NASHVILLE — The music world got a jolt earlier this month when Kid Rock revealed that Eminem was a guest performer on an upcoming album track.
That unexpected, hot-button news has since grown even more dramatic: While a new Kid Rock-Eminem song is indeed arriving Friday (Oct. 17), it’s not the one fans thought was coming — and iconic rapper Lil Wayne has suddenly become part of the action.
Following a last-minute scramble ahead of Rock’s new album, “Halfway 2 Jesus,” here's where things stand: Eminem is now the featured guest on a previously undisclosed track titled “Heal My Faith,” but not the song “7 Sins” as originally announced Oct. 1.
The latter tune now features a rap interlude from Lil Wayne, who whipped up an impromptu contribution early
this week after a change of mind from Eminem, whose verse initially appeared on the track.
Confused? Keep reading.
The Detroit Free Press was at Kid Rock’s Nashville studio Monday as the crunch-time situation unfolded. What started as “a crazy morning,” as Rock put it, became a nail-biting day of audio remixes and texts from Eminem’s team about last-minute tweaks. The final, mastered version of the album was due to streaming services in 48 hours.
Eleven days earlier, news of an Eminem-Kid Rock collaboration produced shockwaves. Years had passed since the two veterans of Detroit’s ‘90s hip-hop scene shared a track — and that was long before America’s deepening divisions would have you regard them as political foes: Kid Rock famously on the MAGA right, Eminem firmly on the anti-Trump left.
In what Kid Rock calls a display of loyal friendship, Eminem recorded verses for both songs during the past year. While compiling the upcoming album, Rock opted to sideline “Heal My Faith,” the first track they tackled, in favor of the newer “7 Sins.”
Back in Detroit, Eminem had a different idea: After seeing the running list for the album — whose Friday release will accompany his 54th birthday — the rapper suggested that “7 Sins” be swapped out for the earlier “Heal My Faith.”
Kid Rock recounted the phone call from Eminem: “Hey, man, when’s the last time you listened to that first song?”
Rock agreed to the switch. And so "Heal My Faith," with its metal guitar flourishes, church bells and Eminem verses, is track No. 5 on "Halfway 2 Jesus."
A tale of two tracks, three rappers and one frantic finish
Ironically, “Heal My Faith” wasn’t initially intended to feature Eminem’s voice. While composing the song last year, Kid Rock found himself stuck. He reached out to his old friend merely hoping for a quick writing assist.
Rock wasn’t looking for anything more, he said: “We’ve been friends for like 40 years, and I really didn’t want to drag him into my political world.”
To Rock’s surprise, Eminem wound up sending back an entire set of rhymes recorded on his own. The verses traced their shared history in Detroit, including the elder Kid Rock’s early encouragement for the aspiring Marshall Mathers at a local release party for 1997’s “The Slim Shady EP.”
In Kid Rock’s account, Eminem told him, "I've never forgotten that — how you came and supported me to keep going. You don't know what that meant, because you were kind of the big thing in Detroit."
“Heal My Faith” wound up with more than an Eminem writing contribution. It now had an Eminem rap.
Months later, while back home in Detroit, Kid Rock visited Eminem at the rapper’s Effigy Studios in Ferndale. Playing some of the work-in-progress from the album he calls his “spiritual record,” he got to the track “7 Sins.”
Rock said Eminem’s reaction was instant: "Man, could you send me that? I want to try something on that."
Once again, Eminem produced verses that emphasized friendship over politics. And so the new “7 Sins” took precedence for the upcoming album. Rock said he and Eminem agreed the upcoming album shouldn’t include two collaborations, and he shelved “Heal My Faith.”
“Let's focus on one thing,” Kid Rock said. “Like, people are going to think we're dating if we put out two songs together.”
Fast forward to early October: While Kid Rock has told the world his new album will include an Eminem guest spot on a song called “7 Sins,” Eminem wants to resurrect “Heal My Faith.”
That was a deal Kid Rock could live with — he loved both tracks — but now he faced a quandary with “7 Sins.” Editing out Eminem’s part was easy enough. But how to replace it?
Rock contemplated recording his own rap verse, but he knew he couldn’t match Eminem’s work: "I'd never be able to hear it without knowing it's that much subpar (to) what he did."
“You (can) really break apart his rhyme skills and just his play on words and things we all know he does so well,” he said. “You don't realize these little nuances he's putting in there, these little things he adds in the beat and whatever's going on in his head that is all making this crazy rhythmic thing.”
Rock reached out to Lil Wayne and Chuck D to no avail. He resigned himself to reworking “7 Sins” without a rap break.
Then, in the wee hours of Monday morning, five days before the album release, came a message from Lil Wayne: “Holler at me.”
Weezy had “always been an ace of a friend,” said Rock, and he was up for the “7 Sins” task. Lil Wayne said he’d knock out a rap contribution that day.
For Kid Rock, getting “Halfway 2 Jesus” across the finish line involved much anxiety and much reward. For all the stress, he wound up with Eminem, Lil Wayne and a record he’s confident will be “life-changing at 55 years old.”
Since the announcement of an Eminem collaboration earlier this month, Kid Rock has heard the backlash and seen the freakouts: How dare these two political polar opposites do this?
He shrugs it off as a sign of the times.
“If there are two people who understand the noise — who have created a lot of noise in their careers — it’s us,” Rock said. “We understand (that) empty wagons make the most noise, right? Who are these (complainers)? … You’re upset that two old friends did something together? I mean, you’re essentially confirming the problem to us. And he understands that. We both understand that.”
At 5:35 p.m. Wednesday, Kid Rock sent a text to the Free Press among selected media: After the late-hour sprint, just 1½ days before release, the album was 100% finished.
“PRAISE JESUS!!!” he wrote. “Gonna say a few prayers and then crack a cold beer. Like a good Catholic!”
Contact Detroit Free Press music writer Brian McCollum: 313-223-4450 or bmccollum@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Kid Rock, Eminem, Lil Wayne: The story behind a frantic album scramble
