Darius Rucker is one of the most successful Black artists in country music, but rising to the top of the genre was not without its hardships. According to People, the Grammy winner is reflecting on racism he’s faced throughout his four-decade-long career, especially in the early days of Hootie & the Blowfish.
The 60-year-old explained to People that, while he wanted to “fight” the racism he faced when he and the rock band performed at local college venues, he “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,” he told the outlet.
In his new Hulu documentary Darius Rucker: They Called Me Hootie, Rucker credits fellow country music pioneer Charley Pride with inspiring him to stay resilient.
“Charley Pride opened the door, and he told me to kick it down,” the 60-year-old said. “The best revenge is success.”
Rucker kept Pride’s advice close as he pursued a solo career in 2008, which at the time felt like a gamble.
“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,” he says. “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.”
Now, Rucker feels a responsibility to be the kind of mentor to young Black artists in country music that Pride, who died in 2020, was for him.
“You’ve got Shaboozey, you’ve got Kane Brown, you’ve got BRELAND. You have all these guys having hits and everything,” he told People. “I mean, if my record had come out and flopped, who knows if they would’ve gotten the shots they got. Kane’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.”
Darius Rucker: They Called Me Hootie is out on Hulu Nov. 16.
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