Can’t say I agree with that one…
In case you didn’t hear, the “All Summer Long” singer has a gospel record coming out this Saturday, October 17. Though it might seem like an out-of-left-field move for Kid Rock, the rock/rap/country artist has already had a No. 1 hit song on Billboard’s Hot Christian Songs chart. His cover of Cody Johnson’s 2022 hit, “Til’ You Can’t,” which featured a new verse about giving your life to Jesus, debuted at the very top of the chart, with over 3.7 million streams and 51,000 units sold.
That, along with the personal faith journey that Kid Rock is currently on, came together to create a new Christian and/or faith-based rock album titled Halfway 2 Jesus. The album will feature a collab with fellow Michigan native, Eminem, as well as appearances from Rascal Flatts frontman, Gary LeVox, Jimmie Allen and Lil Wayne.
As you might imagine, a couple of those collaborations were met with backlash.
Last week, Kid Rock clapped back at those calling him out for having Allen featured on the album, as well as those who criticized Eminem for joining Halfway 2 Jesus and being featured on a song called “7 Sins.” Earlier this week, Ritchie posted a video online to let all of the internet trolls know that Eminem was no longer going to be helping him with “7 Sins” and had been replaced with another, well-known rap artist: none other than Lil Wayne.
“There’s been some people on the internet and what not, like there always is, that don’t seem to be too thrilled about my old friend of almost 40 years, Eminem, doing a song with me on my new album. You folks will probably be happy to hear that he’s no longer on ‘7 Sins.’ Another very good friend of mine, Lil Wayne, is now on ‘7 Sins.’
It’ll probably not make you very happy to hear that Eminem is still on the album. He’s just on another song now, called ‘Heal My Faith.’ I just want to reiterate that thinking differently and having the freedom to do so is what makes this country great.
As God is my witness, not only the special guests, but all the musicians, songwriters, engineers, everybody involved with this record, we all don’t think the same.”
While many were focused on criticizing the Michigan native’s features, one aspect of Halfway 2 Jesus’ rollout that has flown a bit under the radar, at least broadly speaking, is its use of artificial intelligence.
In an interview with Billboard, Rock would reveal that, while he did record a majority of the album with Nashville studio musicians and Twisted Brown Trucker members in his Dixie Ridge Studio, he employed the use of the AI program Suno to create some choir and orchestra segments.
While he would admit that it could be a “huge problem” down the line, he defended his use of AI by calling it another “tool:
“I really do view it as another tool…like how I would love to use different samples. It lets me get what I hear in my head to my audience… without (AI) writing the song. I agree it can be a huge problem down the line. I think it’s to be determined.
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.”
Of course, AI isn’t a problem that we will face “down the line.” Instead, it’s a problem we’ve been facing and are facing right now in the music industry. Beyond the less-tangible concept of programs like Suno being trained by actual, human artists, proactively stealing their intellectual property from them, AI “music” and “artists” using programs like Suno are also stealing streams and potential money from hardworking artists in the process.
In fact, a recent study from Kapwing finds that country music artists in the artificial intelligence space are making a LOT of money, with Breaking Rust and another prominent AI “artist,” Cain Walker, making just shy of $750,000 based upon their Spotify and YouTube listenership alone. In other words, people are profiting off of and subsequently stealing revenue from actual artists at an incredibly alarming rate through the use of artificial intelligence.
While I don’t think anyone is truly looking at Kid Rock as some kind of beacon of artistic integrity, it’s incredibly disappointing to see an artist as popular and prominent as he is fully embracing an inherently anti-artist program that is Suno AI. Of course, AI is a tool that can be used for good in a plethora of different avenues, mainly data and the medical field. And we heard Luke Bryan describe songwriters using it to put his voice on a demo, and then go ahead and pitch it to him with his AI-generated voice on it, but it absolutely should not, and will not, be embraced in the arts, especially when it comes to creation.
