''The Polyfuze Method'' is the second studio album by American rapper

Kid Rock Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock (also known as Bobby Shazam), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. His style alternates between rock, hip hop, country, and metal. A self-taught musician, ...

. Released in 1993 by Continuum and Top Dog Records, the album marked the beginning of Kid Rock's shift from hip hop music to

rap rock Rap rock is a fusion genre that fuses vocal and instrumental elements of hip hop with various forms of rock. Rap rock's most popular subgenres include rap metal and rapcore, which include heavy metal and hardcore punk-oriented influences, resp ...

. ''The Polyfuze Method'' saw Kid Rock further develop his "

trailer-park A trailer park,caravan park, mobile home park, mobile home community or manufactured home community is a temporary or permanent area for mobile homes and travel trailers. Advantages include low cost compared to other housing, and quick and ea ...

pimp Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term pimp has still ...

-daddy persona". Producer

Mike E. Clark Michael Earl Clark (born December 25, 1962) is an American record producer and DJ from Michigan, best known for working with Kid Rock, Insane Clown Posse, Prozak and Mickey Avalon. Clark has also worked with George Clinton, Patti Smith, R.L. B ...

worked with Kid Rock to give the album a more

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

-oriented sound with live instruments, including heavy metal guitar and flute. The album was noted for its extensive sampling-based sound showcasing "a love and mastery of ''

Paul's Boutique ''Paul's Boutique'' is the second studio album by American hip hop group Beastie Boys, released on July 25, 1989, by Capitol Records. Produced by the Dust Brothers, the album is composed almost entirely from samples, and was recorded over two y ...

''-esque sample-collage based production".

Recording

In 1990, Kid Rock signed with

Jive Records Jive Records was an American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary to the Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chicago. Jive was best known for its successes with hip hop, R&B, an ...

and released his debut album, ''

Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast ''Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Kid Rock. Released on November 27, 1990, by Jive Records, the album is marked by a straightforward hip hop music style, in sharp contrast to the largely rock-oriente ...

''. Despite the album's success, Kid Rock was dropped by Jive. In 1992, Kid Rock signed with Detroit independent record label Continuum; the following year, he recorded his second studio album, ''The Polyfuze Method'' with producer Mike E. Clark.

Artistry

''The Polyfuze Method'' shows Kid Rock developing a

sound. ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'' writer Chaz Kangas described Kid Rock on this album as having "a love and mastery of ''

''-esque

sample Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of s ...

-collage based production". Producer Mike E. Clark worked with Kid Rock to help give the album more of a rock-oriented sound than his debut, utilizing live heavy metal guitars and sampling rock artists like

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

, as well as hiring a

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

player to perform on the album. The album served as a crossroads between his hip hop and rock career, still maintaining a strong hip hop sound carried over from ''Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast'', while beginning Kid Rock's use of

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

influences via sampling. A 2017 profile by ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' categorized the album as being defined by "trippy AOR samples". According to

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's Johnny Loftus, ''The Polyfuze Method'' "represents a significant leap forward not only in the development of Kid Rock's unlikely mixture of

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

, hip-hop, and country influences, but his own

-daddy persona." Loftus feels the music on ''The Polyfuze Method'' was influenced by

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe p ...

and

N.W.A N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip hop group whose members were among the earliest and most significant popularizers and controversial figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, and the group is widely considered ...

. He describes "Killin' Brain Cells" as being categorized by "big percussion and a funky guitar sample", and that the song's lyrics were defined by "the confluence of blind bravado, hard liquor"—these characteristics, along with the mixture of rock and hip hop, foreshadowed Kid Rock's 1998 multiplatinum major label album ''

Devil Without a Cause ''Devil Without a Cause'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper Kid Rock. Released on August 18, 1998, the album saw Kid Rock continuing to develop his sound, moving away from the predominantly hip hop sound of his previous albums to a l ...

'', according to Loftus. Chaz Kangas, writing for ''The Village Voice'', said that ''The Polyfuze Method'' "his approach’s metamorphosis into painting with broad strokes of other genres in his work". "Prodigal Son", an autobiographical song, lyrically describes Kid Rock leaving his family home to pursue a music career. Kangas wrote that "In retrospect, the song today almost sounds like his outlaw manifesto." The song "Fuck You Blind" contained live guitars, which was not typical of the era's hip hop. Atypical of the album's sound was the more commercial-sounding "U Don't Know Me", which Kid Rock recorded as a joke to prove that "anyone can pop_song.html" ;"title="pop_music.html" ;"title="rite a pop music">pop song">pop_music.html" ;"title="rite a pop music">pop song.

Release and reception

Kid Rock intended to film a music video for the song "Prodigal Son", but Continuum Records dissuaded him against doing so, in favor of a video for the more commercial-sounding "U Don't Know Me", which the label had put out as a single and on the album without Kid Rock's knowledge or approval. The video cost $30,000 to produce. With the production of the "Back from the Dead" music video, Kid Rock was given more creative control, being allowed to produce and direct the video. At $1,500, the video also cost less than the "U Don't Know Me" video. After signing with Atlantic Records, Kid Rock licensed ''The Polyfuze Method'' to the label. The album was not offered for sale when Kid Rock's catalog became available on iTunes. The album received mixed reviews upon release. In a retrospective review,

's Johnny Loftus gave the album three out of five stars, writing, "Despite its strong suggestion of what was to come, ''Polyfuze Method'' doesn't really go anywhere." ''The Village Voice'', however, praised the album's sample-based sound and called the song "Prodigal Son" a "classic".

Track listings

Some of these tracks were re-recorded for the compilation '' The History of Rock'', while "I Am the Bullgod" was re-recorded for the album ''

''.

Personnel

*Bob Ebling – Drums *Bill Grant – Bass Guitar, Guitar *

– Guitar, Loops, Bass Guitar, Producer *Chris Peters – Guitar, Bass Guitar *Dono Zoyes – Bass Guitar *Jon Slow – Flute *Peg Leg Sam – Harmonica *Mike Henry – Guitar on "In So Deep" *D-Square – Producer *

– Producer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polyfuze Method, The Kid Rock albums 1993 albums Albums produced by Mike E. Clark Midwest hip hop albums Rap rock albums by American artists Continuum Records albums