Kid Rock: We're stronger TOGETHER

[0:03] He sold millions of records, built a career spanning rock, rap, and country, and he's never [0:09] been shy about telling you what he thinks. [0:11] Now, Michigan native Kid Rock has plenty to talk about, from a Senate race heating up [0:16] in his home state to woke celebrity rhetoric and a brand new Christian album featuring an [0:22] old friend. [0:23] And this week in Nashville, we covered it all. [0:26] Kid Rock, Bob, I don't know how to address you. [0:30] I hear people tell you all different ways. [0:32] People probably know you best as Kid Rock, though. [0:34] So tell me about the man who is Bob. [0:36] Tell me how you would, at this point, describe yourself and sort of the journey your life [0:41] has taken. [0:42] I mean, Kid Rock's more of a character. [0:44] You know, it's all me at the end of the day, but it's more of a character that you see in [0:48] the press, on television, in the public circle, for better or for worse. [0:53] I always say you can find enough information out there to make that person be into this [0:59] great, you know, a guy who's a single father and tried to give back and loves Jesus and [1:04] can make me out to be this guy that drinks too much. [1:07] He's a madman and throws fists at Waffle House, and it's all true. [1:12] But at the end of the day, you know, I'm really just Bob to my friends, to my family, and [1:16] trying to give a little bit more of that to my fans, to the public now. [1:20] Well, I know that you are a very proud Michigan native. [1:25] Tell me about how impactful it was to grow up in Michigan to the person you are today. [1:30] You know, Detroit especially, Michigan, the suburbs, is this big melting pot. [1:36] You know, I hung out in the richest, most affluent suburbs, and I spent so much time in the ghettos. [1:43] And that really shaped so much about me to see all different walks of life. [1:48] You know, we have a saying in Detroit that is tough times don't last, tough people do. [1:51] Definitely made me tough, made me resilient. [1:55] It's kind of those values and the foundation that I got growing up in and around Detroit [2:00] and Michigan that they gave me that. [2:02] Yeah. [2:03] Well, as you know, and as a lot of people are watching, there's this very high stakes [2:07] race there for the U.S. Senate between Mike Rogers and Abdul El-Sayed. [2:12] As someone who grew up in the state, I would love to get your take on that and maybe your take [2:16] overall, Bob, on the midterm elections. [2:19] Well, number one, I was born in Dearborn, Michigan. [2:21] So was my father, raised there. [2:24] My grandfather raised him there. [2:25] And as we know, I don't know if people understand how it got to be one of the biggest Arab populations [2:30] outside of the Middle East in the world. [2:32] I call it more of a religious ideology. [2:36] I know there's extremists and there's milder versions of it. [2:39] I don't want to see my grandkids one day have to fight some civil war over religious ideology. [2:45] This is scary. [2:46] I think El-Sayed's a wolf in sheep's clothing. [2:48] What's at stake? [2:50] Oh, my gosh. [2:51] I mean, do you want your children to be under the arm of teachers' unions? [2:57] Or would you like them to go to school to learn the basics and to be taught, you know, about [3:02] the men and women who fought and died for this country? [3:04] Or do you want them to go to school and learn about gender identity? [3:08] It's pretty simple. [3:09] You know, until this point in politics and going back several years, I never felt Democrats didn't scare me. [3:16] It's like, okay, we think differently. [3:17] You're big government. [3:18] I'm small government. [3:19] You know, all those things. [3:21] I never thought any of them genuinely hated our country. [3:26] Now I look around and I go, wait, these people hate our country. [3:30] So, you know, my hope is that even our Democratic friends who can't stand President Trump, who have the case of TDS, maybe they stay home. [3:42] Maybe they don't vote because their conscience will not let them vote to destroy our country. [3:47] Well, speaking of TDS, someone who I think has a pretty bad case of it is Phil Collins. [3:51] And this week he described the president as nasty and unattractive. [3:57] So, as someone who's had a long friendship with President Donald Trump, Bob, how would you describe the president? [4:03] Number one, outside of the presidency, just as a human being, couldn't have a better friend. [4:08] I mean, you know, just the things he's done since I've known him the last 15 years, just when my father was passing, he would call all the time just to check. [4:16] And this man is, as you know, a very busy man. [4:19] And he does that not just with me, but with all his friends. [4:22] He's normal, man. [4:24] He's funny as hell. [4:25] And he's willing to, no matter how many times he gets knocked down, dragged through the mud, [4:29] as he's still gotten back up and fought for you and me and this country. [4:35] There's nobody I would rather have in that office fighting for this country. [4:39] Phil Collins also talked about writing a song to encapsulate America [4:43] that he said he would title fat people with guns. [4:48] Now, yeah, so we live in a country, Bob, where you can say things like that. [4:53] We