Kid Rock Announces Christian Album 'Halfway to Jesus,' With Eminem on '7 Sins'
The 17-track 'Halfway to Jesus' arrives Oct. 17. The first single, 'James 1:17 (Jesus Is King),' is out now, and the title track pairs Kid Rock with Rascal Flatts singer Gary LeVox and Jimmie Allen.
Kid Rock is making a Christian album.
The singer, born Robert James Ritchie, announced the record Thursday. It is called "Halfway to Jesus," it has 17 tracks, and it comes out Oct. 17.
The first single, "James 1:17 (Jesus Is King)," is out now. Ritchie said he wrote it in about 30 minutes after getting up at 2 a.m. one morning. The video opens with the words of the Bible verse on a black screen, then cuts to Ritchie inviting a street musician and some prostitutes to a revival.
Eminem guests on "7 Sins"
Eminem appears on the album, on a song called "7 Sins." In an excerpt from the album's foreword published by Complex, Ritchie said the two differ politically and on other things but have stayed friends through it all. "We hope that sets an example for people who've lost friends or stopped talking to family because they think differently," he wrote.
The two go back decades. Eminem rapped on Ritchie's 1998 breakthrough album "Devil Without a Cause." Ritchie later appeared in Eminem's 2013 video for "Berzerk."
LeVox, Allen and "God Bless the USA"
The title track, "Halfway 2 Jesus," pairs Ritchie with Rascal Flatts singer Gary LeVox and country singer Jimmie Allen. The 17-track list closes with "God Bless the USA," a rendition of the Lee Greenwood anthem, and includes a version of "'Til You Can't."
Ritchie said he wrote the songs to celebrate Jesus and his faith with "rock 'n' roll, country, hip-hop."
"Halfway to Jesus" is his first album since 2022's "Bad Reputation." Earlier this year he headlined "The All-American Halftime Show," staged by Turning Point USA at the same time Bad Bunny performed the Super Bowl halftime show.
