Kid Rock is turning his latest musical chapter toward faith with Halfway to Jesus, a 17-track Christian album arriving Oct. 17 and featuring a new collaboration with Eminem.
Announced Thursday, Oct. 1, the collection brings Rock together with his fellow Detroit MC on “7 Sins.” Gary LeVox of Rascal Flatts and Jimmie Allen also appear on the album’s title track.
The first single, “James 1:17 (Jesus Is King),” introduces the project with gospel-infused rock and lyrics centered on forgiveness, redemption and salvation. In a promotional video shared on X, Rock recites lines from the song: “I have wandered through the ages/ And flipped through all your pages/ Every stage of life I’ve gone through/ I’ve refused to compromise.”
The official music video takes that spiritual message into highly theatrical territory. Rock appears illuminated by a heavenly light and is seemingly lifted toward heaven before returning to a stage, where he performs in a Tupac T-shirt alongside a rock band and gospel choir.
A track list built around faith
Halfway to Jesus signals a full embrace of religious themes from Rock, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie. Its song titles include “Why Don’t You Look Into Jesus,” “Water Into Wine,” “Me and Jesus,” “God Is Good” and “High Road.” The closing track appears to be a cover of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.”
The album artwork makes the project’s central struggle equally direct. It shows Rock halfway up a mountain as he moves toward a glowing crucifix, with the devil following closely behind him.
Rock discussed the personal significance of “James 1:17” in August, describing the album as part of a spiritual journey and explaining the connection between the Bible passage and his own name and birthday.
“It’s kind of this spiritual journey I’ve been on and I’ve had a calling through James 1:17,” he said. “My middle name being James and 1/17 my birthday. I looked up that passage a while back and it’s all good things basically come from God.”
He also said he had not spoken extensively about his faith in the past. Recalling his Catholic upbringing, Rock said he found himself searching beyond Catholic services for religious music that connected with him.
“Growing up Catholic and going to Catholic church, I was always like, ‘I have to confess this is boring. This music’s terrible,’” he said. “So I’d go to Baptist churches and non-denominals just looking for the music that I wanted to hear and there’s some good stuff, but it was always a little bit of this dark place.”
That search ultimately informed the sound he wanted for the album. “So I decided to write the songs that I kind of wanted to celebrate Jesus and my faith with, which are rock and roll, country, hip-hop,” he explained.
Kid Rock and Eminem reunite
Rock’s collaboration with Eminem also carries a message beyond the song itself. In the album’s foreword, Rock reportedly describes “7 Sins” as an effort to demonstrate that friendship can survive political and personal disagreements.
“I’m proud of the guests who joined me, especially my old friend Eminem,” Rock reportedly writes. “His verse speaks to something we’ve talked about and that really needs to be heard: we differ politically and on other things, but we’ve 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.”
The track is not the first time the two artists have worked together. Eminem appeared on “F–k Off” from Rock’s 1998 fourth studio album, Devil Without a Cause. Both artists later appeared on the remix of Trick-Trick’s 2013 song “From tha D,” while Rock made a cameo in Eminem’s 2013 “Berzerk” music video.
What Happens Next?
With “James 1:17 (Jesus Is King)” setting the tone, Halfway to Jesus is scheduled for release Oct. 17. The full album will reveal how Rock combines the rock, country and hip-hop styles he cited with the project’s focus on Jesus, faith and salvation.