A common man, even like myself, I don't know how to pay my taxes.
— Kid Rock
Everything I've done in my career has started in and around Detroit, you know, the metro area and Michigan.
I tend to vote Republican, but I don't like the hardcore views on either side, and I'm not in bed with anybody.
I've always had a love of country music.
I still love old-school hip-hop, but there hasn't been a lot that I've taken from the new stuff.
If you had told me when I was starting out that I would be coming down to Nashville, kind of weaving in and out of the country scene, I never would've thought that in a million years.
I like who I am.
I always looked up to so many people before me and was lucky to become such good friends with them. I learned so much hanging out with those cats.
I just have never got into reading.
I've paid for more pianos in hotel lobbies than you can imagine.
Surround yourself with good people. Whether they're the best or not, people are capable of learning if they've got good hearts and they're good souls.
I do not believe that artists or actors and people should be out there like voicing their full-blown opinions on politics because, let's face it, at the end of the day, I'm not that smart of a guy.
You know, when I started I liked Big Macs and Budweiser and I still like Big Macs and Budweiser.
That's why I called my record Devil Without a Cause - I'm a white boy who's so sick of hearing that white kids are going to steal rap.
On a scale of the United States, the Hollywood influence on what comes out, that's not the majority views of across the country. What we read in Us Weekly or People magazine, or Entertainment Tonight, it's not what the majority of the country is thinking.
My past is a bit checkered.
I was the little white kid who rocked the turntables.
I make a lot of money. I can take a pay cut. All my friends are taking pay cuts that are in the unions, that are - that are farming in Alabama or whatever it is. I can surely take a pay cut, too, not cutting down my show or - or the people that work for me, I can take a pay cut.
There's always a Justin Bieber. Ever since I've been around, there's always been one of him. You know, you can trace it back from how old you are and the boy bands that came along then and the teen sensations and whatnot. And, you know, good for them. There's a few of them that make it out and a few of them that don't.
Athletes and musicians make astronomical amounts of money. People get paid $100 million to throw a baseball! Shouldn't we all take less and pass some of that money onto others? Think about firefighters, teachers and policemen. We should celebrate people that are intellectually smart and trying to make this world a better place.
I've always made music from the heart, and that's what I do.
I've got my own studio, so I sit in my studio writing and if I get a great take, that's the take.
There's always a Justin Bieber. Ever since I've been around, there's always been one of him.
My good friends call me Bobby.
I've never played the PR game.
People in north Michigan are not different at all from people in southern Alabama. Trust me, someone who's spent a lot of time in both places. They're all hardworking, simple people.
I know I'm not the best. I'm not the best singer, I'm not the best songwriter, I'm not the best player.
I've never done songs with people just for the sake of the great combination. I've always done songs with friends.
If it looks good, you'll see it. If it sounds good, you'll hear it. If its marketed right, you'll buy it. But... If its real... you'll feel it.
Why does anything ever happen? Some things happen and some don't.
That's what I love from metal, and that's what I love from hip-hop. That's what I love from any music that's hard, that's got an edge to it-The attitude in it.
My take on rap is driven by straightforward American southern rock and blues.
It's not that I'm Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes now, but I've got my priorities in order.
I want as many people as possible to hear my music. I'm happy to entertain people by being a star.
I see the people in Detroit are very - they're like a lot of cities, but they're very proud to be from there and they really want to see change and they really want to see good things happen.
I guess there's enough information out there to support that I'm a crazy, wild dude and rock and roll and this, that and the other. And there's enough information to support that, you know, I'm a single father, that, you know, has been a pretty standup guy in his community and pretty private about that stuff.
And now that Martina McBride knows of T.I., and T.I. knows of Martina McBride, that made me very happy, too. It's introducing worlds to different people and bringing them together with a song.
I'm all about change, and I know things are going to move forward in life, and that's just how it goes.
I don't write songs thinking about formats, where is it going to get played, who am I gonna please, what's the outlet for it.
You know, I guess there's enough information out there to support that I'm a crazy, wild dude and rock and roll and this, that and the other. And there's enough information to support that, you know, I'm a single father, that, you know, has been a pretty standup guy in his community and pretty private about that stuff. But it's on both sides.
When I was making my first record there would be something that would come out that would inspire you, you know? You'd see someone on TV or on the radio.
The Majestic Theater in 1990. That was one of my first real shows where I had 300 to 400 people there.
I bought a book of Mark Twain quotes. That's about my speed. I'll read a couple quotes and put it down.
Detroit: Cars and rock 'n' roll. Not a bad combo.
I play Rock 'n' Roll, that's what I do.
You've got to work hard for your success and you've got to have a steady presence. That's the secret.
They believed you can't mix rock, country, and rap, and that crossover is dead. I always knew it would work. And it will always work as long as you're really into it and like what you're doing.
Rock 'n' roll is much easier if you're white.
My shows aren't about trying to save some place, because I don't feel that's the right venue for it. That's my politics right there: Don't bring politics to my shows.
I'm actually a pretty decent human being, and when I'm home I'm straight as an arrow.
