The self-taught artist Kid Rock (Robert James Ritchie, born on January 17, 1971, in Romeo, Michigan, United States) has had a unique music career, fully utilizing the creativity of music and its capabilities using heavy metal, rap, and country rock.
He has persistently taught himself how to embrace the joys of music through learning how to rap, dance, and disc jockey, all being experimented on and performed by Kid Rock at parties and talent shows near Detroit.
Though controversial due to his feuds with multiple artists, right-leaning politics, ‘slut shaming’ Taylor Swift, sexualized lyrics, and even more controversial acts, Kid Rock is a renowned and accomplished artist who sold more than 35 million records worldwide and who has a net worth of over $150 million.
Early Life and Career of Kid Rock
His beginnings were in the 1980s when he started to fall in love with music and the myriad of opportunities and fun it could offer.
When he began to learn about hip-hop, rap, and dancing, he became a member of The Beast Crew. (a hip-hop group) That caused Ritchie’s career to flourish, as from there, he met rapper D-Nice and who opened opportunities for Ritchie to sign a deal with Jive Records at the young age of 17. (which was where he dropped his debut)
On December 11th, 1990, Kid Rock jump-started his career with his first studio album, “Grit Sandwiches for Breakfast,” on Jive Records.
Though there was an initial success when releasing the album (selling one hundred thousand copies upon release), professional reviews disliked the album.
Rolling Stone refers to it as one of the “20 terrible albums by great artists,” giving it two and a half out of five stars. Rolling Stone ripped on the album for being “so insistently generic it’s like he tossed everything current about hip hop in 1990 into a giant colander and sifted out all the individuality.”
All Music gave an even harsher rating with a two out of five. From his explicit lyrics in songs based on oral sex and his other criticisms in the album, Kid Rock’s debut became a double-edged sword, making him one of the best-selling artists in Detroit hip hop, but also getting removed from Jive Records due to the inappropriate lyrics.
“Grit Sandwiches for Breakfast” was also a unique album because most of his albums are focused on rock elements, while this album focused primarily on hip-hop.
Kid Rock’s Most Successful Songs
Picture (feat. Sheryl Crow): This beautiful country hit by Kid Rock is a straightforward but simultaneously intricate song made in the context of a broken relationship.
The duet in this song (Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow) both used the lyrics to take roles as two relationship partners that have realized they missed each other after their separations.
The idea of a picture in this near-tragic piece is a way to emphasize how the singers don’t feel complete without each other.
This talented duet relates to people’s romantic struggles and voids. This song is one of his highest charting singles in the US, reaching up to number four in the US on “Billboard’s Hot 100”.
All Summer Long: This is a casual, upbeat song you would listen to at the bar, a party or the beach. This song, in a way, is quite moody as well, in a good way.
It makes you look back at the memories of the paradise of the days of fun, invincibility, and creating unforgettable experiences as you cringe at them, laugh at them, grow nostalgic, and daydream about them.
This song is telling us to live all summer long and to live like it’s the last summer. This song became a number-one hit in Australia and six other European nations. This song in the United States also secured the artist’s first top 10 countries hit.
Only God Knows Why: This is an emotional piece of blues rock music. With these lyrics, it’s almost like Kid Rock is pouring the essence of frustration, overthinking, and daydreaming through time.
The song sets the tone of communicating personal troubles while putting life’s experiences in a negative light. There is a light-hearted touch to this piece, as the lyrics suggest that he will keep moving because things happen for a reason and under the power of God.
Through this song, Kid Rock demonstrates the power of art as a means of communication. This song eventually reached number 19 on the “Billboard Hot 100” chart.