QLS Classic: Darius Rucker

Singer-Songwriter Darius Rucker talks about Hootie & the Blowfish, going from playing frat parties with Dave Matthews to The Grand Ole Opry as a solo artist and the obstacles he faced along the way.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Of Course, Love Supreme is a production of I Heart Radio.
This classic episode was produced by the team at Pandora.
What's up, y'all? This is QLs classic from November twenty two,
two thousand and seventeen with Darius Rutger. Um. Yeah, Singer
songwriter Darius Record talks about Hoodie and the Bluefish. You

(00:21):
know those guys, right, they go for playing frat parties
to playing with the Dave Matthews Band to the Grand
Old Opry and then going as a solo artist. And
he also talks about the obstacles he faced along the way,
and yeah, by obstacles, we do being racism, but we
also speak of his love of hip hop and other
types of music and sports, and his strange obsession of

(00:42):
his spirit animal, the late Great Nate Dog. So uh,
you don't want to miss that one, all right, Darius Rucker,
of course love Supreme. Right now, Steve looks drivers. Roll
call so prema so frema, roll call, suprema primo, roll call,

(01:10):
prima su primo, roll call. His name is not Hootie, Yeah,
it's Darius. Yeah. Mr Rutger. Yeah, if you're nasty, roll
call't rhyme frema rogue s Primo roll call. My name
is Sugar. Yeah, I'm being wood yeah by oh the podcast. Yeah,

(01:35):
I only want to be with you. Primo roll call, Primo,
Supremo roll call. I'm on paid Bill. Yeah, ready to rock. Yeah,
shout out to South Carolina, Go game Cocks, roll su

(01:56):
Primo roll calm so prema sub premo road call. Forgot
boss Bill's name? Yeah, I forgive you second road call

(02:17):
roll call. Yeah, and I'm going country yeah. Zarius Rucco Yeah, sorry,
Rod save us saves Premo road call. I'm from the
country and yeah that's where i'd be. Yeah, I'm to

(02:38):
a question everybody. Yeah, come and see. Thank you Premo
Primo roll call, Prima Primo road called, Subprema sub Premo
roll call, Prima sub Primo rod call. I haven't screwed

(02:59):
up like that since episode four. Jesus, Thank you Jesus Christ.
I practiced, but time, and you know wasn't around with
Nasty Dariusk clearly, But did you not hear the pop reference,

(03:22):
ladies and gentlemen, this horrible ship. You're listening to Supreme
only on Pandora. My name is Quest Love. We got
Team Supreme with us, Sugar Steve unpaid Bill Back who
has looks new. We haven't seen you in a while.
I cleaned. Is that like a member's only jacket? It is?

(03:42):
You like it? You have a new girlfriend, don't you?
Uh Orange, I didn't want to not on bumble, I
have a girlfriend. Oh okay, what's one? As he used
to I'm about to say, that is the only reason
why you look rand right now, Like I have to
go to things that I do that I can't look

(04:03):
like you look great. You don't look well enough to
go to things like no, no, no no. But he's glowing.
He's glowing, and I have a suit in the car. Okay, good,
thank you? Oh wow okay? And uh, boss bills here
and he also looked as good as Ida Fontigolo is

(04:23):
somewhere handling. Uh he's getting in shape. Yeah, he's getting
trying to getting married in his wedding succeedo. Uh, ladies
and gentlemen, I have to say that um our guest today.
Um is literally loved by millions, uh at least sixteen
at least. Yeah, it's rare. I think he might be

(04:46):
the first Diamond artist of a non greatest hits or
or a compilation to ever be on the show. Uh,
Grammy Award winning Uh, baby face, I don't think the
million people, but I'm sure you want from search. Yeah, No,

(05:14):
I get it. I get it, um. But I have
to say that, for for the last twenty five years
or twenty plus years, I want our guests has been
entertaining millions and millions, uh, initially as uh frontman of
Hoodie and the Blowfish and now as an artist in
his own right. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to Quest

(05:35):
up Supreme Darius Rucket. Thanks for having men anyway. How
how are you today? So I'm good man. How y'all doing?
I'm good. I'm good, not bad. I like this. It's
really bad. I gotta I gotta say that. You know,
for a lot of the guests of this show, um,

(05:56):
many of which have had careers um in the four
and almost five decades. Uh, you're probably the first act
that I don't know intimately, as in like the back
of my hand. But I'm very curious about your journey
or your your your your whole lifespan. It's like I

(06:17):
know of you, I know of your music, but I
never know of you as a person and in your beginnings.
So I know that you're you were born in Charleston,
South Carolina. Chon Yeah, just uh, just a little neighborhood.
Uh so there was six kids, you know. Uh Dad
wasn't really around a lot if at all. And uh

(06:37):
just uh I had, you know, lived in this little neighborhood,
this great little neighborhood. We had our neighborhood with the
small houses and we had the projects behind us, and
you know, we fought every day and then it just
it was one of those things. But ever since I
was ever since I heard all Green at the age
of four, all I wanted to do. That's that really
for me. There was nothing else I ever wanted to do.

(06:58):
I have to say. Uh. I think a year ago
I did a show in Charleston and I didn't realize
how close to New Orleans. It's almost like a cut.
It almost felt like I was in New Orleans, like
in the in the French Quarter. How long has it

(07:20):
always had that that sort of vibe or is this
it's always been that way? We've always said that we
were like New Orleans cousin, you know, And uh, because
New Orleans is one of my favorite cities. And when
I went there, I was like, oh, I would have
almost consider like if I had to be one of
those people that like my grades back down South like
in their later years, like i'd consider this and considering

(07:43):
what the rest of the United States heard or knows
about Charleston, South Carolina. Um and to still say that
that's how great my time was in the weekend there.
So I didn't realize that is it a musical city.
It's not as musicals New Orleans, but it's a musical city.
It's music everywhere, you know, there's always bands playing and

(08:04):
and just always something to do with music for sure.
Who are some like notable South Carolina folks, So you know,
I'm just thinking about that Chris rock Well, yeah, Chris
Robert Musical. There's you know, uh it might be Darius Rucker.
Uh you know who do um me? Uh? James Brown's

(08:28):
from like north was born in North Augusta or something,
but he lived in you know, in in Augusta, so
that was He's really known to be more from Georgia, Orson.
But how close to Georgia was Charleston. Oh, I'm probably
two hours from Georgia too. Yeah, from Augusta. You're still there? Yeah,
I thought I lived. I lived in Citney for a

(08:48):
couple of years and I was making an R and
B record back in the turn of the century. Yeah,
I lived here, but I love it. Turn of the
century just something. Know, it was like seventeen years ago
there stopped. Wow, no more years. So, uh, you said

(09:11):
that your first musical memory was Algreen. What was it
about his voice that called his voice? Of course? I
mean you know, and those records, you know, those records
that really mentioned Pluce were so still when I put
them on the day there, they're the sound just my mom.
Al Green was her favorite, and so when he when
I I just wanted to be al Green. Like one

(09:34):
of the worst days of my life was when my
voice changed. This is true story. My voice changed and
I tried to sing an Algreen song. I couldn't sing it.
I cry baby so initially sort of a non soprano,
but the alto yeah approach you were singing yea all
that stuff. Yeah, And my voice changed and went straight
to a baritone, and I cried for like two days.

