Key Takeaways
- Eminem joined longtime friend Kid Rock on "Heal My Faith," saying the collaboration was "not about choosing sides" despite their political differences.
- The song appears on Kid Rock's new album, Halfway to Jesus, after Lil Wayne replaced Eminem on the previously announced track "7 Sins."
- Eminem uses his verse to revisit their friendship, from Kid Rock attending his Slim Shady EP release party to their 1998 collaboration "Fuck Off."
Eminem may not co-sign the political beliefs of Kid Rock, but the rapper has teamed up with his longtime friend for new a song — listen to "Heal My Faith" below.
Featured on Rock's new album, Halfway to Jesus, which arrived on Saturday (October 17), the track arrives after weeks of discord from fans about Em's involvement.
Originally, Em was supposed to feature on the track "7 Sins," but earlier this week, Rock, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, announced that he would be replacing the Detroit rapper with Lil Wayne.
However, Rock would also confirm that Eminem would still appear on his 12th album, just on a different song: "Heal My Faith."
Em took social media to share the track alongside a short message: "Not about choosing sides, just choosing to make music with my old friend. Praying for all of us."
The friendship between Kid Rock and Em goes back to the 1990s, when they collaborated on 1998 song, "Fuck Off," from Rock's fourth album, Devil Without a Cause. On "Heal My Faith," Em recounts the time that he was a fan of Kid Rock before eventually meeting the rap-rock and country musician.
"The Viper Room release party for my CD, The Slim Shady EP, Kid came to see me/ I was nobody, he came to my show to see me/ Was dope 'cause it seemed like a sign from Jehovah to me," he raps.
Listen to the song in full below:
When the collaboration was first revealed, fans of Slim Shady expressed disappointment that the Detroit native would align with Kid Rock. The latter went on to share his hopes that the song would represent that friends with opposing beliefs are still able to align creatively.
"I'm proud of the guests who joined me, especially my old friend Eminem," Rock said in the Halfway to Jesus foreword, as originally reported by Complex. "His verse speaks to something we’ve talked about and that really needs to be heard: we differ politically and on other things, but we’ve stayed friends through it all."