 On January 17, 1971 in a little town on the edge of the Detroit metropolitan area, Robert James Ritchie took his first breath, screaming as he entered this world. Twenty-eight years later, the same Robert Ritchie screamed his name, announcing his presence as Kid Rock in "Bawitdaba," the lead track from the album Devil Without a Cause and 2000 Grammy nominated song. Years a later, Kid Rock tickets still sell as one of the most prominent rock-rap artists of the late ‘90s has changed his tune and remained ever-relevant in the 21st century. As a kid growing up in Romeo, Michigan became enamored with hip hop culture. He joined a break dance crew at the age of 11, bought a turntable and played DJ at high school parties, and began rapping for The Beast Crew. Ritchie picked up his stage name during these formative years, nicknamed Kid Rock as everyone exclaimed "this white kid can rock!" At the age of 17 he signed with Boogie Down Productions. Two years after signing, Kid Rock released his debut album Grits Sandwiches For Breakfast. Released through Jive Records, the album sat idly bye, left to its own devices to garner any sort of promotion. The spectacular backlash against Vanilla Ice caused much trepidation among all the record companies who had invested in white rappers. Jive Records eventually released Kid Rock from his deal. Kid Rock returned to Detroit disheartened, but he continued to perform, this time with Uncle Kracker as his DJ. In 1991 he signed with an independent label, Continuum Records. Kid's second album, The Polyfuze Method came out in 1992 as his second foray into rap, but included much more rock. The inclusion of rock elements followed a move to Brooklyn in New York. He taught himself to play several instruments and discovered some success on the college radio level. Over the next couple of years he released a hard rock EP entitled Fire It Up. This album failed to garner much attention either, so in 1994 Continuum dropped Kid Rock from the label. He moved back to Detroit, hooked up with old girlfriend Kelly Smith, and had a son, Robert James Ritchie, Jr. Frustrated by his lack of success and promotion with other labels, he started his own label, Top Dog Records. Kid Rock began releasing monthly demo tapes featuring his work and other aspiring rappers. He put together a backing band (Twisted Brown Trucker) of garage rock musicians to perfect his rock-rap sound. Rock also began working as a janitor to help pay the bills while building this tiny music empire. In 1996 Kid Rock released his fourth album, Early Morning Stoned Pimp. Taking to the streets, he marketed and sold 60,000 albums. Oftentimes, these albums were sold after shows, so fans bought Kid Rock tickets and albums. He followed this minor success with a re-release of his EP. All of the hard work seemed to pay off in 1997. Atlantic Records signed him and released Devil Without a Cause. The album led to spot on the Vans Warped Tour despite the all-too-familiar slow sales figures. Kid Rock befriended Carson Daly, performing for several MTV productions as a DJ. Then, in 1999, Kid Rock finally had his break. The appearances on MTV earned him a new chance for the Devil Without a Cause album. The album ended up hitting platinum 11 times, peaking at number four on the Billboard 200, and earning him a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. The new-found fame led to a re-release of his independent material, a spot on the Summer Sanitarium Tour with Metallica, Korn, and System of a Down. Kid Rock released his second album through Atlantic Records in 2001. Cocky peaked at number three in the charts and went five-times platinum. The album managed to avoid the pitfall of staying behind the times. He included Southern rock ballads, moving farther away from the rap-rock sound that made him a star initially. Kid Rock's self-titled release in 2003 continued the progression toward rock, specifically southern rock and even a few country ballads. Aligning himself with legends like Bob Seger and Lynyrd Skynyrd, Kid Rock finally finished re-inventing himself as a musician. The album failed to perform as impressively as his past recordings, only going platinum. He laid low for a few years, performing the occasional duet before coming back with Rock N Roll Jesus. The album became his first number one album and went three-times platinum. The follow up album, Born Free, has been released and Kid Rock has toured in 2010 to promote the album and already has announced plans to tour again in the winter of 2011. Look for Kid Rock tickets from OnlineSeats to find great seats for cheap to see this artist as he continues to redefine himself.
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