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Detroit musicians Kid Rock and Eminem next to an AI recording artist
Eminem and Kid Rock, two titans of the Detroit music scene for decades, collaborated on ‘Heal My Faith‘ which was released on October 17th. This was not the first time they have worked together on a song and after it was met with early backlash, Eminem responded by saying that this collaboration was “not about choosing sides, just choosing to make music with my old friend. Praying for all of us.”
Flash forward to the most recent episode of Real Time with Bill Maher where Kid Rock (real name Robert James Ritchie) was a guest and the song came up. During the discussion, Kid Rock admitted to using artificial intelligence to produce the chorus on the song.
Kid Rock Admits Using AI On ‘Heal My Faith’ With Eminem
The use of AI is controversial in all walks of life. While it can drastically improve productivity in many fields, in artistic endeavors it is a particularly prickly subject as many view humanity and shared life experience as a crucial element to the Arts. Kid Rock says he used AI to produce the chorus on ‘Heal My Faith’ with Eminem to save time.
Speaking with Bill Maher, Kid Rock said “I’m an impatient guy. It’s not about the money of getting a choir. But everything I look at in life now is time. How much time do I have?”
Bill Maher didn’t seem to take any issue with this at all, being very complimentary of the song. But then he pressed Kid Rock on whether or not AI would cause a loss of jobs in choirs, saying “a lot of people in a choir, and we put them all out of work. Isn’t that what really happened?” Maher added “you didn’t have to get a choir in there. When The Beatles used a choir they needed to get a f—— choir.”
Kid Rock defended the choice to use AI over a choir, saying “Did we put drummers out of work when the drum machine was invented? I know AI is something different. I always tell people, you know, it’s a tool right now. I see the dangers of it. I one thousand percent believe it needs to be regulated at the highest levels.”
Here is their back and forth on the latest episode of Real Time With Bill Maher:
Kid Rock says he used an AI choir in one of his songs.
Bill Maher: A lot of people in a choir, and we put them all out of work.
Kid Rock: Did we put them out of work though?
Maher: Well, yeah.
Kid Rock: Did we put drummers out of work when the drum machine was invented?… pic.twitter.com/RyeVpCXz1w
— Blue Georgia (@BlueGeorgia) October 31, 2026
Kid Rock saying “I one thousand percent believe it needs to be regulated at the highest levels” while speaking about AI is a quote that is going to live in a lot of people’s brains. Why exactly is Robert James Ritchie, a Country-Rap pioneer, spending so much time thinking about AI? If he is spooked by the infinite possibilities of machine learning, why aren’t more people concerned? These are just a few questions raised by his quote.
As for Kid Rock’s decision to use AI to produce the chorus on his track with Eminem, it is certainly divisive within the music community. Diplo and Austin-based musician Zack Telander were going back and forth for weeks on social media over the use of AI in music and it ultimately highlighted how touchy of a subject it is within the Arts.