Uncle Kracker (born Matthew Shafer 9 November, 1974 in Mount Clemens, Michigan) is an American rock and roll musician.
He started out his career at a young age as a fledgling rapper. He met Kid Rock in 1987, and Rock asked Kracker to become his DJ. Cracker did not know how to work the turntables, but he soon learned how to, and he became a long-term friend and colleague of Rock.
Kracker worked with Kid Rock until he became a solo artist in 2000. Double Wide, Kracker's first album, was recorded in the back of a tour bus during Kid Rock's various tours in 1999 and 2000. It contains Kracker's first hit single, Follow Me. It also features a minor hit, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, which features Kid Rock. As of now, Double Wide has been certified double-platinum by the RIAA.
2002 saw the release of No Stranger to Shame. It blended rap with blues, country, and swing. It contained the hit singles In a Little While, Drift Away, and Memphis Soul Song.
In 2004, Kracker released his third album, Seventy-Two and Sunny. The rap element is totally abandoned here. It is a straightforward country-blues album. It contains the hit single Rescue.
Discography