(09:56):
I couldn't white. True, you just changed with it. Um.
So was your family musical as well or was it
just you? Yeah? Yeah. My family was a big time
in church musical, like everybody's singing in church. My dad
had a had a little uh gospel group, and believe
it or not, that the gospel group was named the

(10:17):
Rolling Stone around much. I was like, oh, oh, actually,
the way I heard, the way my relationship I had
with my dad was every Sunday morning on w p
L in Charleston, the Rolling Stones had a half fire
and that's where I heard my dad. So, no, McDowell's

(10:38):
sort of lawyer. I don't like to ever say anything
that Stones even knew what was happening, you know, South
Carolina Bound for life. Yeah, absolutely, yeah, they Yeah, they
weren't doing anything, The Stones didn't. He was like, that's
the secular Stones. Where the Christian Rolling Stones. Oh yeah,
they started their shows saying Rolling Stone gathers no moss.
So were they kind of like the Backwoods Gospel Quartet exactly.

(11:04):
You know, they came out and did all those songs,
never really wrote anything, just did all though the old
spirituals and stuff, and they, I mean they were great.
I mean he was a tenor and he was great.
And my mom had an amazing voice. Like I used
to sneak in the living room when my mom was
cooking a clean in the kitchen, and I'd sit in
the living room just to watch to listen to her
saying she had an amazing voice. She was really some special,

(11:24):
was it? Uh? Of course, I guess when you're traveling
with a gospel quartet or whatever. Um, most kids that
have the experience have to have church all week, not
just on Sunday. So was it just was this a
Baptist or seven day Adventis? We were Baptists. We were
straight Southern Baptist man and everything that comes with it.

(11:46):
That's what we were. Sunday, Sunday service, Saturday service. Yeah,
I mean we went to we went to church at
like nine and got out at three. We were there
old day. It was an old day thing, and it
was you know, that was just the way we were
ready to go eat at night. Yeah, in the night

(12:06):
service exactly that. You love the night service because you
know you can get some sweepotatle pie. You love that.
Did you ever sing with the singing with the quiet
ever saying with his his group? Now, okay, how were
you when you sing on the choir? Ah? God, I
started singing in the choir when I was, I guess
eleven or twelve, and I sing for three or four
years in the choir. So because you were assuming you

(12:28):
were born in the late sixties sixty said, oh, I'm guessing.
I promised I wasn't gonna say no more years. Um
two grow up down South, Um, post civil rights period
at least I consider the Mason Dixon line to be. Um.

(12:49):
What were your childhood experiences like in those formative years,
like the first ten years of your life. Born a
year after we got to write the vote, it was,
you know, it was like we're adult size. Was it
like hey, a new day or like how did you know?
It was still bad? It was still bad? You know.
I remember being six and my mom and her friends

(13:09):
organ She was a nurse and they organized this big
march because they were getting paid so much less than
the white nurses. So they organized this big boycott in March.
And I just remember that being, you know, getting our
you know, people putting death threats in our mailbox and
stuff like that. It was it was. It was the South,
do you know. I always say the one thing about

(13:30):
growing up where I grew up is you always knew
didn't like it. It was never question you. You never
had to wonder if this guy everybody's but down there
you knew who didn't like you, and they made no
bones about it. Yeah, you still stayed to go to college.
And I mean my family was there. Where was I

(13:50):
gonna go? You know? And once I started playing music
in college, you know, we were playing that little circuit
down there, and and where was I gonna go? We're
their bands and in your high school experience or I didn't.
I didn't. My first band was who Really Good? Yeah?
Seriously my first band? Yeah, how lucky? Can let me

(14:14):
just try to think, Oh my god, we're the biggest
band you guys were around for a while before. Yeah,
we were banded for eight years before we get a
record there, dude, one of your first band of roots. Yeah,
I mean, oh, but I considered like I did work
with my dad's group, Like, okay, your daddy's group, but
I got you. I did thirteen years in that group

(14:39):
before I got my wings. Oh wow, No, that's amazing
because usually people have to Well, my problem was nobody
in high school could play like I didn't have anybody
in by the high school that was a guitar and player,
had one guy to play guitar, and I don't know,
I don't know one drummer or bass player either playing
the band, but nobody. So there was no high school
curriculum for music or not. There was, but it wasn't
anybody going to, let's start a band, you know, like

(15:00):
I sang and I second high school choir and and
all that stuff, show choir and all that stuff. But
it wasn't like anybody was trying to start a band,
and you know, so I just never did. And then
when I got into college and I'm at Mark, I
was like, hey man, let's let's jam and we started
the band. So being as though musical aspirations weren't like
in your your high school years or whatever, like what

(15:22):
did you want to be when you grew up? Like
what was your I wanted to be a singer. But
when you're from South Carolina, you you hear so many
times that you're never gonna make it from South Carolina,
and so you gotta decide you'll do something else. So
I decided I was gonna be a sportscast. I went
to school for broadcast journalism, you know, and sportscasting. Yeah,
I wanted to talk about sports. You'll do the sports
on the six o'clock news was my goal. That was

(15:43):
way before ESPN or anything like that back in eighty four.
Is in high school, it is in college in the
high school, I decided, Yeah, that also explains why he
had Oberman ESPN era video. Of course now it's making
six so well. I know that most down South towns
are football towns, college towns. Like you, weren't a sports

(16:04):
guy at all. I like sports, and I played sports
until I was thirteen, and I just, uh, it was
it was tough to to realize that I wasn't going
to play in the NFL. But when all my when
all my friends were better than me, and they weren't
gonna play in the NFL. So I round thirteen, I
decided I should probably concentrate a little more and singing.
And so that's when I really started trying to become

(16:24):
a singer, just trying to learn how to sing, and
really just from listening to records. I've never had a
voice lesson in my life. I was just listening to
the records and singing along. It's amazing. It was crazy.
So and and where did you go to college? To
South Carolina? Okay, so that's basically and you're a freshman
or a sophomore year. You guys, a sophomore year, I

(16:45):
meet this this kid hears me singing in the in
the shower and I come out of the show. You know,
we had those big community showers with no no, we're
just just jail house showers. Yeah, the head those and
uh and I'm singing some song in there, and he
hears me and I walk out. He says, you know,
was that you as the guys like I played guitar,
Let's see if we know any of the same songs.
And we went to his room and knew about ten

(17:06):
of the same songs and decided we're gonna I thought.
I told him, we get us a gig at this
chicken wing jointing. That's all started. And you guys named
yourself Sudy, And I was still mad at myself about
this first week with the Wolf Brothers. Then we decided
to get a whole band. And and there's two guys,
one guys I sing with him, and one guy had
these really big eyes. And I used to be a

(17:27):
real asshole. I used to give people nicknames all the time,
and this guy had big eyes, and I called him hoodie,
and everybody started calling him hoodie, and his roommate and
best friend who yeah, and literally found out it was
his boyfriend. And uh, he had these big cheeks and
he played he played trumpet. Tuci had these big, dizzy
Gillespie cheeks and he do that thing, and so I
started calling him the bluefish. I'm certain that even now

(17:49):
do they know this story? V H one did a
thirty minutes specially, I'm certain right now at the family table,
face giving like, oh, I'm sure, And I'm going to
ask the dumb question in the room because somebody's listening
and somebody's thinking it, who do you is a fish? Oh? What?

