Darius Rucker, former frontman for Hootie & the Blowfish and current country music fan favorite, always speaks his mind forthrightly. It's hard to imagine anything holding him back from superstardom in his newer genre. However, as he recently told People, the specter and the ugly reality of racism haunted him, It was apparent even years ago when the fledgling band played college gigs.
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He Sought To "Bring Color to Country Music"
Rucker said, "Of course I wanted to fight. But I said to myself, 'If I'm going to do this, I have to be able to take a lot of s---, because I'm going to get a lot of [expletive]' So I got tough skin and went about my career. I believe that everything that happened happened for me so I could be the one to bring color to country music."
True to his word, Darius Rucker never knuckled under to prejudice. He was welcomed into the elite ranks of the Grand Ole Opry and People deems him "one of the most successful Black country artists ever." Not only that, but Rucker is one of the greats in every way. He is classy, generous, and mega-talented.
He is the subject of a new documentary on Hulu, Darius Rucker: They Called Me Hootie. It will be shown on November 16. On that program, Rucker credits the late Charley Pride with wise words of advice. "Charley Pride opened the door, and he told me to kick it down. The best revenge is success."
Rucker Assumed That a Recording Contract Would Be Nearly Impossible for Him
He broke into country music in 2008. At that time, Rucker knew he had his work cut out for him. He shared, "There wasn't a Black person on country radio for 25 years at the time. So of course I didn't think I'd get a record deal. Who would give me a record deal? When I sit back and think about it, I really still don't believe it worked the way it did."
Charley Pride Was a Mentor to Rucker and Now He Is Paying It Forward
Even in a competitive industry, Darius Rucker is glad to lend a helping hand to other artists. He said, "Kane [Brown]'s my boy. BRELAND, we're friends. Kashus Culpepper, we're really good friends. War and Treaty, those are my folks. Anytime anybody reaches out to me, I am there to give them advice and do anything I can to help them. I give them shows if I can, always."