have the freedoms here in America that allow Phil Collins to say crazy stuff like that. [4:58] But how would you describe the American people? [5:01] I don't know if that's really necessarily the nicest take. [5:04] A comedian, the late night host, will probably have some fun and say, [5:08] yeah, it sounds like a VIP section at a Kid Rock show. [5:10] And you know what? [5:12] My fans wouldn't care because we're from the school of sticks and stones. [5:17] And one point I want to make is that I think we have to take things, [5:22] you know, look at someone's span of their lifetime, their career, of things they've done, [5:27] and maybe give them a little more grace. [5:29] Give each other a little more grace. [5:30] Lord knows I've been the first when someone pops off to get up [5:35] and smack them with my words as hard as I possibly can and fight back. [5:40] But I don't know if that's solving anything, the division of this country. [5:44] There are so many of these folks in kind of the Hollywood sphere, Bob, [5:47] who are just, they seem fully indoctrinated into the woke ideology. [5:53] What is your take on that as someone who is part of this industry? [5:56] The devil lives in Hollywood, period. [6:01] I've seen him there. [6:02] That's not a joke. [6:04] People are disgusting out there. [6:05] Like when, since when can you not express your points and your views and your opinions? [6:10] I'm not saying bring this to the stage. [6:12] I firmly believe the stage is no place for politics. [6:15] That's the place for people to have a good time, all that stuff. [6:18] You have a new album, Halfway to Jesus. [6:22] Tell me about this album. [6:23] Tell me about what inspired it. [6:24] Yeah, it's been quite a journey, almost 30 years from devil without a cause to Halfway to Jesus. [6:31] But it's not a new, it's not new to me at all. [6:35] And my fans know that. [6:37] It's a long story, but it all centers around my birthday, 117-71. [6:42] My middle name is James and James 117, which basically says all good things come from God. [6:48] And I've been seeing ones and sevens my whole life. [6:51] Just the craziest times, the craziest places. [6:54] And after Charlie Kirk was assassinated, like a lot of people, I started to become closer to my faith. [6:59] So I started writing these songs and, and, and next thing you know, they were just coming to me. [7:05] And I can see, you know, the skepticism in it. [7:08] People like, Kid Rock got saved. [7:10] It's like, I didn't get saved. [7:12] I'm still a Kid Rock. [7:13] I'm still going to drink a beer, smoke a cigar. [7:16] I feel like I've always been right with God. [7:18] And, you know, I've referred to, you know, one of the songs on my album that Tom T. Hall wrote, [7:24] where it's saying, me and Jesus got our own thing going. [7:26] We don't need anybody to tell us what it's all about. [7:29] This record is about second chances and forgiveness. [7:32] It's about trying to heal some of the division in our country. [7:36] I wanted to create the songs that I wanted to go to church and hear. [7:39] And I want to have revivals, Saturday night revivals and arenas, stadiums, people drinking beer, [7:46] having a good time, celebrating our Lord and Savior, you know, but full on monster rock show. [7:52] And I think that could do a lot of good in the world. [7:55] You actually collaborated on this album with another music legend, Eminem. [8:00] And obviously you guys have very different political leanings, [8:03] but I think it's a really important move because it reminds people that at the end of the day, [8:09] we can be friends and family and human beings with one another, [8:14] even if we differ politically. [8:16] What was your goal with this and how was it working with Eminem? [8:18] You just said it. That was the whole goal with it. [8:21] We said years ago, we said, man, let's not let politics divide us. [8:25] And we never did. [8:27] And so when I asked him to be part of this and the stuff that he's writing, [8:33] he totally got it. [8:35] He knew how important it was for two little foul-mouthed rappers, [8:40] white rappers from Detroit, [8:42] maybe could set a good example for the rest of this country that, hey, you know, it's okay, [8:49] like you said, to differ politically and still be friends. [8:53] I keep saying it, but thinking differently and having the freedom to do so [8:57] is what makes this country great. [8:59] So I'm so thankful he's on the record. [9:01] He's been a tremendous friend for almost 40 years. [9:04] I've always told people what a great father he is. [9:09] He's just a class act all the way around. [9:12] In this moment we're in right now, if you could give the American people [9:15] one piece of advice, what would you tell America right now? [9:19] Be cool. Just be cool, man. [9:24] There's not too much that's worth all this division. [9:27] We're stronger together. [9:31] Everyone knows the clichés. [9:32] We're stronger together than we are divided. [9:34] There's a lot of powers, a lot of forces around the world [9:37] that are absolutely trying to divide us. [9:40] I wish the media would try to have a little more grace. [9:43] Just report the facts. [9:45] We can make up our own minds. [9:48] We're not stupid people. [9:49] We can figure out things for our own. [9:51] Be cool. [9:52] That's my answer.