Kid Rock‘s new Christian album “Halfway 2 Jesus” arrived today, October 17th. That effort features a number of guests, the most notable of which is rapper Eminem. While Rock and Eminem have a long history of friendship, cameos, and provocative verses together, the two have taken divergent paths ideologically. Rock is a noted friend and advocate of U.S. President Donald J. Trump, while Eminem has publicly railed against the current president.
Eminem was announced for the song “7 Sins” on this effort, but made a last-minute decision to instead cameo on “Heal My Faith“. That track was a song Eminem was originally approached by Rock to work on. Eminem‘s decision led Rock scrambling to enlist a replacement on “7 Sins“, with Lil Wayne eventually landing the slot. Chuck D of Public Enemy fame was also approached for that spot, but did not partake.
Rock has already spoken at length about involving Eminem in this album, which Rock aims to be less “polarizing” with. He recently told Rolling Stone of their relationship:
“We’ve been friends for, like, 40 years. I really didn’t want to drag him into my political world…. We talk about (politics) a little bit, not a ton. There’s a lot of stuff we agree on, and we can have a laugh about what (we don’t). That’s why I asked him to write a verse for me.”
Speaking on hearing what Eminem added to “Heal My Faith“, Rock told Rolling Stone:
“He sends me back a verse wrapping up our whole history from like, day one — living at the Oakwood Apartments together, how I came to his Slim Shady release (show) when he was nobody and told him to keep going and how much that meant to him back then. He nails the line, ‘He’s my brother, not my political enemy,’ and it just sent these chills. I’m like, ‘Man, this is so important.’ I heard the (finished) mix, and grandpa was crying.”
Eminem took to social media overnight to say of the song, “Not about choosing sides, just choosing to make music with my old friend. Praying for all of us.” Rock further told Rolling Stone that he sees this faith-based album as being about “forgiveness and second chances”, and “trying to heal some of the division in our country.” While Rock has certainly contributed to that division, he’s stated he’s looking to turn over a new leaf, telling Rolling Stone, “But I’m trying to give people more grace on their beliefs. The time feels right. I think people have had enough of the polarization, being so divided.”
That same aforementioned interview found Rock opening up another can of worms when it comes to divisiveness however. In it, he admitted to embracing AI during the making for this record. He used the program Suno for various tasks, in addition to working with his backing band and more. According to Rock, AI was used when it came to choir and orchestral instrumentation, with Rock stating it was “another tool” for his creative process. He went on to say, “Until then… you can build a house with pound of nails and a rock, or you can get a nail gun. So it’s another tool.”
