One of the unlikeliest success stories in rock, Detroit rap-rocker Kid Rock shot to super stardom with his fourth full-length album, 1998’s Devil Without a Cause. What made it so shocking was that Rock had toiled for years, releasing albums to a small, devoted, mostly local fan base. 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. The album’s second single and video, “Bawitdaba,” was his first nationwide smash. The follow-up, “Cowboy,” achieved similar success, and suddenly, after a decade of trying, Kid Rock was a superstar. 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. The cover art to his 2006 live album, Live Trucker, paid tribute to Bob Seger’s Live Bullet. Just a year later, the studio album Rock n Roll Jesus came out, landing at number one and selling 172,000 copies in its first week. Born Free arrived in 2010. It had been certified platinum by mid-2011. “Collide,” featuring Bob Seger and Sheryl Crow, made the country charts. Kid Rock hosted both the 2010 and 2011 CMT Music Awards. Rock released Rebel Soul on November 19, 2012.”Let’s Ride” was a war anthem to the United States military, charting at number eight on the rock charts. The album was certified gold in April 2013. He released First Kiss in 2015. Kid Rock continues to rock the world.
