Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known by his stage name Kid Rock, is an American multi-instrumentalist, music producer and actor. His 1998 studio album Devil Without a Cause sold 13 million copies worldwide. He is a five-time Grammy Award nominee and has sold 25 million albums in the U.S. according to soundscan. The RIAA certified him selling 23.5 million albums. He was Soundscan's number one selling male solo musician of the 2000s, selling 17.6 million albums; he was 17th overall for the decade.

Rock was a rapper and hip hop performer with five releases between 1990 and 1997, including a reissue and an EP. After signing a recording contract with Atlantic Records in 1998, he gained commercial success in the rap-rock genre behind the singles "Bawitdaba", "Cowboy" and "Only God Knows Why" (the latter foreshadowing his move into country rock). After Devil Without a Cause's success in 2000, he released The History of Rock, a compilation of remixed and remastered versions of songs from previous albums as well as the hit rock single, "American Bad Ass".