Released on August 18, 1998, the album saw Kid Rock continuing to develop his sound, and marked the finalization of his stage persona as a 'redneck pimp'.

According to Eminem, Kid was in "full party mode with tons of different drugs just laid out near the studio mixing board.

"[13] Erlewine credits Kid Rock's backing band, Twisted Brown Trucker, for crafting a sound defined by "thunderous, funky noise -- and that's funky not just in the classic sense, but also in a Southern-fried, white trash sense, as he gives this as much foundation in country as he does hip-hop.

"[13] Erlewine believes the album's sound owed influence to Bob Seger, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Van Halen."

[13] Billboard wrote, "it’s not a stretch to call Devil Without a Cause, Rock’s breakthrough fourth record, the Appetite for Destruction or The Chronic of rap-rock.

[14][17][18][19] The lyrics of the song are dedicated to "chicks with beepers" and the I.R.S., as well as "all the crackheads, the critics, the cynics / And all my heroes in the methadone clinic.

"[20] On the album version, Kid Rock changed the lyrics, replacing the word "kill" with "love".

[21] Billboard, as well as Kid Rock himself, described the song as a cross between Run DMC and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

[17] The lyrics feature Kid Rock rapping about moving to California to become a pimp, and start an escort service "for all the right reasons", located at the top of the Four Seasons hotel, as well as getting thrown out of bars and buying a yacht.

[6] "Welcome 2 the Party (Ode 2 the Old School)" refers to Orson Welles' Paul Masson adverts with the lyric "I will serve no rhymes before their time".

[11][14][17][26][27] The lyrics of "Black Chick, White Guy" deal with Kid Rock's ten-year off-and-on relationship with a classmate named Kelley South Russell, with whom he fathered one child and raised another child from a previous relationship, but broke up with her after finding out that a third child he was raising wasn't his, after which he gained custody of his son, Robert James Ritchie Jr.; these events became the inspiration for this song, which discusses them directly, although Russell denies some of the allegations made against her in the lyrics.

Robert Christgau gave the album an A−, writing, "Belatedly fulfilling the rap-metal promise of Licensed to Ill, [Kid Rock] makes the competition sound clownish, limp, and corny, respectively, and the Eminem cameo is a draw [...] [Kid Rock] is, and I quote, all of that and a bag of chips.

"[19] Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album four and a half out of five stars, writing, "[Kid Rock] came up with the great hard rock album of the late '90s -- a fearlessly funny, bone-crunching record that manages to sustain its strength, not just until the end of its long running time, but through repeated plays.

[36][37] Through extensive promoting, including appearances on HBO, MTV (including a performance alongside Aerosmith and Run-DMC) and performing at Woodstock 1999, Devil Without a Cause sold over 14 million copies, the album's success spurred by Kid Rock's breakthrough hit single "Bawitdaba".