(18:14):
Wh Yeah, don't look at me. It was somebody listening
right now who thought So you at what point are
you guys? Like Okay, let's like, how do you escape South?
Because I wouldn't imagine that Charleston is a music town

(18:36):
like Nashville or so was it like, hey, why don't
we go to Nashville? Like for me, it was like,
we gotta go to New York to make it, And
we were told that by everybody, we gotta go to
Nashville or New York or l A or Atlanta to
make it, and we just didn't want to do it well.
We wanted to stand Columbia and uh so we were
playing a circuit back and back then you could play

(18:59):
from New York down to Florida in the Tennessee and
every place had a club, and so we would just
play the same clubs every six weeks. And so after
a while we started doing great at these clubs. Like
I think the last year before we got a record deal,
we h fifty grand just playing clubs. How how long
did you we played that year? But you know it

(19:22):
was on that and we didn't get a record. When
we got big, grunge was king. Nobody was trying to
sign a band like Coop and we put out a
little EP called Coochie Pop and we sold fifty Shirley
hamp Hill we're watching, were watching Hemphill stand up and
she said her daughter saved her whole Couchie Pop. I think, yeah,

(19:49):
and that's where we got it from. Yeah, I think
I remember that, and absolutely, And so we named a
Coucchie Pop and we sold like fifty sixty copies of
it out of the back of our van, just selling
it at shows and at these Mama Pup record stores
and that's when and it was it was before Billboard
had computers, so you still have to call the stores.
And people were calling these stores in the southeast going

(20:12):
who's selling and we were like number three and number
four and the people who is this? Who the boelfish man?
And they all came down looking So this is around
like that's around two when it really started to take off.
But when did you gonna start writing songs? Because I
feel like we started writing songs nine because it you
guys played covered forever. Yeah, I mean, and it's so
funny down to up looking up because you know, Dave

(20:33):
Matthews got a huge We we played frat parties with
Dave Matthews. That's how I mean, that's how big the
scene was back back then. That scene was so good.
It's not that way anymore. But we we made we
didn't even care about a record deal. We were making
good money. Well, I was gonna ask what would you
how would you categorize yourselves? Because from me, from me

(20:54):
seeing you guys, and we like there's been a few
those big giant festivals were like the roots were in
like the ninth stage the backlock stage, you guys are headlining,
and I would I rarely hear people described I always
thought that you guys were more of a jam band

(21:17):
with pop sensibilities. Absolutely, like not all the way fish,
but kind of in that lane, like would you consider
because I never considered it country pop or straight ahead
pop or there's musicality and and absolutely we were jam
band with with with with that pop sensibility because none
of us could play well enough to be a jam nobody, nobody,

(21:40):
nobody wanted to hear our guitar played and play a
solo for Tim Mantes that nobody definitely wanted to hear
me play a solo because I still can't play so so,
but we had that jam band feel about us. So
that's what we always that's what we always thought we were.
I see. Okay, So at what point does Atlantic come
in the picture? Like, yeah, they came in nineties. Atlantic
came at the end of ninety two and started talking

(22:01):
to us, and everybody was but everybody was talking to us,
I mean, and we met this guy that we liked,
and so we went in Atlantic and I remember making
cracked review. And there's some people right now that if
you talk to them. They'll tell you they signed us,
but they didn't. They lie and uh he Danny Goldberg
was president of Atlantic at the time, and people went in.

(22:23):
People at Atlantic went in and told Danny Goldberg that
you can't put Cracked Review out. Told him that if
one guy told him, if you put Cracked Review out,
we will be the laughing stock of the music business.
Because it wasn't grunge, and and everybody was buying up
the ground and grunge was everything, you know, Kurt Cobain
and and pro Jam and those guys, they were everything.
And he they told him to not put out. Danny

(22:45):
just told him we're putting the record out and and
you know the rest, I guess just hit. Okay. So
obviously the one factor that meet you guys you need
was the fact that a black lead singer and this band,
Like how as far as once the major's got to
you guys, at least we're according you to sign to

(23:07):
the label, Like was there hesitancy as far as that
like was that ever? The something was that the ever
the white elephant in the room, how are we going
to sell this in the marketing? And that was always
I mean, I don't know how many times people say, Yo,
Lady Gravitz did it. I was like, yeah, but we
don't sound like Lady Gravitz. You guys weren't hypofied dudes

(23:30):
next door, Kay, guys next door, Like, but that's the thing.
You weren't. I don't. You guys weren't silly frat you weren't.
It was so normal that it worked, It was relatable.
But I'm certain that someone said, like, well, just let
the music, you know, let the music speak for itself.
Like you notice, we're not this little picture of us

(23:52):
on our first record, the Motown theory. Yeah, And that
was on purpose. That that was on purpose. That was
you have me for Somebody wanted to do that. You know.
They didn't want people to see, you know, because if
they and if they saw me on the record, they
would have thought I was a drummer, the base player,
you know. And and so when we actually when we
started making our first video, was like people, you know,

(24:14):
they were worried that, you know, the video channels were
going to play like you know, I was like, well,
you know, let's see. So there's discussions. I'm just doing
the Arrowsmith and have a narrative of the story. And
you guys, not exactly did that bother you always always,
you know, because to us and win a big deal. Man.

(24:36):
We had just played frat houses where you know, I
was called nigger and all this stuff. We had just
busted our bus to get to where we were going
through the South playing all those shitty gigs that you know,
I looked back on and go, I can't believe we didn't,
you know, I didn't have to fight our way out
of that. Yeah, you know exactly. And so when we
got there, I was like, man, we still got We're

(24:57):
on the big stage. Now, we still gotta deal with
this crap. How did your badman, how did they deal
with because this is something new for them, I'm sure yeah,
But I mean, you know they we they were thinner
skin than Night was. I knew that if I was
going to do this, I had to have thick skin.
I knew that the instant we started playing in the
South that if I was going to do this, I
gotta have thick skin. And we're gonna be fighting everywhere
we play. And damn I forgot because you're the front man,

(25:20):
and I know there's always some asshole or a heckler
or beard or so how you must be have like marksman,
like I have pretty kid, I have one of those
clubs with the cages around. We played one of those

(25:40):
ye like Blues Brothers, other places that had defense around
this day, you guys ever played rang High just breaks
that night. Didn't even know what picked it? Oh man,
that dog that is that is brieve? Like? Does would
that ever give you an anxiety? Because I don't know.

