Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast is the debut studio album by American musician Kid Rock. Released on November 27, 1990, by Jive Records, the album is marked by a straightforward hip hop style, in contrast to the rock-oriented sound of his later albums. Jive found the album difficult to promote due to its explicit lyrics and focus on sex rhymes but upon release, it made Kid Rock one of Detroit hip hop's most successful recording artists, selling over 100,000 copies.
History
Kid Rock began his professional music career as a member of the hip hop music group the Beast Crew in the late 1980s. During this time, Kid Rock began his professional association with producer Mike E. Clark, who was initially skeptical of the idea of a white rapper, but was impressed by Kid Rock's performance; Kid Rock had prepared his own beats and used his own turntables to demonstrate his skills for Clark. In 1988, Clark produced a series of demos with Kid Rock, which led to offers from six major record labels, including Atlantic and CBS Records. With the help of D-Nice, Kid Rock signed with Jive Records at the age of 17, releasing his debut studio album, Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast in 1990, which featured production by D-Nice and Too Short. According to Kid Rock, the contract with Jive resulted in animosity from fellow rapper Vanilla Ice, who felt that he should have been signed. While the album primarily reflects what reviewers perceived as a strong Beastie Boys influence, "Grits Sandwiches nevertheless contains a few elements of the Bob Seger-loving, turntable-scratching dirt-ass pimp character who would later emerge as the American Bad Ass", During instore promotions for the album, Kid Rock met and developed a friendship with local rapper Eminem, who frequently challenged Kid Rock to rap battles. Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast eventually sold over 100,000 copies, signaling national success for the Kid Rock; the album's success made Kid Rock one of the two biggest rap stars in Detroit in 1991, along with local independent rapper Esham.
Despite the album's commercial success, Kid Rock felt it was underpromoted by Jive Records, citing its lack of music videos due to the "unprintable" lyrics on every song. Ultimately, unfavorable comparisons to Vanilla Ice led to Jive dropping Kid Rock, according to Mike E. Clark.
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In February 1991, Edward Hill of the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote that the album "insultingly exploits everyday tenants of black life" and that it was "amazing that other rappers will tolerate this stupid a parody of their art form." Hill also derided the album's press release about Rock's background in Detroit, characterizing it as similar to the "pack of lies Vanilla Ice fed to the press before his middle class roots were exposed." The Grand Rapids Press singled out "New York Is Not My Home" and "Abdul Jabar Cut" as showing potential, but disliked the record's exaggerated profanity and misogyny, calling it a "sad example of the what kind of doors 2 Live Crew" had opened, and gave the album 1.5 stars out of 4.
Retrospective reviews have also looked unfavorably upon the album, with Rolling Stone listing it as one of "20 terrible debut albums by great artists" and gave it two and a half out of five stars in its album guide.
Track listing
Personnel
- Robert James Ritchie – Main Artist, Vocals, Producer (tracks: 1–4, 6, 9–10, 12–13), Mixing (tracks: 1–2, 4–13)
- Roz Davis – Vocals (track 11)
- Doug E. Doug – Talking (track 9)
- Patricia Halligan – Guitar (tracks: 4, 6, 9)
- David Bright – Keyboards (track 11)
- Keenan Foster – Keyboards programming (track 7)
- Joe Mendelson – Programming (track 3)
- Todd Anthony Shaw – Producer (tracks: 5, 7)
- The Dice Sound – Producer (tracks: 8, 11)
- The Blackman – Co-Producer (track 1)
- Mike E. Clark – Co-Producer (track 1)
- Barbera Aimes – Mixing (tracks: 1, 8, 13), Engineering
- Walter C. Griggs – Mixing (track 2)
- Derrick Jones – Mixing (tracks: 3, 12)
- Dwayne Sumal – Mixing (track 11), Engineering
- Al Eaton – Engineering
- Anthony Saunders – Engineering
- Chris Floberg – Engineering
- Eric Gast – Engineering
- Sherman Foote – Engineering
- Tim Latham – Engineering
- Tom Vercillo – Engineering
- Tom Coyne – Mastering
- Todd James – Artwork
- Michael Benabib – Photography