MIAMI — On June 1, @KidRock released “Don’t Tell Me How to Live,” a new single written about the criticism the singer has received from millennials and millennials.
I’m a 35-year-old man, those Hollywood snowflakes wanna tell me how to live.
Everyone tryna tell me I’m losing my shit.
I’m not sure where the line is at, but something just feels… off.
After teasing a Sept. 5 release date to the public for months, Kid Rock officially dropped the song on Friday.
“Unapologetically myself. That’s what you call courage,” the singer wrote on Twitter with a link to the song.
Unapologetically myself. That’s what you call courage. https://t.co/xl2CNaSd2h
http://t.co/rNwm2W6eCX
(1/4) — Kid Rock (@KidRock) June 1, 2018
Thank you for all the support.
(2/4) — Kid Rock (@KidRock) June 1, 2018
The song also includes the lines, “I’m 35 and here I am still gonna do it my way, how I feel, don’t tell me how to live, because everybody wanna be cool, then they talk your ear off, didn’t make a hot song, I got a new one; Everybody tryna turn me into some hip hop artist, I got nothing to prove to anybody, it’s a good look.”
“Don’t Tell Me How to Live” is the first song released by Kid Rock since 2015’s “Old Soul.” It features an all-star group of collaborators including producer Tedd Tjornhom; rapper Busta Rhymes; War on Drugs guitarist Tom Morello; and country singer Keith Urban.
The singer also suggested on Twitter he was trying to make a country record, “with a bunch of great producers… bringing people out of their comfort zone and doing it our way…a little rock’n’roll for the fans and some country gold for the country people.”
Rock also visited the Miami Herald, where he spoke to columnist Rene Rodriguez about the song and its lyrics.
“That to me is my country heritage that’s being targeted by the modern snowflakes,” Rock said. “I’m gonna make something for that age group, and it’s something real. It’s the truth and it’s me. It’s not some muppet version of myself, and it’s totally different.”
Asked whether his motivation to make the song was revenge against millennials, Rock told Rodriguez, “No, no. What I’m interested in is taking people that care about kids and handing them a sheet of paper that says ‘It doesn’t matter what you did before. You made a difference in kids’ lives.’ It’s a little bit of a power play.”
In November, Kid Rock made headlines when he called Ivanka Trump “a piece of ass” at an awards show. In March, the singer posted a picture of himself holding an airplane with a caption that included, “Came in 3rd place at the airshow. Always interested to see the year groups grew & how much they travelled.”
Since then, Rock has faced a backlash, including from a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, who denounced Rock’s comments about Ivanka Trump.
“Please, please, please!” Austin Akins wrote on Twitter. “Delete the tweet that you made yesterday showing an airplane and saying ‘Came in 3rd place at the airshow. Always interested to see the year groups grew & how much they traveled.’ My apologies if you think this type of comment makes me a racist. I have never and will never vote for anyone who is a racist or bigoted towards anyone else. Our children! Our world!”