(26:05):
I mean, at the most I would probably fear facing
an audience that has indifference, but not you know, wondering
every night where is it going to come from? I
tell you the times when I got the most scared
or like, but you know, we took the gigs. We're
gonna play the gig. But anxiety was playing those frat
houses in the South, like going to the University Tennessee

(26:27):
and playing the freaking kids, going to Presbyterian and playing
the k A House And you know, I don't know
what it is like that. I'm back when we were
in school. K was the old South frat you know
they basically you know, they should have had three kids
instead of k A. Was it was it was it
every redemptive purple ry movement where It's like it's like

(26:48):
when you get to that climatic song and they're looking
at each other like, yeah, absolutely there was, there was,
But then then we're loading our ship down and then
the guy just did I hear this man? That was
good band even though they had a nigger singer. Oh
heard it. The guy was right there. What he said,
what's crazy for you is you had to go through

(27:09):
both sides because it's like you have that and then
you're not black enough on the other side. Because I'm
sure there were situations that you you know, you wanted
to do or even as far as publications that you
want to talk to, and it was like, wait, I'm here. Absolutely,
that's that's that's been the hardest thing for me is
to have to get it. For most it's like I've
sold thirty five million records. Uh, there was one point

(27:30):
where I was in the biggest band in the world.
And you know, I've never been on the cover of
Epony or JET. I've had one story in Jet. They
did a story about who was blow we just got
to cover. But I'm just saying that it's it's even

(27:53):
though he's we're in different genres, there is it is
a psychological mind fuck too thrive in a business where
categorically or statistically the audience that's supporting you might not

(28:16):
necessarily embrace you in real life. And on top of that,
the people that you look like when you look in
the mirror aren't necessarily supporting you as well. So it's
a very weird thing too. It's well, I mean, there's

(28:36):
a lot of acts like that, but it's it's still
you know what's crazy. You should know that it trickles
down to radio too, because I've been told I've come
from radio, and I've been told, Okay, black people aren't
into that, like you. We can't talk about that. Can
we just talk about what black people don't? So it
trickles down in all kinds of ways. I don't want
you all to just think like, you know, well, that's
also the difference because he has a lot of hits
and I got one in that happens, all right. So

(29:02):
the so the album comes out and it becomes an
unstoppable monster, like and again I know that no one
planned any of this. It wasn't like you were Michael
Jackson posted on the wall like no, not at all.
So at the point where it's like or your sound

(29:24):
scan numbers reports are coming in. They like, oh, guy's
another million, another million, another million, another million. Does it
Does it get scary? Because like, this is your first
album and are you already thinking like, damn, now, the
second album has to be just as good. And I
was I was the one that said, of the band,
y'all know this is never gonna happen again, A right,

(29:45):
I mean it was even as it was happening. It
got to like twelve million. And they, I mean, they
wanted to go. They wanted to chase Michael Jackson. They
wanted to put too much singles out. They wanted to
chase Thriller. They really really did. They wanted to they
wanted to put to more singles out, but we stopped it.
Record times in the same songs, make another record, and

(30:11):
uh it was its getting crazy, But I knew it, dude.
We saw six million on the next record and that's
considered a flop. How how crazy is that we saw
six million records and it's considered a flop. That's crazy today.
If anybody saw six million, you can't it's how possible.

(30:31):
So Okay, So when you get to Fairweather Johnson and
and and the other records, Like, are you well, I mean,
what's the as far as you guys are concerned, Are
you guys still a tightening you Because usually when bands
get to that level like YouTube Dog, their entourage situation
is the craziest thing I've ever seen in my life.

(30:53):
Like even Adam Clayton has his own private plane, his
own us, his own enter like each band member and
YouTube has their own world. Like It's something I've never
seen before. But are you guys Like, Okay, We're gonna
stay humble, stay on the same bus. We were so tight.

(31:16):
I mean it was we felt it was still us
against the world and the party was on. Okay, we
we were at that point when Fairweather came out, we
were raging. I mean it was like, I think back
to that time and when we get together the fore
of us talk, we say the same thing, thank God
for letting on four of us make it out the
end of that. And so that was something that brought

(31:37):
us together. We were just having so much fun. We
we didn't care about the record self. Was the only
thing we loved is that the shows were bigger, you
know that That's that's what we cared about. The shows
were big. We're getting to play as much as we want,
having a great time. Like actually can afford to pay
off my student loan and get me a car. The
first thing I did, First check student, First check with you.

(32:08):
You know that the Obama's paid off their student alone
the first year of being in the White House. Really
it was expensive to they did, had a lot of
schooling they did. That's real, that's crazy. So to play,
what do you prefer like smaller intimate settings or is
it as intimate when you're playing in the stadium or

(32:32):
definitely not today. I definitely if we could play like
a two three thousand seater, that's perfect. I love it.
That's not small, I mean small the club, But that's
that's I like that. But you know, like last night
I put you know, there was you know, eleven twelve
tho people in this tennis stadium and you just can't.
You try to give it all, but you can't see everybody.

(32:53):
You can't you know, you can't really get And that's
I like that because you know that the checks are bigger,
and you know you're still and you you're doing all right,
and you've got all these people here. But man, if
I could play a two thousand seater. I love it.
I gotta ask a question, So, right now, where's your Grammy?

(33:19):
This is running joke. First, all I have I have
a man. I have this little room where I watch
football and write, and I got my studio on there,
and there's a little closet area. If you want to
see my grammys right now, I would have to take
you to them. Like do you never walk in my
house and see my Grammys? I'd have to take you
to him. So it's not on the floor, it's not

(33:40):
a doorstopper, or basically it's basically a book and some
books up there. The two of them are holding some
books up. But uh, I mean, like I said, I'll say,
any other I don't have. I don't want people to
walk in and like, there's not one platinum gold record
on my wall anywhere in my house. I don't have them.
My sister, my sisters and brothers have them all. I
don't have my cousins. I don't have any of them

(34:00):
because I don't want people walking into my living room
and seeing all the you know, eighteen tis blattening at
all and stuff. It's like I know what I did?
You know? You know what I did. I don't have
to throw in anybody's face. So my grandm was just
a little there in the corner somewhere. Just if you
want to see him, whatt you'm to you? But you're
not gonna see it one less. They're not in the
bathroom now, they're not in the bathroom. Yours in the bathroom? Yeah? Yeah, nice?

(34:23):
So yeah minor in the bathroom. Um, when did you
know that it was time to leave the band and
start your own solo career. I got lucky if if
our drummer came in. We had, you know, you tour
every summer, and and like we were on tour in

(34:43):
the middle of the tour and our drummer walks in
and says, hey, man, uh, you know, I don't want
to be a torn band like this anymore. I want
to just we were torn too much. I don't want
to be a torring band. And my first thought was, okay,
go through this country record. I was like yeah. I
was like cool, I'll go. I'm gonna do my this
guy's be thing and see what happens. But you didn't

(35:04):
you as far as I'm concerned. When I first met
you two thousand one, you signed it in Beach correct. Yeah, yeah,
but that was that we were still together. That was
we took a year off and I did that record.
Then we got back together and went back on tour
until two thousand eight. Okay, I thought you left the
group and then no, that we were just taking time
off for the then and then at two thousand and

(35:24):
eight was when two seven was when they called it.
They we just don't want to do this whole time.
I was okay, and we weren't that band who could
have said, Okay, we're gonna get a new drummer. We
just we're a band. When the four of us played,
we play. If the four of us are gonna play together,
we're not gonna play. So the grasses are always greener
on the other side. Because I was shocked, really, I

(35:45):
just just as a as a working musician, My thought
is always about like my livelihood and the people have
to take care of it. You can't. Yeah, I don't
know if it's just with with with black people. I
mean I would think that everyone thinks like Okay, I like, yeah,

(36:07):
so too walk away from something so sure shot and
I'm sure I'm certain that by that point you know
your guarantees were yeah, nice for you know that time feriod.
To make that everything, to make your your your grandparents night,

(36:27):
to make your grandparents annual salary in one ninety men
of concert is great. So to walk away from that
is such a risk. And I'm not even talking about
your standpoint, because you're still here, but for your band members,
is it was it a rasteisist? Or was it like, well,

