Hip-Hop. Country. Rock N’ Roll. Respectful. Deep. Loving. An American Bad Ass.
Perhaps not all those words come to mind to describe the outspoken Kid Rock, however after watching the season five premiere of THE BIG INTERVIEW WITH DAN RATHER, those will be the very words that do.
During the hour-long interview, the two visit Kid Rock’s custom made, Mossy Oak double-wide trailer, or “trouble-wide” as it’s called, parked on a hill-top overlooking the Nashville skyline and take a ride around his acres of property in his Polaris. Covering topics such as his childhood and rebellion, religion, celebrity, family, a touch of politics and his first love music, Rather removes the various layers of Kid Rock, revealing a person that many may not have been aware exists (Rather makes a touching observation about Rock towards the end of the interview following the debut of a brand new song).
Notorious for his rebellious personality, Rock left his middle-class safety net in Michigan as a teenager to experience life in rough neighborhoods while DJ-ing and breakdancing, leading him to several “big breaks,” most of which fizzled out before he gained any long-lasting success. When asked how he got from there to where he is now, Rock credits that to his hard work – “I’m not the best-looking guy in the room, that’s pretty easy to see. Didn’t have the most talent in the room. Wasn’t from anywhere special. Didn’t have any connections in the business, nobody in my family at all. Hard work”
In response to the wide-open question “Who are you?” Rock sums himself up perfectly: “Somebody who likes to have fun. Who likes to treat people kind, have a great time. Stands up for what he believes in at all costs. And yeah, I like to jerk people’s chains a little bit. . .”
Rock also discusses how his love of music helped him get through the dark moments in his life, and the background and processes that created his huge hits including “Bawitdaba,” “Picture” (his duet with Sheryl Crow) and “All Summer Long,” which led to a bit of an apology to country purists for introducing rap into the genre.
The all-new episode of The Big Interview With Dan Rather airs on Tuesday, February 14, at 8PM ET/5PM PT on AXS-TV.