"It's too racy," says Rock of the duet with Snoop Dogg, which had the working title "World Class Sex Rhymes." In the liner notes for "Cocky," he adds, "I wrote, 'I decide what's appropriate for my children, you decide what's right for yours.' That's why we make two versions of the record."

Both the unedited and "clean" versions of the album arrived in stores Tuesday, marking the flamboyant hip-hop/rock 'n' roll fusionist's first collection of new material since his breakthrough effort, 1998's "Devil Without a Cause," which has sold more than 10 million copies. So who could blame the guy for being a little cocky?

"'Cocky' is, to me, what people might expect from Kid Rock," Rock, 30, muses. "That's kind of how I view myself when I look at publicity shots, and things I do on TV — as someone who's gonna come out like Muhammad Ali, saying, 'You can't hit me — I'm too pretty.' Like, on 'Devil Without a Cause,' I said I was going double platinum. But then I went 10 times platinum — so wasn't I being kinda modest?"

On "Cocky," Rock says, he delivers "more of the fun Kid Rock stuff — like, 'I'm the greatest, I get all the girls' — but I also took it a little deeper. I like to consider myself a songwriter, and I think there are some really well-written songs on here. They may not be typically structured, but they really tell a story."

While continuing to synthesize hard rock and rap, Rock also incorporated more rootsy textures. "I was really influenced by country and bluegrass. I had been listening a lot to the 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' soundtrack — that traditional music is amazing. I wanted to take the simplicity of American blues music and make something unique."

Other guest stars on "Cocky" include Sheryl Crow, who was rumored to have dated Rock before he hooked up with former "Baywatch" babe Pamela Anderson earlier this year.

Rock cites another close music-biz buddy, Hank Williams Jr., as having helped inspire his new creative direction. "He's become like a friend and a father to me."