Kid Rock Finally Explained the Eminem Track Swap. Eminem Asked For It First.

It wasn't a snub and it wasn't Kid Rock's idea. By his own account, Eminem is the one who called and asked to switch songs.

We covered the swap itself on Wednesday: Kid Rock posted an updated tracklist for Halfway 2 Jesus, and Lil Wayne had taken Eminem's spot on "7 Sins," while Eminem moved to a previously unannounced song, "Heal My Faith." At the time, neither camp had explained why, and we flagged the reasoning as unconfirmed. Kid Rock has now given that explanation directly to the Detroit Free Press, and wire coverage of that interview, plus his own album foreword obtained by Complex, fills in most of the gap.

Kid Rock's October 14 post with the updated Halfway 2 Jesus tracklist, the one his Free Press interview is explaining. View it on X.

Eminem asked for the swap, not Kid Rock

Per the Free Press interview, as relayed by Parade and Yahoo Entertainment, Eminem recorded verses for both songs over the past year, not just one. Kid Rock had originally asked him for a quick writing assist on "Heal My Faith," and Eminem sent back a full verse built around their shared Detroit history instead. Kid Rock shelved that version and used "7 Sins" for the October 1 tracklist announcement. It was only after that tracklist went public, with the backlash over Eminem's name sitting next to a Trump-aligned rock star's, that Eminem called Kid Rock and suggested flipping the two songs. Kid Rock agreed, moving "Heal My Faith" to track 5.

Kid Rock, to the Detroit Free Press: "People are going to think we're dating if we put out two songs together."

That line, as quoted in the wire coverage, is Kid Rock's own shorthand for why one song was always going to be plenty. It also means the "7 Sins" controversy and this swap are not two separate stories: by his account, the volume of reaction to the first tracklist is part of what pushed Eminem to ask for the change.

How Lil Wayne filled the gap, on one text

The same reporting lays out how "7 Sins" got its new feature. Kid Rock first asked Lil Wayne and Chuck D for a rap section and, getting no response, planned to put the song out without one. That changed on Monday, October 12, when Wayne messaged Kid Rock asking him to call. Wayne agreed on that same call to record a rap interlude, and did it the same day. Kid Rock was working out of his Nashville studio that Monday as the pieces came together; by Wednesday evening, he had texted the Free Press that the album was finished.

Wayne's arrival is a strange footnote next to the interview we covered two weeks ago, where he admitted to being jealous of specific Eminem bars. There is no indication the two moments are connected beyond the timing. Wayne was filling an empty slot on a gospel-leaning rock record, not angling for it, and nothing in the Free Press account suggests he and Eminem discussed the swap with each other directly.

What Kid Rock's own liner notes say

Complex separately obtained the written foreword Kid Rock contributed to the album itself, and it is more direct than anything he has said in an interview about why Eminem's inclusion matters to him:

Kid Rock, album foreword, via Complex: "I'm proud of the guests who joined me, especially my old friend Eminem. 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. We hope that sets an example for people who've lost friends or stopped talking to family because they think differently."

That matches what Kid Rock told Fox News's Lara Trump in the sit-down we covered earlier this month, where he described a long-standing pact with Eminem not to let political disagreement end the friendship. The foreword is the first time that framing has been tied specifically to this swap rather than to the collaboration in general.

The part resting on one outlet, not three

One additional detail is circulating only through eminem.news's own writeup of the Free Press interview, which we could not load directly to confirm firsthand: that Kid Rock originally asked Eminem for creative help on the album, and Eminem responded by recalling that Kid Rock supported him at a release party for The Slim Shady EP in 1997, saying, "I've never forgotten that, how you came and supported me to keep going." eminem.news also cites the Free Press's separate listening-session report to describe "Heal My Faith" as featuring multiple Eminem verses over metal guitar and church bells. Both of those claims trace back to the same Free Press reporter, Brian McCollum, but since we could not pull his articles ourselves, treat the 1997 anecdote and the instrumentation description as reported by eminem.news rather than independently verified by us.

Eminem has still not personally commented on any of this, not the original "7 Sins" feature, not the swap, and not the account of him asking for it. Everything above traces back to Kid Rock, whether through the Free Press, his own foreword, or his social posts. Halfway 2 Jesus is due Saturday, October 17, Eminem's 54th birthday, at which point "Heal My Faith" and the Lil Wayne verse on "7 Sins" will finally be checkable against what's been reported about them.