(36:47):
let's talk about he had thought about it for a while.
I mean you could tell when he was talking to us,
and I think the band actually thought we might not
play for two years or maybe three years, and we'd
be out doing it again. And I'll be honest with me,
I probably thought to say thing because I was going
to make my country record in my basement with my buddies,
and because I didn't think I could get a record deal.
Because I say all the time, if I was my brother,

(37:09):
I wouldn't have given me a record deal because at
that point, who he had run his course on the radio.
We had done our thing. You know, if we were lucky,
if our records would go gold, you know, and it
was one you know, we still had a touring band.
We're doing great, but nobody was out buying who Doie Records?
And I thought to myself, if I'm if I'm the
president of the label or and our guy, I'm not
gonna give the black lead singer of a pop band

(37:29):
that was big record deal to do country music. I mean,
I just didn't think i'd get a record deal. And
Doc McGhee was my manager, and he talked the president
of Capital and to give me a record deal before
before he said who I was? And then when he
said who I was? I got lucky because the guy said,
you know, I didn't really get that. Who do you think?
But I always thought he was a country singing. The

(37:57):
story goes dinner and and he's with Mike Duncan and
he says, I want you to give this guy a
record deal, and Michael was like who. They went around
for an hour and Michael was like, I can't give
him deal without telling me in Doc pull deal. I'm
Doc McGee, You're not gonna you're gonna trust me on
this one, so all right, I'll give a deal. I
give a deal and said it was me and they
called me that night and I went and the next
day and he gave me a deal and The favorite
story that I here is he said, when I decided

(38:19):
to give it a record deal, I called the thirteen
people in Nashville that I thought were the taste makers,
the guys that are running country music. He's like called
by thirteen friends, and I thought I would know that no,
this business are controlling this business. And I told him
all I was signed you and twelve of them told
me it will never work. Don't even do it. You're
wasting your money. The guy who produced my record from

(38:41):
Rogers was the one guy who said great idea, called
me when you do it? Yeah? Really yeah? He I mean, dude.
When I started going to radio, I had radio guys
who are now my best buddies. You know, when you
need that extra spend to go to number one, you know,
I call them up. They'll play it two times in
a row. But when I started, he told me straight up,
I told people I've never played he said, I've had

(39:02):
people say to me, I thought my audience would never
accept the black countries. But it's been years. Anything. Well,
let it not be said that you aren't familiar recording danger.
The thing is that I I thought that that was

(39:25):
a natural thing, like it wasn't like I said, really,
I felt like that makes sense. Yeah, the same thing
if Richie were to make a straight up country record
or whatever, you know what. Yes he did, But I'm
just saying that it makes sense to me only because like,
especially now that uh, I get to talk to a

(39:49):
lot of country acts that come on the Tonight Show. Um,
I'm slowly realizing that damn I country acts have a
lot of things in common with soul seventies acts, Like
there's there's a passion there that I thought it was
a perfect fit. And so I mean, obviously, of course

(40:12):
if you think about it, like uh, class Night and
the pips Um, the imagination I'm with Midnight Training Georgias
was all countries. Yeah, you have the Porter sisters, that
one Canty Grammy. Yeah, the first of one was a country,
so neither one of us must be. But before we
get to that, so I because I know that you
were working with Dreane Verdell and whatnot, what was that

(40:35):
whole experience like doing that's that's one of the that's
still one of my favorite records that I've ever been
on a part of I listened to that record probably
three weeks ago. That was so much fun. Man, work
with those guys, working with Jill and and working you know,
with the I was working with the characters here and
working with Jazz out there. I recorded some of it here,
some of in Philly. Yeah, it was I mean, I

(40:56):
love that. I love that. I still love that record.
I think we had some great songs of that. You
make me feel like I've seen you know and Lismon
know that I'm the hear you got you got with you?

(41:38):
Oh me too? I love it. What was that like,
We're going to a studio with her? Oh great? She
came in. We started writing that song and you know,
I was such a big fan, and we started writing
a song and we get to the chorus and when
we started cutting, it was so sexy. You know, her
voice is so sexy and I was speaking with her
everything she gives a sex. It was awesome. So, uh

(42:00):
speak of your um at least for the transformation into
going to the country. How how hard was that adjustment
for you? For me, it was easy, I mean because
I'm just I'm still still still that kid from South
Carolina that thinks he got lucky. So like they were surprised,
like when we got the first single, and I went

(42:21):
to my label. I said, I want to be the
new guy. I said, I don't want to be. I
want to start from the bottom and work my way up.
They're like, well, we had these ideas. I was like, well,
I want to do a radio tour. And they were
shocked because they said they had talked about it, but
they didn't think I would do it. And so I
went to a d radio stations three or four day
for five six weeks. I mean every day, bust them up,

(42:45):
you know, talking to people, shaking hands, kissing babies, playing
for three people in the conference room and doing all that.
How hard is it to make them? Um? This attached
themselves from your past? Was that was the hardest part.
That was the hardest part of that. How do you
win that armless wrestling match? Too? I just went into

(43:08):
was myself. I just went in and talked and that
was me and and I visited and you know, you
gont for have lunch and drink some beers and have
a good time. And people liked me and I had
actually had a good song there. Anybody that was mentoring
you liked. Anybody that went through the process like you did,
that change genres and no, that was something that somebody
said to me that I thought of. It was like
so many people that have gone from pop and tried

(43:30):
to trying to do country, and I'm the only person
that's that's made it. And I was like, wow, I
never even thought about that. But I mean, I've had
a career and I got eight number ones, I got
a Grammy, I got you know, five number one records.
It was it's it was crazy, so okay for a
person that's never played there but has heard about the

(43:52):
the folklore of the Grand ol Opry, what is what
is the honor or the folklore of playing the Grand
old Opery? And it's pretty sacred in country music. It's
it's like like, is it a jury that decides we'll
let you play this? Who do you? Tried to play
there for years. They wouldn't let us, They would never

(44:14):
let us on the stage. They just said, you're not
a country band, you know. And so the first time
I played it was pretty awesome. It was just one
of those out of body experiences, because you know, and
the day I got asked to be a member was
probably the first day I thought I was a part
of the country music so is it like the Friars
Club where it's it's like, explain, do you know, can

(44:36):
you explain for our audience and me? What is so okay?
Assuming that you're a young start in Nashville, Like, is
your dream like one day? Your dream is just one
day be a member of the opera and yeah, to
play you know, because everybody once you're if you're in

(44:57):
the business, you could play it. If you're a country singer,
you you get on the opera. But becoming a member,
you know, it's just an honor that that that everybody
in Nashville is trying to get. And what's like, what's
a member like is it like the Rocking Hall Hall
of Fame or is it It's not, It's not. It's
more like, uh, the Friar's Club is probably a better
way to describe it. It's it's a it's a big

(45:19):
fraternity of musicians and we all give our time to
the opery and you know the charity stuff that the
opera does and all that stuff, and it's it's like
everybody wants to be a member. So who initiates the idea?
Like does your manager call them and say, hey, oh
they have to come to you have to come to
you and say, do you want to be a member

(45:40):
of the Grand ol Operate? Are you the only Pepper
and Assault were growing up as a kid with with
like limited uh television shows on a lot of variety shows.

