Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp is the third studio album by American rapper Kid Rock and the first to feature his backing band Twisted Brown Trucker. Released on January 9, 1996, by Top Dog Records, the album saw Kid Rock showcasing a more eclectic sound than his previous albums, encompassing funk, hip hop, soul and rock. It was considered the most rock-oriented album he had made at the time and the first to explore his Southern rock influences.
The album is considered to be a further shift in Kid Rock's sound toward rock music, as well as furthering his rap metal sound and shaping the redneck image he would become known for. It "captured the laid back pimp desperado persona that Rock had finally perfected".
Background.
The recording sessions saw Kid Rock work with R&amp;B singer Thornetta Davis, who says that she asked him not to credit her on the album due to its risque lyrics on the song Paid, but this request was ignored. The album's title came from engineer Bob Ebeling, who told a sleepless, alcoholic, drug-using Kid Rock, "Dude, you are the early-morning, stoned pimp." The recording sessions marked the first time Kid Rock would work with Jimmie "Bones" Trombly, who soon joined his backup band, Twisted Brown Trucker.
"Jackson, Mississippi" was originally recorded for the album, but remained unreleased until Kid Rock's self-titled 2003 album.
Artistry.
"Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp" features what MTV describes as "[an] eclectic collection of funk, rap, soul and rock." It was his most rock-oriented album at the time, and is seen as furthering the rap metal style of "The Polyfuze Method", and also for shaping Kid Rock's redneck image and being the first album of his to explore his Southern rock influences, after "two albums of pure Beastie Boys worship".
The title track "captured the laid back pimp desperado persona that Rock had finally perfected", according to "The Village Voice" writer Chaz Kangas. The song's lyrics also diss Billy Ray Cyrus. "Where U At Rock?" references philosopher Ayn Rand.
In Chuck Eddy's "Rock and Roll Always Forgets: A Quarter Century of Music Criticism", the music on "Early Morning Stoned Pimp" is categorized by musical elements such as "descending symphonic blaxploitation wah-wah", "hardboiled barbeque rib joint boogie drama, soul sister backup", "synth sirens", "Frampton vocoders", "shotgun blasts, [and] spy movie organ". Eddy believes the album exhibits influence from Blowfly, Rudy Ray Moore, Swamp Dogg, Parliament and the dozens.
The lyrics of "Black Chick, White Guy" deal with Kid Rock's ten-year off-and-on relationship with a classmate named Kelley South Russell. Rock fathered a son with Russell; he also raised her son from a previous relationship. He broke up with her after finding out that a third child he was raising was not his. After this, he gained custody of his son, Robert James Ritchie Jr. These events became the inspiration for this song, which discusses them directly. However, Russell denies some of the allegations made against her in the lyrics.
Release.
According to Kid Rock, who distributed the album himself, "Early Morning Stoned Pimp" sold 14,000 copies. The album was not offered for sale when Kid Rock's catalog became available on iTunes.
Critical reception.
AllMusic, which did not review the album, gave it two and a half out of five stars. "The Village Voice" writer Chaz Kangas called the title track a "classic", writing, "The reason the track works so well is because Rock’s own love and incorporation of his musical references isn’t rooted in a nostalgia or a 'tribute,' but rather in his actively engaging the elements he finds compelling into a wholly new hodgepodge of his own invention."