Roadtrips

In retrospect, Kid Rock seems a pivotal figure in the development of white hip-hop superstars, mainly because he never became one. Vanilla Ice beat him to the great white hype, and so, even though Kid signed briefly to Jive, he became an also-ran footnote -- as far as credentials go, more people probably know him as the producer of an early Insane Clown Posse record than from The Polyfuze Method (Continuum, 1993). But Kid hung on and felt out the territory -- taking note of Korn, he put together a single backed by a heavy-metal band and ended up signed to a major again. Which set the stage for the long-disgraced Vanilla Ice to copy his comeback battle plan and do the exact same thing, albeit to less enjoyable affect -- thereby creating some karmic black hole that produced yet another great white hip-hop hope, Eminem, whose "What's My Name?" seems destined to become the biggest rap hit since "Ice Ice Baby" by a white guy who's not a Beastie Boy. Kid Rock, meanwhile, recently declared to SPIN that Steven Tyler was one of the funkiest white dudes on the planet; when asked whether he didn't think Tyler was just a Mick Jagger clone, Kid responded, "The Rolling Stones wished they were poor white boys from the South!" A puzzling observation, to be sure; in any case, while Kid Rock plays Axis (617-262-2437) in Boston on March 23 -- down the street from what used to be the Aerosmith bar -- Jagger and the Stones will be finishing up a two-night sold-out stand at the FleetCenter (331-2211). You can also catch the Kid at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel (401-272-5876) in Providence on March 22 with Stain'd. Look for Vanilla Ice, meanwhile, to hit the Middle East (617-864-EAST) in Cambridge on April 4; and expect a visit from Eminem next month at a venue to be named later.

The aforementioned Korn, who now find themselves responsible for the success of at least a half-dozen like-minded hangers-on, tool into the Worcester Centrum on March 19, and into the Providence Civic Center (for tickets at both venues call 331-2211) on March 20, with Rob Zombie and Videodrone, the latter of whom just released a debut on Korn's Elementree/Reprise imprint (which has already given us new-romantic coverboys Orgy). Korn's buddies Limp Bizkit are reportedly readying a new album that'll include cameos by, yep, Eminem, as well as Wu-Tang Clan's Method Man. Meth's on the year's biggest hip-hop tour to date -- the "Hard Knock Life" jaunt headlined by Jay-Z and rounded out by DMX. It hits the Worcester Centrum on March 24 before playing a sold-out date at the FleetCenter on March 27.
-- CC