Devil Without A Cause

Devil Without a Cause is Kid Rock’s fourth studio album, released on August 18, 1998, on Lava/Atlantic Records. It was his first major-label album since Jive dropped him, and it became his commercial breakthrough.

The story

After years of independent releases, Kid Rock signed with Atlantic in 1997 when Lava Records head Jason Flom saw him perform. He recorded the album from September 1997 to July 1998 at the White Room in Detroit and at MixRoom in Los Angeles, with his band Twisted Brown Trucker and his longtime hype man Joe C.

Sound and production

Kid Rock and John Travis produced the album. Kid Rock raps over the live-band rock of Twisted Brown Trucker, a sound critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine described as “thunderous, funky noise.” Eminem contributes a guest verse. Six singles came out between July 1998 and January 2000, among them “Bawitdaba,” “Cowboy” and “Only God Knows Why.”

Legacy

The album peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Diamond (11× Platinum) by the RIAA. Critics were split. Robert Christgau gave it an A−, while Pitchfork scored it 1.3 out of 10. It is often cited as a key record in the development of country rap.