A salvo that is American pop music’s first sign of rebellion
The strongest lyric on Kid Rock’s new single “We the People” is 235 years old: “In order to form a more perfect union / Do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America.”
Nothing else on this recording is as powerful, since most of Kid Rock’s song resorts to crude profanities. But the reason why is easy to understand. On the day Kid Rock released his song, rock-music veteran Neil Young publicly threatened Spotify with an ultimatum: Either remove its broadcast of the political commentator and comedian Joe Rogan, or he’d remove his music from its streaming service. It’s enough to make a true rock and roller revolt.
But the synchronicity is a jolt. “We the People” challenges rock-music orthodoxy, specifically the authoritarian stances taken by famous, established rock stars such as Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, and the Rolling Stones, who no longer behave like the counterculture figures they once seemed.
In this sudden ideological skirmish, Kid Rock wants to reclaim populism and protest against Young’s imperious assertion of authority and limited expression.
Kid Rock’s unabashed vulgarity forsakes the education and eloquence of the Founding Fathers but no less than congressional rule-breaking currently does. That’s because “We the People” — words taken from the preamble of the Constitution — is based on the widespread working-class anger that the Constitution is routinely flouted by the people who have sworn to defend it. The anger has been mounting since the Covid lockdowns, yet mainstream media vilifies it.
Kid Rock reminds listeners that their ire — due to feeling distant from and unrepresented by their government, the media, and other public institutions — can find justification in the Constitution.
Rock’s “We the People” offers itself as a gesture of American defiance, unique and necessary during this era when the idea of defiance and independence seems forgotten: Sides are chosen based on the frustrations of partisanship and the realization that neither side has served its fellows well. Many artists are afraid to declare their defiance and so choose compliance — with the lockdowns, the mandates, and the commercial entertainment industry status quo.
In terms of rock-and-roll rebellion, a cultural revolution has taken place — in reverse. Kid Rock’s unforeseen challenge to Neil Young — serendipitous perhaps but perfectly timed ideologically — responds to this sea change in terms similar to a singalong manifesto. As one of the first white rappers to display both aptitude and authenticity with hip-hop during its Nineties peak, Kid Rock (Detroit’s Robert James Ritchie) revives the hip-hop practice of the “beef” between warring artists.
With “We the People’s” call-and-response structure and choral utterances of the Constitution itself, Rock’s record sounds like either a rally or a sports event. It trades the mellifluous, blues-rhythm wisdom of Van Morrison’s groundbreaking, radical anti-lockdown epic, Latest Music Project, Vol. 1, for the raucous excitement of the people.
There’s no need to pretend that Kid Rock has made a great record on the level of Morrison or his own “Bawitdaba” or “Picture,” but the song’s effrontery is greatly rousing. It syncs with the dismay expressed by a Neil Young critic: “Imagine, an ancient, decrepit hippie wants to bend the public information and opinion stream to his will. This is what the Left is all about now, fascist control and enslavement to their blinkered ideology.”
Mainstream media make no room for Rock and Young to argue. Their “discourse” can take place only through competing statements and gestures because Young and his ilk are so pampered by the mainstream media that they believe their decrepit-hippie ideology holds sway and still has power. Kid Rock never availed himself of white rockist privilege, as I explained in Droppin’ Science. But Rock’s daring exposes the fact that Young, despite his proven artistry (“Like a Hurricane,” Comes a Time, Tonight’s the Night) was never a rebel but a trend follower whose moment (“Ohio,” Rust Never Sleeps) has passed. Yes, a brief time between culture wars produced the lovely, singular Americana Are You Passionate? and Greendale, but now it’s disappointingly clear that Young’s facile politics often lacked moral foundation.
Kid Rock’s constitutional-history song expresses righteous indignation. Although resembling an act of civil disobedience, “We the People” is most impressive as an act of cultural dissent. Following Morrison’s example with his own song posing Morrison’s urgent question “Where Have All the Rebels Gone?” Rock asks: Where are the American people?
Remember in Taxi Driver when Albert Brooks complained about a misprinted campaign button: “It’s not ‘WE are the People’ but ‘We ARE the People!’” It satirized a mistaken hollow, meaningless assertion with a clever, insistent reminder. Kid Rock prompts a forgotten sense of self-respect. “We the People” is a salvo in Millennial American pop music’s first act of rebellion.