One
of the unlikeliest success stories in rock at the turn
of the millennium, Detroit rap-rocker Kid Rock shot to
superstardom with his fourth full-length album, 1998's
Devil Without a Cause. What made it so shocking was that
Rock had recorded his first demo a full decade before,
been booted off major label Jive following his Beastie
Boys-ish 1990 debut Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast, and
toiled for most of the decade in obscurity, releasing
albums to a small, devoted, mostly local fan base while
earning his fair share of ridicule around his home state.
Nevertheless, Rock persevered, and by the time rap-metal
had begun to attract a substantial audience, he had perfected
the outlandish, over-the-top white-trash persona that
gave Devil Without a Cause such a distinctive personality
and made it such an infectious party record.
Bob
"Kid Rock" Ritchie (b. Robert James Ritchie,
Jan. 17, 1971) grew up in Romeo, Michigan, a small rural
town north of the Detroit metro area. Finding small-town
life stiflingly dull, Ritchie immersed himself in rap
music, learned to breakdance, and began making the talent-show
rounds in Detroit. Inspired by the Beastie Boys' Licensed
to Ill -- white performers fusing rap and hard guitar
rock -- Kid Rock recorded his first demos in 1988, and
eventually scored an opening slot at a Boogie Down Productions
gig. That performance, in turn, led to a contract with
Jive Records, which issued Kid Rock's debut album, Grits
Sandwiches for Breakfast, in 1990. Produced by Kid Rock,
Too Short, and D-Nice, the album was heavily derivative
of Licensed to Ill. Rock briefly became notorious when
a New York college radio station aired the album's profanity-laced
ode to oral sex, "Yodelin' in the Valley," and
was fined over $20,000 (a judgment later rescinded). However,
despite a tour with Too $hort and Ice Cube, Jive didn't
see much of a future for Kid Rock and dropped him from
their roster.
Moving
to Brooklyn, Rock hooked up with the small Continuum label,
and moved his brand of rap further into hard rock with
The Polyfuze Method, released in 1993. Reviews were mixed,
with some critics praising the record's humor and eclecticism
while others dismissed it as awkward and forced. The EP
Fire It Up followed in 1994, appearing on Rock's own Top
Dog imprint (which was still distributed by Continuum).
Rock eventually returned to the Detroit area and began
work on another album; recorded on a shoestring budget,
Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp was released in 1996. Although
sometimes forced to sell bootleg dubs of his own records
to pay the rent, Rock set about forming a full-fledged
backing band, which he dubbed Twisted Brown Trucker. While
its membership fluctuated early on, rapper Joe C. (b.
Joseph Calleja) was one of the first to join; a longtime
fan and frequent concert attendee, Calleja caught Rock's
eye in 1994, partly because of his diminutive stature
(due to a digestive condition known as celiac disease,
which required both dialysis and extensive medication)
and partly because of his encyclopedic knowledge of Rock's
song lyrics. The rest of the lineup settled around mostly
Detroit-area musicians: guitarists Kenny Olson and Jason
Krause, keyboardist Jimmy Bones (b. Jimmy Trombly, he
handles the bass lines himself), drummer Stefanie Eulinberg,
DJ/turntablist Uncle Kracker (b. Matt Shafer, who had
been with Rock since the early '90s), and backing vocalists
Misty Love and Shirly Hayden.
As
rap-metal acts like Korn, Limp Bizkit, and Rage Against
the Machine began to dominate the hard rock landscape,
Atlantic Records decided to take a chance on signing Rock.
Devil Without a Cause didn't do much upon its initial
release in August 1998, but a big promotional push from
the label and MTV helped make the album's second single
and video, "Bawitdaba," a nationwide smash.
The follow-up, "Cowboy," achieved similar success,
and suddenly, after a decade of trying, Kid Rock was a
superstar with a Top Five, seven-times-platinum album
and a gig at Woodstock '99. While pondering how to follow
up Devil, Rock acquired the rights to his indie-label
recordings and remixed or re-recorded the best material
for The History of Rock, which was released in the summer
of 2000 and featured some new songs as well. Sadly, after
being forced to take a break from touring a year earlier
by his medical difficulties, Joe C. passed away in his
sleep on November 16, 2000.
Even
with a tragedy like this in his life, Rock continued work
on his followup to Devil Without A Cause. The media focused
more on his relationship with actress Pamela Anderson
than his musical career, which many magazines were beginning
to ridicule. His DJ, Uncle Kracker, had a successful solo
career during the spring and summer of 2001, leaving Rock
without one of his most frequent collaborators. Still,
by the winter of that year he had completed work on Cocky
and had released "Forever" to success on rock
radio. In fall 2003, Kid Rock returned with a self-titled
effort. A cover of Bad Company's "Feel Like Makin'
Love" marked the first single.
