Eminem Defends New Collaboration With ‘Old Friend’ Kid Rock: ‘Not About Choosing Sides’

"Just choosing to make music," rapper says of appearing on "Heal My Faith" off Rock's faith-based LP

Eminem defended his guest verse on Kid Rock’s new faith-based album, saying their long friendship overshadowed their political divide.

Rock released his new LP Halfway 2 Jesus on Friday, with Slim Shady — a fellow Detroit native and longtime friend of the rocker — appearing on the track “Heal My Faith.”

The collaboration drew some criticism from some of Eminem’s fans who were taken aback that the rapper — who publicly endorsed Kamala Harris at a Detroit rally in 2024 and has been critical of Trump on tracks like “Campaign Speech” — could collaborate with Kid Rock, perhaps Trump’s biggest (and most relevant) supporter in the music industry.

As Eminem explained on social media hours after Halfway 2 Jesus was released, “Not about choosing sides, just choosing to make music with my old friend. Praying for all of us.”

Kid Rock elaborated on the collaboration in an interview with Billboard, revealing that while Eminem was first announced as a guest on the song “7 Sins,” the rapper instead appeared on “Heal My Faith,” the song Rock initially recruited him for. “We agreed we didn’t need two songs together…people are going to think we’re dating,” Rock said.

“We’ve been friends for, like, 40 years. I really didn’t want to drag him into my political world…. We talk about [politics] a little bit, not a ton. There’s a lot of stuff we agree on, and we can have a laugh about what [we don’t]. That’s why I asked him to write a verse for me.”

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“From shock rap to the rock rap / My homie and me /He is my brother, not my political enemy,” Eminem raps on his verse. “B.O. to the B. / We wrote this for those who believe in G.O. to the D / However you voted or lean / Liberal and evangelical can agree / It’s God first, home of the free.”

“This [album] is about forgiveness and second chances,” Rock told Billboard. “Trying to heal some of the division in our country. I’m just putting a positive message out there in the world… showing a little more grace, trying to kill some of the division.”