(46:02):
I definitely remember, like Charlie Pride always seen him on
these variety shows in the seventies. But um, I'm not
that familiar with his discography. So did he get a
lot of play? He got a lot of where we lived,
like I was an am radio kid where I just
sit and flipped through the radio and whatever song I
like to stop on it, and and Charlie Pride, and

(46:24):
even in our house because he was big in our
house because it was one of the only places you
could see music. Yea, exactly exactly. And so you know,
I watched Oh no, no, I thought you said road Call.
I quoted it in my road call. Road Call was

(46:44):
derivative of but it is also a dance and d
C we made up. But that's continue. And so he
was really big, and he was for me as a kid,
I was always that kid who wanted to do something different,
who always and I always thought it was cool that
Charlie Pritt was, you know, doing something that we weren't

(47:05):
supposed to do. You know, we we weren't supposed to
sing county music. And this guy was not just staying
country music. He was Entertained of the Year two years.
He you know, he hosted the c M as a
couple of years and I thought, this guy, you know,
he was somebody I definitely looked up to as a kid.
Have you. I know, it's well with a lot of
singers in the business, like some of them are kind

(47:26):
of slow to meet someone more successful. I'm not saying
like your idol or whatever, like you don't meet your
heroes or whatever, but do you guys have a relationship?
Was it? We're we're friends. We're definitely friends. We we talk,
we we hang out when we when we can, and
the whold ebony and jet thing. I didn't even think
about that until Charlie said that to me, when he

(47:47):
said never And when he said that to me, when
I thought, I was like, wow, I've never known it.
I was like, because that's those kind of things, I
just let go because I'm like, it's just not gonna happen.
I want to do. And then I thought, wow, Charlie
Price has never been on the cover of Ebony or
I mean, I was like wow, and I was like,
you know, I guess I can't understand me. But that
guy's I would love story. Oh you would? You should
have one. He's he'll tell you too. He was a

(48:11):
baseball player. I love when he Charlie. Charlie's one of
the guys you love to hang out with because he
loves to tell stories. And I'll sit there for hours
and just let him talk and just laugh, and he's
you should have one. He's great. Dear guys, up been
doing it? Please make this happen. Were you guys friends
before you decided to country or we met when I
started doing so when he found out, Like what the
first initial conversation that you guys. The first conversation was

(48:34):
he was hosting the opera and I was on the
opera that night, and him and I got there early
so we could sit in the room, just me and
him for an hour. Where are laughing about getting the early? Yeah, yeah, yeah,
that's about that. She's like, girl, what black man? You

(49:12):
got me? Man? You got me? So you guys got
there earlier and we just sat and talked for like
an hour and hour and a half. We just sat
in the room, just me and him and talked and
I picked his brain about you know, but his life
and my life and what I can expect and and
I'll be honest with you. One thing I said to
myself years ago, we were talking earlier about the frat
house and all that stuff. I said to myself years ago,

(49:35):
no matter what I go through, I can handle it
because I can't imagine what Charlie Bride went through. I
can't imagine what he went through to succeed the way
he did. And I always say, if he could take that,
I could take whatever they got to throw my way.
But I'm almost scared for you because it's kind of
like a semi resurgence of Charlie. Well, you're right. And

(49:57):
the funny thing is the only time I've ever really
experienced something that was just so blatantly racist at one
of my shows is we're playing a show in upstate
New York, upstate New York. I'm playing the show and
all of a sudden we see these six giant, giant
rebel flax and these guys are walking around the crowd

(50:17):
carrying to reflect. So my boys are like, hell, no,
so to each other, and they went out Darius no Darius,
and these guys went out and grabbed these you know,
grab these cats. And these cats were straight up. We
are the local chapter of the KK to people don't
know about the East coast k K are you. We
were like, y'all look out of here, y'all got to go.
We kicked him out. It was for years to visit

(50:45):
about all night. Why the stay at house walls here
and the ship out here and it out here taber
world overres were well again, what ass on the street?

(51:13):
Let's see? Okay, Um, Well, since we're talking about this
is really appropriate, can you talk about the song Drowning Um,
which seems to be quite as relevant now as it
was twenty years ago when it was first released. You know, we, uh,
the Rebbe flag used to be on top of our
state house like it would be the U. S flags,
uh South KNI flag and like flying over the state house.
So there was a big controversy that we just wanted

(51:35):
it taken down. We wanted it taken down. And so
one night I was out at the bars and there
was this cat. He was a homeless cat and uh
he uh his name was Spider. We all call him Spider,
and he's sitting on the thing. And so I went
back into the bar and I grabbed two beers and
I go down and I sit next to Spider and
we started talking and we're thinking about beer before I
go to the next bar, and we start talking about
the Rebel Flag and he, you know, he knew the band,

(51:57):
and he said to me one thing. He said, you
know all that you know all the hate that hate
that's going and he said, you know it's you they hate.
And I went wow. He's like, I was like, what
do you mean. He's like, you know they're playing with
these white boys, You're the one they really hate. And
I went wow. And I went home that night and
I wrote Drowning and Drowning it's a protest song. I mean,
there's no other ways you could say it's a protest song.
And uh, I just I wanted to. I was so

(52:19):
frustrated and that night and I was so like taken
aback by what Spider had said that I sat down
and you know, and I wrote it, and you know,
when it came down. That was one of the songs
they were playing at the stay outs when they were
taking it down. I thought that was pretty cool. That's
do you stand it with the so now you know,
now the flag issue was down, now there's the statue issue.

(52:42):
How are you little? But I'm just curious because I
know South Carolina. You know, they've been pulling statues down
around here. The thing that the thing that kills me
about all the people who go, you know, we're you're
forgetting history. These are the people who coming to be
these patriotic Americans, and the South tried to destroy the Union,
they tried to destroy what America was one of America.
And also they could keep black people with slaves, and

(53:05):
they were terrorists and they were you know, and and
they want to keep that up. But all those were
put up in the Gym Crow era, and they were
put up to to show black people we are still
you know, we're still the man we hate to we're
gonna put all these things up. And people don't realize that,
you know that that wasn't put up in eight They
think that it was what it was, and it was

(53:25):
put up to doing gym crow to to keep black
people in their place, so to say. And so I'm
I'm good with taking them down South Carolina basically so
based on what what's going on now? I mean, how
awkward is it doing press in that circuit, especially with

(53:46):
what's going on now. I know that you're a big
sports fanatic, and it's almost like every day you wake up,
everyone America wakes up sort of panic stricken because they're
not knowing what's going to be reported next on the news,
the second turner on and now just dealing with the

(54:09):
White House and the National Anthem and football and everything.
I mean, how hard is it too just sell your
product in that marketplace and and kind of step between,
uh you know, land mines of of of avoiding being

(54:33):
a spokesperson or continent and and the thing. For me,
it's hard both ways because, like I sing to Nash,
I was in London singer National Anthem just a little
while ago. But just the way I was raised, like
I can't kneel doing it, I understand why they do
trust me. I've been stopped. I've been stopped for driving
a nice car a million times. I got brothers and

(54:53):
cousins and uncles and friends, and I'm totally with what
the what what those guys are protested, you know what?
I get a there, But then you know, like you said,
you are trying to sell a product and people want
to talk about what's going on, and you, you know,
you say the wrong thing. Look at the Dixie Chicks.
You say the wrong thing one time, and your career
could be over. I mean, you know, career suicide. Country

