Kid Rock and 22 examples of hick-hop's evolution

Courtesy of kidrock.com

Country rap, or "hick-hop" as it's sometimes called, may seem to capture either the height of musical irony, or the height of its stupidity. Probably both. But in the book The Accidental Evolution of Rock 'n' Roll, prolific music journalist Chuck Eddy traces the sub-genre's roots all the way back to an artist as respected as Woody Guthrie. When you think about it, the intersection is not all that improbable, considering both forms have more or less trickled down from the same larger stream of American music. From an emphasis on recitation to a love for one's mama, the two genres might just be a match in musical heaven.

The sub-genre's most popular practitioner, Kid Rock, will play to a sold-out audience on Sunday at, of all places, Mystic Lake Casino, a venue most often populated by fans of country, throwback rock, and comedy. In celebration of his visit we present to you examples of hick-hop's evolution, from roots country to the twangy rap of today.

Blind Willie Johnson "If I Had My Way, I'd Tear the Building Down" (1927)

This song is twice as old as the 41-year-old Kid Rock, and hits harder than a freight car filled with middleweight boxers.

Weh-ell/ Samson's trick though they never found out/ 'Til they began to wonder about/ A'til his wife sat up upon his knee/ 'A-tell me where your strength lie, if you please?

Woody Guthrie "Talkin' Dust Bowl Blues" (1940)

Woody's flow is remarkable.

Way up yonder on a mountain road/ I had a hot motor and a heavy load/ I was a goin' pretty fast and wasn't even stoppin'/ I was a bouncin' up and down like a'popcorn poppin'
/ Had a breakdown/ Sort of a nervous bustdown of the ahhh/ Mechanism there of some kind of/ Engine trouble.

Roger Miller "My Uncle Used to Love Me But She Died" (1966)

No, that title is not a typo.

Who'll bid me quarter, thirty cents for a ring of keys/ Three sixty-five for a dollar bill of groceries/ I'll have me a car of my own someday but 'til then I'll need me a ride/ My uncle used to love me but she died.

Charlie Daniels "Uneasy Rider" (1973)

By the '70s, Daniels fully brought storytelling into a new bizarre realm with seedy characters with green teeth.

And when I hit the ground I was makin' tracks/ And they were just taking my car down off the jacks/ So I threw the man a twenty and jumped in and fired that mother up.

Bob Dylan "Subterranean Homesick Blues" (1965)

You know the lyrics.

You know the lyrics.

Jerry Reed "Alabama Wild Man" (1972)


Rapping about getting filthy rich is not something that came into vogue in the Diddy era.

Well now I'm driving Cadillacs a city block long/ And the Alabama Wild Man can do no wrong/ 'Cause I'm selling them records and I'm working them shows/ And people love me everywhere I go.

Johnny Bond "Hot Rod Lincoln" (1960)

Ditto for driving around in ridiculous cars.

Then all of a sudden a rod started knockin'/ An' down in the dip she started to rockin'/ I looked in the mirror an' a red light was blinkin'/ The cops was after my hot rod Lincoln.