Robinson: Did you come up with that yourself?
Kid Rock: No, I think it was my mom, actually. My mom was yelling at me for being drunk at an awards show, and I remember this time when I was little, and I remember her being a little drunk and doing something a little racy. And I'm like, "Mom, goddamn it, remember when you're pointing one finger in the mirror, you got three coming back at cha. Huh? Bye!"
Robinson: As far as the new record goes, there seems to be a lot of the country influence easing its way into what you're doing. Do you think rap will ever be gone from what you're doing and you'll be more country-based, or is it just a blend?
Kid Rock: No, it's just a blend, basically. Country is the white man's blues, so it's very heavily blues-influenced. I've had this argument with a lot of record execs, you know, they say, "Coming off 10 million records, we're talking Guns N' Roses, Def Leppard, you gotta come back like that." And I'm like wait a second, I'm talking about that country, that blues influence, I'm talking about the Rolling Stones, the Beatles. I'm talking about Ike and Tina Turner. I'm talking about bands that just had an unbelievable range of where they could go with their music, and a lot of that was due to the blues, and I think that's missing from a lot of American music nowadays. A lot of things are missing from music nowadays. One of them is actual music.
Robinson: What made you decide that, regardless of what anyone says, it's time to bring the country into the music? Were you at all afraid that people wouldn't react positively to it?
Kid Rock: Nah, people can only react one way: Do I like the music or don't I? And I think that influence brings something special to my music, which is not only simplicity, but something familiar and something that's easy to listen to. Let's face it, I don't make music for musicians. Anything with a halfway great melody musicians will say, "That stinks, that's a G, D and C, man, I can play that!" It's like, "Can ya? Why don't you play it and make a million bucks 'cause it's a lot of fun to have a million bucks, let me tell ya. Or more than a million — so do it."
Robinson: After September 11, you haven't really changed your style. You haven't suddenly become so much more introspective and saddened and morose. Did you worry that Kid Rock wasn't going to have a place in the post-September-11 music world?
Kid Rock: No, I do what I do. That's what I'll continue to do. That's what I'll always do until it's time for me to pack my bag and leave. You know, September 11 was just ... it happened. What can you do about it? Somebody needs their ass kicked. I think we're kicking it and then we'll get back to normal. But right now I think my place is just like everybody else — keep doing what you're doing. And if they need me to pick up a gun and go over there, I can do that too, but right now I'm just going to do what I do, which is entertain people and try to take them to a different place, put some fun back into life itself right now. It's been a hard time for a lot of people.
Robinson: A lot of what you talk about is the old school, Run-DMC and so forth. What are your feelings on the current crop of cookie-cutter, bling bling rap that's going on right now?
Kid Rock: It's entertaining. It's fun to watch. I like watching people drive around in Bentleys that I know they don't own. It's fun. I don't know, man. I wish the best for everybody, for all the young cats that are making hip-hop or rock or country or whatever they're doing, I wish the best for them all. There's definitely a place for more music and good music, and I hope people focus on making it good and credible and something that will last and be around. The current state of music? I like to think of it as kind of a big fog, a big dense haze, and I'd like to say that I have the best set of fog lights out there at the moment.
Robinson: When you're done in the studio, when you've shut everything down and you're going home and you're just hanging out with your son, who is Bob Ritchie? Are you the persona of Kid Rock, like on "Cocky" and "Forever," or are you something else?
Kid Rock: Believe me, I'm not in the kitchen with my fur on and my hat going, "You want some eggs this morning, motherf---er? What's up?" I don't go to parent teacher conferences smoking a cigarette, holding my sac, going "How's motherf---ing kid doing?" It's just two different things. I gotta be a dad so he knows me as dad. He also knows me as Kid Rock, of course. We got MTV at home too, and he sees me, and it works out. It's a balance. It's like anybody else you know — your dad goes to work, he comes home, takes off his tie, puts on his boxers and says, "Go get me a beer," and you watch the game. There's nothing different going on here.
Come back soon for Part II of "Kid Rock: Michigan Love".
For more Kid Rock check out Kid Rock A to Z.
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