(55:15):
country especially, it's best in country. You got you gotta.
The Dixie Chicks said one offhand thing. The day before
they said that they were the most played band on
country radio by far, the day they said that they
haven't played since. I've never heard of Dixie Chick song
on the country RADI I listen to cut your radio
all the time. I've never heard of Dixie Chick song.
And that that you know, you look at that, and

(55:36):
so you stay true to I stay true to who
I am. You know I do. If you ask me
a question, I'll answer that I answered the way that
that I want to answer it. But it's like it's
it's such a fine line to walk out there, you know,
because you want, you always want to do the right thing,
but then you have to think about you know, about this,
about my career, about all this, and so it's tough
getting it's sold. But you've gotta go out there and work.
It doesn't sound like you you asked to be a

(55:59):
spokesperson for race, but you seem to have. It seems
to be this responsibility that's been put upon you just
because of these lines that you seem to be walking.
What is that like? I mean, like I don't think,
you know, like I feel like some people they want
to talk about race and it's very important to them.
And this just feels like where you live in the
genres that you jump between your automatically, this sort of

(56:22):
whether or not, whether you want it or not, which
is crazy and ridiculous, but like it's kind of part
of being black. Well, okay, I'm a white person. I'm
just I don't I don't know what that's like. Whatever
I'm in a I have a fear of like, oh god,
please don't let an awkward statement happen. Please. I just
want to live that. I just wanted to start a
Bucks and get my coffee. I live that every day
and whatever. So yeah, like I did the CBS Saturday

(56:46):
Morning thing and and it goes so crazy because I
did the Saturday Morning thing and that you know, I
was doing exactly saying don't let me say something awkward something,
you know, and because I started talking about the not
even you, I'm just from other people. Oh yeah, coming
like some question or something that that gets me to
say something and then I go away. Come on, man,

(57:08):
you know, like you know, it's just it's a fun line.
Plus you're like a double agent in a way, so
I feel like you have like you know what I mean.
I'm sorry if we're asking to me quition like, oh,
I'm like, what do you do when they talk about
the n R age so much? They're all your fans. Man,
it's fascinating. You're fascinating. You should be on the cover
of Ebony. Make it happen, Like, Okay, how hard is

(57:40):
it to navigate a career and a personal life? Uh?
Like away from your career? Like are you a twenty
four hour I have to constantly tour, I have to
always make music? Is it just like Okay, I want
time off to you know, have a family line for
that sort of thing, Like how hard is it too?

(58:02):
I think that's probably the main reason I live in
Charleston because the place where I live, everybody knows me,
like I've been living there, I've been living in the
same neighborhood for twenty years now. Everybody knows me. They've
they've you know, I grew up with a lot of
people like I played the show the other night, and
I knew half the people in the crowd. And so
because I don't have to work all the time, I

(58:25):
love being off. I love being with my kids. I
love being home with the family. I love that. And
and so I lived there so I could just have
a normal life because really, outside of my job, my
life's pretty pretty normal. You'd be. I mean, like people
surprised when they hang out with me because I go
to I go to Walmart and Target every day. I
go to the grocery store every day. I do you, yeah,

(58:46):
you would see me. I love it. What's it like
being around because all your brothers and sisters are still
in the area too, right, so not to be all
up in your business, but since you but since you
did have such a successful band, you are such a
successful artists, do you to learn this from? Quest? I
retire people? Like are they certain people that you like?
You know, like certain your older brothers and sisters. You're like,

(59:07):
don't worry about you have hanger on? There was yes,
Wait a minute, there was one thing I said to
my sisters and brothers when Cracked reviews started taking off.
I said, I love you guys. I said, I love
you guys, and you guys will never be kicked out
of your house. Okay, you always have a car, but

(59:28):
we are not rich. Yeah, I will take care of you.
I will make sure. I will make sure you never
ever if you're if you're four months later on your
on your on your mortgage, call me, but you're not
getting a new house. But you ain't getting the brand
new house just because you want to have and I'm
not right to check for it. And then where were
you on? You don't have as many brothers, And because

(59:50):
they know they can call me anything. They know if
they call me and say, you know, Darius, I'm gonna bind.
I'm gonna be there in a minute with cash or
a check or whatever you need. But don't expect me
to change your life. Listen, I can't change it because
I want to. I want to stay this way. I
don't want to be broken. Innate fear of being broke
some day. You know what I have to this great

(01:00:11):
fear being broke some day, and I haven't it. I
just want to take about seventeen seconds to appreciate this moment.
First the Dylla siren. Okay, because it's just hitting me
that there's a black man in this business that has

(01:00:31):
went diamond, that shows up one time early early um
and doesn't have uh street dreams and aspirations. Because naturally,
I'm thinking even whatever, I mean, even whatever, my my

(01:00:52):
faux humble approach, you know, even I'm thinking like, okay, diamond, Yeah, definitely,
I'm gonna have yacht, twelve houses and blah blah blah.
But for your record collection, yeah, well they got to
have a home, to know. But I'm just saying that

(01:01:13):
you're you're totally going against the narrative of someone that should.
I mean just every person I know that in your
position has family and friends that they have to carry
on their back in their pocket. They have to show
up late. You know. There I know someone who's ex

(01:01:36):
wives live in a commune, a gated commune. I showed you,
Oh I'd like to, but you said that, you know,
like if if the mentality, especially with black folcus, like
if one of you is rich, we all rich, how

(01:01:59):
do you know how to say the word no? Oh? Well,
you were smart didn't have to do it, which means
that you might have had foresight that this might be
a big thing. Yeah. I mean when it started taking off,
I realized it was gonna be a big thing. And

(01:02:19):
and how how hard could you? How long could you
sort of squelch and hide? Don't I had to. I
still have my first car. I'm still driving my same
you know, I have I have one house. I keep
it just for it. It's not very big. I got

(01:02:40):
one house, not very big because I didn't want a
big house, because I didn't want my kids to be
able to get lost in it. You know, you got
qua foot house you could you cannot find your kids
if you want. I got a nice house. I drive
a free car, you know, free car? Yea. Dan Marino
told me a long time ago, let your let your
community take care of you, Charlie. He told me that

(01:03:09):
her let your community take And you can't do that. Oh,
de Marino hadn't paid for a car since he was
a rookie. His kids get free cars dealership, Just yeah,
that can happen, yea. I have a suburban man radio.
Get that. I get a new one every six months.
Do you know me? Do day gigs I didn't do.
Didn't get my birthday give downstairs? Well your birthday give downstairs. Yeah,

(01:03:33):
I'm sure maybe some cousins. They're listening right now, they
are Wait, how does that happen? Okay, I now I
need you to mentor me. Marino told me, oh he did. Wow,
I did not know I could ask for free stuff. Dude.

