Kid Rock Redefines Country/Rock With “Care”
Kid Rock "Born Free" Top Dog/Atlantic Records
Kid Rock fan’s may recall that his latest album, Born Free hit the stores this week, and as always, he don’t disappoint. As we previously reported, the album’s first single is it’s title track, but one of the more interesting songs is an album cut from. Born Free features a song called, “Care.” What helps make that one song interesting is the fact that it combines the talents of a bunch of great artists involved with the song. The song puts Kid Rock’s Southern Rock/Country sound with three of the most unlikley people you would ever expect to hear on the same song!
What is no surprise is that the song features duet vocals with Country star, Martina McBride. The surprise comes with the appearance of Atlanra Rap star, T.I. on that same song. Also,, there are actually two different versions of the song. There is the main version with McBride singing the female vocal, and another version featuring the female vocal performed by R&B singer, Mary J. Blige! It turns out that Mary’s version of the song is the original demo version that was added to the Born Free track list as a bonus track. Each of the two versions were produced by Rick Rubin. Both of these versions of “Care” feature T.I.. So There has been no indication that a “Rap Edit” will be made for Country/Hot AC radio, With that said, even though there are probably people out there who would like a Rap edit of the song, it really is not needed. T.I.’s contribution despite being small is actually very nice. T.I.’s rapping also represents the range of Kid Rock’s growing fan base in Hip Hop as well as genuine Country music.
Kid Rock has been known for crossing genre lines in many different ways. He was first signed to Jive/RCA Records as just a Rapper. His first album in 1990, Grits Sandwiches For Breakfast was produced with Oakland Rapper and his then Jive label mate, Too Short. He also got to tour with Ice Cube, D Nice, Yo Yo and Too Short. From then on Kid Rock became one of the most famous Rappers to come out of the city of Detroit. He found company in peers like other Detroit Rappers, Eminem and Trick Trick.
His 1998 breakthrough album on Lava/Atlantic Records, Devil Without A Cause was a showcase of all his talents as a Rapper, Rock performer, and producer. The success of that album had lead to him standing on stage at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards with Run DMC and Aerosmith. That opened the door for him to appear as a guest performer on Run DMC’s last album, Crown Royal in 2001, before the untimely death of Jam Master Jay in 2002. The singles from Devil Without A Cause would also find a home on the playlist of various Alternative Rock radio stations. His 2001 album, Cocky featured Kid Rock’s highest charting single, “Picture” featuring Sheryl Crow. “Picture” peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also gave him his first official Country crossover record, “Picture” peaked at #21 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. This was one of only three collaborations on Cocky. In true Kid Rock fasion the other featured artists on the album are Snoop Dogg and Hank Williams Jr.
His music would continue to lean more towards Country and Southern Rock as the years would go by. This is particularly noticable on his self titled 2003 album. The album’s lead single was a cover of Bad Company’s 1975 hit, “Feel Like Making Love.” That was followed by the ballad, “Cold And Empty,” which was co-written with Country star, Kenny Chesney.
This new Southern Rock/Country fused style would provide even more success for Kid Rock on his 2007 album, Rock And Roll Jesus. That album had 5 charting singles on various genre charts from Modern Rock to Adult Contemporary. The most notable of these songs was “All Summer Long.” That song’s success was nothing less than massive and would go on to become one of the songs that would help redefine his career. It reached the Top 10 on 15 different song charts around the world. It would go on to become an even bigger Country radio hit than “Picture,” giving Kid Rock his first top 5 Country radio hit, peaking at #4. This is an interesting achievejment for him because he does thsi while still keeping his Hip Hop roots. The song used the Hip Hop art of sampling to allow him to sample several different records, while still making it something all his own. All the songs sampled for “All Summer Long” include “”Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Werewolves Of London” by Warren Zevon, “Take The Money And Run” by The Steve Miller Band, and ” I Want You Back” by The Jackson 5.
Kid Rock is possibly one of the only performers who can share the stage at Def Jam’s Hip Hop Honors and also share the stage at the Country Music Awards! “Care” is sure to be another great chapter in his evolution as an Hip Hop MC that matured into a true genre bending musician. Take a listen to the demo version of “Care” featuring Mary J. Blige and T.I. right here!
Kid Rock Featuring Mary J. Blige And T.I.
“Care”
From Born Free
Top Dog/Atlantic Records
Download “Care” Preview Here If Needed (Right Click Save Target As)
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