Here we have the 11th studio LP from Romeo, Michigan rapper, singer/songwriter, producer & DJ Kid Rock. Coming up as a b-boy for The Beast Crew in the late 80’s, he wound up signing to Jive Records & RCA Records for his full-length debut Grit Sandwiches for Breakfastbefore they cut ties with him due to comparisons to Vanilla Ice. Bobby then dropped The Polyfuze Method & Early Mornin’ Stoned Pimp on his independently owned Top Dog Records, but got Atlantic Records to help back Devil Without a Cause & the success of that rap rock classic lead to him shifting away from hip hop to teeter between classic rock & country for the last 2 decades even to this day. This foray has been either hit or miss with me personally, but I can’t deny the success of “Picture” & “All Summer Long”or how much I enjoyed the Rick Rubin-produced Born Free since it originally came out back when I was in middle school. Coming off his final Atlantic offering Rebel Soul & the Warner Records-backed 1st Kiss, he’s going independent again for Sweet Southern Sugar.
“Greatest Show on Earth” blends southern rock, hard rock, blues rock, country rock, progressive country & progressive rock to sing about how he loves being despised whereas “Po-Dunk” fuses southern rock, country rock, blues rock, bro-country, alternative rock & turntablism for a hideous redneck anthem when he had a luxurious upbringing. “Tennessee Mountain Top” maintains a southern country rock vibe for the WWE’s Survivor Series XXXI official theme song & after “I Wonder” asks if this woman thinks of him the way he does her, “American Rock ‘n Roll” ends the 1st half with a mediocre ode to some old fashioned rock & roll.
“Back to the Otherside” kicks off the 2nd leg of Sweet Southern Sugar telling those dealing with suicidal thoughts to never give up just before “Raining Whiskey” sings about drowning in alcohol ever since this individual walked out the door. “Stand the Pain” encourages people to persevere when life’s kicking you down while “Grandpa’s Jam” makes up for a boring cover of “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)” by 4 Tops with this rap rock closer talking about the birth of his granddaughter, marking the first time in a decade that Bob has rapped in his music & having longtime producer Mike E. Clark program the drums.
Thankfully the rumors of Kid Rock running for Senate only 4 months ago were only drummed up so that could bring more attention to Sweet Southern Sugar even if I liked it less than the 2 full-lengths he put out after Born Free. His southern rock, country rock, rap rock, hard rock, blues rock, alternative rock and rock & roll production’s pretty much what you’ve come to expect from him at this point regardless of him exploring subjects like the hillbilly life, heartbreak, suicide prevention, opioid usage & becoming a grandparent.
Score: 1.5/5
