid Rock signed with Jive Records at the age of 17, releasing his debut studio album, Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast in 1990. According to Kid Rock, the contract with Jive resulted in animosity from fellow rapper Vanilla Ice, who felt that he should have been signed with Jive instead of Kid Rock.
The album made Kid Rock one of the two biggest rap stars in Detroit in 1990, along with local independent rapper Esham. To promote the album, Kid Rock toured nationally with Ice Cube, D-Nice, Yo-Yo and Too Short; Detroit artist James "Blackman" Harris served as Kid Rock's DJ on this tour. During instore promotions for the album, Kid Rock met and developed a friendship with local rapper Eminem, who frequently challenged Kid Rock to rap battles.
Ultimately, unfavorable comparisons to Vanilla Ice led to Jive dropping Kid Rock, according to Mike E. Clark.
Signing with Continuum Records and ''The Polyfuze Method'' (1992–1995)
In 1992, Kid Rock signed with local independent record label Continuum. Around this time, Kid Rock met local hip-hop duo Insane Clown Posse through Mike E. Clark, who was producing the duo. While ICP member Violent J disliked Kid Rock's music, he wanted the rapper to appear on ICP's debut album, Carnival of Carnage, believing the appearance would gain ICP notice, since Kid Rock was a nationally successful artist. Noting that local rapper Esham was paid $500 to appear on ICP's album, Violent J claims that Kid Rock demanded $600 to record his guest appearance, alleging that Esham and Kid Rock had a feud over who was the bigger rapper. Kid Rock showed up to record the song "Is That You?" intoxicated, but re-recorded his vocals and record scratching the following day.In 1993, Kid Rock recorded his second studio album, The Polyfuze Method, with producer Mike E. Clark, who worked with Kid Rock to help give the album more of a rock-oriented sound than his debut.
Kid Rock also began releasing his "Bootleg" cassette series to keep local interest in his music.
Later in the year, Kid Rock recorded the EP Fire It Up at White Room Studios in downtown Detroit, run by brothers Michael and Andrew Nehra, who were forming the rock-soul band Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise. The EP featured the heavy rock song "I Am the Bullgod" and a cover of Hank Williams Jr.'s country song "A Country Boy Can Survive".
By 1994, Kid Rock's live performances had mostly been backed by DJs Blackman and Uncle Kracker, but Kid Rock soon began to utilize more and more live instrumentation into his performances, and formed the rock band Twisted Brown Trucker.
After breaking up with his girlfriend, Kid Rock moved engineer Bob Ebeling into his apartment. During a recording session with Mike E. Clark, the producer discovered that Kid Rock could sing when he recorded a reworked cover of Billy Joel's "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me", entitled "It's Still East Detroit to Me", which Clark claims led him to encourage Kid Rock to sing more.
During this time, Kid Rock developed animosity towards other Detroit artists, including Insane Clown Posse.
Through extensive promoting, including distributing tapes on consignment to local stores and giving away free samplers of his music, Kid Rock developed a following among an audience which DJ Uncle Kracker described as "white kids who dropped acid and liked listening to gangsta rap"; this following included local rapper Joe C., who had been attending Kid Rock concerts as a fan, but upon meeting him personally, was invited to perform on stage as his hype man.
''Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp'' and local breakthrough (1996)
Kid Rock's stage presence became honed with the addition of a light show, pyrotechnics, dancers and a light-up backdrop bearing the name "Kid Rock", and 1996 saw the release of his most rock-oriented album to date, Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp; the album's title came from Bob Eberling, who told a sleepless, alcoholic, drug-using Kid Rock, "Dude, you are the early-morning, stoned pimp." According to Kid Rock, who distributed the album himself, Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp sold 14,000 copies.Kid Rock developed his stage persona, performing dressed in 1970s pimp clothing with a real, possibly loaded, gun down the front of his pants.
Although Kid Rock was known for his frequent partying and drug and alcohol use, he primarily focused on increasing his success and fame, prioritizing his role as a businessman. This drive led to increased local success.
Signing with Atlantic Records, ''Devil Without a Cause'', and national success (1997–2000)
Kid Rock's attorney, Tommy Valentino, increased his stature by helping him get articles written about Kid Rock and Twisted Brown Trucker in major publications, including Beastie Boys' Grand Royal magazine. However, though his management tried to interest local record labels in his music, they told his management team that they were not interested in signing a white rapper, to which Valentino told them, "He's not a white rapper. He's a rock star and everything in between."In 1997, Jason Flom, head of Lava Records, attended one of Kid Rock's performances and met with Kid Rock, who later gave him a demo containing the songs "Somebody's Gotta Feel This" and "I Got One for Ya", which led to Kid Rock signing with Atlantic Records. As part of his recording deal, Kid Rock received $150,000 from the label.
By this time Kid Rock had fully developed his stage persona, and musical style and wanted to make a "redneck, shit-kicking rock 'n' roll rap" album, resulting in his fourth studio album, Devil Without a Cause, recorded at the White Room in Detroit and mixed at the Mix Room in Los Angeles.
Carried by singles such as "Bawitdaba" and "Cowboy", the album was a commercial success as it would be certified Gold and Platinum several months after its release, and eventually sold over 14 million copies. In promotion of the record, Kid Rock would join Limp Bizkit on a national tour spanning 27 dates. He performed at Woodstock 1999 and made an appearance on the 1999 MTV VMA, including a performance alongside Aerosmith and Run-DMC. In 1999, Kid Rock made his voice acting debut in an episode of The Simpsons in the episode "Kill the Alligator and Run" playing himself, alongside rapper Joe C.
Despite having been active in the music industry for over 10 years by then, Kid Rock was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist of 2000. Kid Rock's career was sometimes marked by tragedy, as in the death of friend and collaborator Joe C.
In May 2000, Kid Rock released the compilation album The History of Rock behind the single "American Bad Ass". The song sampled Metallica's 1991 song "Sad but True", peaking at No. 20 on the mainstream rock chart. Kid Rock would join Metallica on their 2000 Summer Sanitarium Tour along with Korn and System of a Down. Kid Rock and Jonathan Davis filled in on vocals for an injured James Hetfield in Atlanta on July 7, 2000. Kid Rock performed "American Bad Ass" along with the Metallica classics "Sad but True", "Nothing Else Matters", "Fuel" and "Enter Sandman" in addition to covers of "Turn the Page" and "Fortunate Son". The History of Rock was certified double platinum.