Eminem defends Kid Rock collaboration: ‘Not about choosing sides’

Eminem has defended his decision to collaborate with his longtime friend Kid Rock, after their new team-up was met with backlash from some fans over the two artists’ opposing politics.

The rapper appears on “Heal My Faith”, a track from Kid Rock’s new faith-based album half way 2 jesusReleased on Friday (October 17). Hours after the album’s release, Eminem addressed the pair on social media. “Not about choosing sides, just choosing to make music with my old friend,” he wrote. “Prayers for us all.”

The collaboration surprised some of Eminem’s fans, given the well-documented political differences between the two Detroit artists: Eminem had supported Kamala Harris at the 2024 Detroit rally and criticized Donald Trump on tracks including “Campaign Speech”, while Kid Rock is among Trump’s most prominent supporters in music. Eminem directly addresses the divide in his verse. “From shock rap to rock rap, my homie and I / He’s my brother, not my political enemy,” he raps, before calling for unity along party and religious lines.

Kid Rock, who has been friends with Eminem for nearly four decades, talked about the collaboration in an interview board. “I really didn’t want to drag her into my political world,” he said, adding that the two discuss politics “a little bit, not a lot.” He described the album as “about forgiveness and second chances” and an attempt to “heal some of the division in our country.” Kid Rock also noted that Eminem was initially announced for a separate track, “7 Sins”, before the two decided to keep their collaboration to a single song; That spot eventually went to Lil Wayne.

The two have a long history together. Eminem featured on Kid Rock’s 1998 song “F—-Off” devil without a reasonAnd Kid Rock appeared in the video for Eminem’s 2013 single “Berzerk”. Both are among the best-selling artists in Billboard history – Eminem has recorded 10 No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 and five No. 1 hits on the Hot 100, while Kid Rock achieved diamond-certified success in 1998. devil without a reason and scored a Hot 100 top 10 with “All Summer Long”.