So looking at recent and past blogs and my own researching and searching for country with in the media, I came across well known (well at least what i think) Kid Rock, who to an extent I think can be seen a bit of a country rapper. I came across him through my search through CMT.com, I had always heard of the Kid, but purely through tabloids, dating Pamela Anderson and his images and purely a red neck in music. It wasn’t until I decided to look at more of his background. I thought it was interesting looking at purely to see his musical contributions to the country music scene. Very alternative type country style that goes very much against the norms of country, especially seeing as hes from Detroit and has mainly a gangster rap rock image to start with.
his image was always what stood out the most. He played up on the white trash image with in a white raprock emerging industry being heavily influenced by such artists like the beastie boys, yet Rock’s lyrics were seen to be more obscene and in turn there was a $20 000 radio fine for one of his songs titled “Yodeling in the vally” which had close references to oral sex. Yet this image and Rock producing most of the work him self is what pushed him through the boundaries of the industry. HIs album “Devil with out a cause” released in August 1998, ten years after he initially attempted to break into the music industry, is what shot him to success, his song “Cowboy” and “Bawitdaba” of the album shot him to a superstar with a Top Five, seven-times-platinum album and a gig at Woodstock ‘99. His success was due to his alternative genre which was infused with raw rock of country with rap.
Now although I initially didnt really consider Kid Rock, although I thought he was a red neck hilbilly and I never really liked his music, its interesting to see he all over cmt.com through links to radio, video clips and bios and pics. He was/ kinda still is I guess a success with a country style rap rock. Although he’s still up there with red necks like limp biscit with the rap rock style, the fact that kid rock, although from detroit and has a primarily rap background, draws heavily from country not only for his hilbilly image but for his music i thought was quite cool.
However, I also find it funny how most of his image, and alot of what I knew about him before I researched further was his marriage/divorce relationship with Bay Watch star Pam Anderson!
Sophie Adams
I never really thought about Kid Rock as a country singer, but now that you mention it, he always has a bit of a cowboy look to him. I had just previously thought of him more as a pop/rock guy singing about country, rather than a legitimate country singer. I don’t particularly like him either but I do have to say, some of his songs are great and he does seam like a nice guy. I actually saw him on David Letterman a week or two ago, and his new song “All Summer Long” is actually a mesh of a few classic melodies with orriginal lyrics. One song mashed in the song is actually “Sweet Home Alabama”, so he is trying to bring a little buit of country into a more city rap sort of song.