Kid Rock Biography

Kid Rock was born Robert James Ritchie in 1971 in Romeo, Michigan, an area outside of Detroit. Young Kid Rock became enamored with breakdancing and rap music while still in middle school, and by the time he was in high school, he’d even begun DJ-ing at local events. After some tumultuous teenage years, Kid Rock began performing rap music and eventually garnered the attention of Jive Records; he signed with the label when he was only seventeen years old.

Kid Rock’s debut album, Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast, was released in 1990 and brought the artist a significant amount of attention, although his career failed to take off fully. After returning to Detroit, Kid Rock teamed up with Uncle Kracker Booking Agent & Management" href="https://www.bookingentertainment.com/artists/hiphop/Uncle_Kracker.php"> Uncle Kracker and the two forged ahead as an act. Although by now he’d left Jive Records, it wasn’t long before Kid Rock signed with another label and released The Polyfuze Method, his sophomore effort. This album was more rap-rock in sound, and earned some success on the college radio circuit, but also failed to garner the success Kid Rock was yearning for.

With the help of his friend Carson Daly, Kid Rock’s next endeavor, the album Devil Without a Cause, finally became his breakthrough in 1999. A performance on MTV helped to garner more attention, and within a short period of time following, sales of the album rose to gold status. Eventually, Devil Without a Cause reached platinum status and brought Kid Rock to the level of commercial success he desired, even earning him a Best New Artist nomination at the Grammys in 2000.

Since that time, Kid Rock has rose to superstar status, releasing hit album after album and moving away from his rap roots to a more country rock and rap rock sound. His hit albums, including The History of Rock (2000), Cocky (2001), Live Trucker (2006), Rock’n’Roll Jesus (2007), and Born Free (2010) have earned Kid Rock five Grammy nominations and brought his record sales to nearly the thirty million mark worldwide. He has also won two American Music Awards (for Favorite Male Pop/Rock Artist  in 2002 and 2003); three Billboard Music Awards (for Best New Artist, Best Hard Rock Performance, and Best New Hard Rock Artist, in 1999); and a CMT Music Award for Wide Open Country Video of the Year (for the singles “All Summer Long,” 2009.)

Most recently, Kid Rock released the album Rebel Soul in 2012, and he continues his work with a number of charities, especially Operation Homefront, which provides emergency assistance to troops and their families. Kid Rock has also performed for our servicemen stationed around the world, and has been very vocal about his conservative, ardent patriotism.