(01:03:54):
You just get to get with the right guy. And
athletes know because they're always getting those uh those deals
because because also I also come from management that uh
well no, no, no, it's it's just they they they
successfully for the longest talked us out of that lifestyle,

(01:04:17):
you know what I mean. Like again, I got my
license when I was thirty four. I got my first
car when I was thirty four. I mean, we were touring.
Like the whole logic was even how I met Jimmy,
Like when I finally begged and begged and begged and begged,
and big, let me get a house in l a please,

(01:04:37):
first day out there, I mean, Jimmy, and then it's
like crap, I gotta move back, you know, East Coast.
So whenever I try to really floss, you know, it's
it's always backfired. So I was even talked out of
would you like me to floss on your behalf? Just

(01:04:58):
give me the access to this. Don't floss, he don't floss.
Although I'm sure those boots aren't cheap. I know I
was a lot of boots and I was looking at
the Where did that state come from? Yeah? Yeah not.
I'm gonna get a picture of those posting on Instagram later. Yeah,
I like my boots. I've had what they made a rattlesnake?

(01:05:21):
Yes they are. Yeah, did you kill it? Yes? Daris?
Can you tell me? Is it rude to ask somebody
they have they have their license? Like? Is that rude? No,
that's not rude. I don't think you not a driver's license,
gun license. Every I can learn from you. Everybody's got anse. Well,

(01:05:45):
now I asked because he said he can killed him
even I know, I don't think he didn't know. He
would have ran from the snake. But let me in
my mind and things. Damn. I wanted to Darius Hunts like,
you know you're in that world. Blah blah blah, I
got a gun license? Okay, Yeah, the white people question
you want to Yeah, I feel like the white folks
questions country not white because you know it's more to

(01:06:06):
white people. You ebony and dead. Why are you all
the white questions? You don't know about Southern country white
neither business. Married a Southern white country person, Thank you
very much. Loves me too. Yeahs like you see that

(01:06:29):
key and peels thing that they did on me. They
didn't they did catch me. And he said, we're down
and we're down in Nashville. We're doing the show. And
I said, hey, I do it nice to me? You go, hey,
love you. We live Darius. That's good, dude. I love
it when you're on standard lab or KI. Yeah means
you made it all that stuff. I don't care what

(01:06:50):
they say. I love it all right. So what are
you not? What are your post about the cars? Aren't you?
I mean? For you? Is it? No? I'm still in
my head even though I have a question life after
when was the last time? I'm still thinking like how
do I get a free car? So as far as

(01:07:12):
your your career is concerned, like what would you hope
is your legacy? And as far as like what you're
at the end of the day, like is there anything
that you've not achieved besides Emony and jet Um you're
gonna do electronic connects. No. No. The only thing, honestly,
the only thing I haven't done that I want to
do is I'm ever since I can remember, ever since

(01:07:36):
really Notorious Big was was killing it. I want to
sing the hook on a big rap record so much.
I want. I want to be night Dogs so bad.
Oh I'm dying too, I mean dying to help dying too.
You know something, I know the Carolina Connections, a duet.

(01:08:00):
I wanted you have to get married. Now. It's like,
you know something. I'm not girl. I'm gonna talk to
you way too high. I'm gonna talk to you after
the show because I have a project you might be

(01:08:20):
interested in. It's not an album, but it's concerning that
very person, and you are the perfect person to do
this the quest of I would just say I'm serious.
Everyone's like, what are you talking about him? Here? I
want to say this. You could ask me to sing pooh,
pooh pooh in respect that I have that I have
for you, and I love you and I love the roots.

(01:08:43):
I would do whatever you wanted me to do. I
appreciate it absolutely. Okay, I guess I would reveal it
because I can't keep a secret um because of Uh, well,
two thousand eighteen coming up, UH will be somewhat of
a notable anniversary year for a lot of seminal classics

(01:09:05):
and music. I've been we've been going back and forth
uh with the Dre camp m hm uh, trying to
figure out a way how to celebrate his twenty five
year milestone with the chronic and doggy style both are UM.

(01:09:32):
So we're still in the talking stage right now. But
one of the one of these snags and the thing
was like, Yo, who's gonna be Nate dog And I've
been wracking. I am, I will cancel my tour. I
don't think your manager will be happy about and you

(01:09:57):
can show him five minutes again. I'll in a way
for y'all. We can talk about getting him in the museum.
Is he'll be there? I just I'm assuming, Yeah, Smithsonian,
I'm are you sure? I don't think I am. You
don't think we're gonna check on that, Timothy. Yeah, it's

(01:10:18):
it's probably one of the most amazing experiences of any
well for black people, especially to see that museum in
in d C. Yeah, it's we need more wife folks
to go see because you know, you kidding. Have you
seen the lines? I know I see the lines. It's no,
it is it's almost like I want more black foods

(01:10:40):
to see trust me out the first year and that's
on them. That's right, Yeah, it's you know, but it's
I shall make it in shout out to Timothy Ann.
Yes her name is Timothy Ann no ebony, because you're
gonna be in the smith sound Oh my god, anywhere

(01:11:11):
talk besides besides singing on a rap hook and see
if we can make that happen. What are some of
your other bucket listing like, like do you still get
an itching to do sports commentary? And you know, I
always tell the local sports guy in Charleston that when
I retired, he just he's just holding my seat for me.

(01:11:33):
And he hates when I say that. But I might
do that when I But like musically, I mean, I'm
still so far above where I thought that i'd ever be.
There's really not much else that I want to do.
Really yeah, I mean, I'm just I'm having a blast
where I am. For I'd like to do this for
four or five more years. If it's you know, but
I want to be relevant, if it's over. You know,

(01:11:54):
I'll still touring everything, but I'm not gonna, you know,
forcing anybody's throat or anything like that. Is there such
thing as retirement, I don't think it. I think retirement
means you just play, if you can stop and just
let the checks come in or whatever. I don't know.
I don't know what the residual game is like as

(01:12:16):
far as like songs being licensed. You guys, I hate
to admit that. Have I mentioned the Friends thing already? Oh? God? Okay, yeah,
I fell down you guys are in one episode, okay, earlier,
earlier this summer when I took the one vacation I
ever take a year. Um Alan Yang of Masters of None,

(01:12:40):
Um Master of None fame with a season Sorry directed
a jay Z video in which they perfectly mirrored a
Friends episode, but Nerd asked me had to watch both
episodes to see if they had it cut for cut,
And then somehow I may or may not have watched
all two. I fell down a vicious rabbit, Friends rabbit.

(01:13:05):
I don't know why I did it. I had nothing
to do. I was in Chef Gordon's backyard and you know,
just literally every day I watched season for season for seasons.
So I know that there's a hoodie song in there,
but as far as like licensing songs for movies and
those things and commercials and that stuff, like, it's still
it's still pretty good. It's yeah, it's one able to

(01:13:27):
retire and not have to Yeah, you say no to that.
Not family members are like, yeah, I could. I could
retire right I could retire right now and live a
pretty good life. Ain't looking at you. I'm not gonna
rob you, Darius. I was just looking. Oh man, I

(01:13:50):
thank you very much for coming on our show. We
appreciate it. Congratulations on his ran new album as well.
To wait, you watch episodes of It's two six, I've
only seen one. That's only seen one. I'm a completest man.
You know it. This's not gonna go well. He's one

(01:14:19):
reason why somebody would watch all those episodes of Friends.
What's that they have no real friends? The whole show.
Way to Go, Way to Go. So what are your
plans with the new album? Are you going to tour?
What are you going to tour next year? We're gonna
do a few shows here at the end of the year,
and then I'll probably take November December off and going

(01:14:41):
to Australia, I think at the end of February March
a while to go to Europe for a minute, then
come and do the States. Didn't you play the Apollo recently?
I heard about that Thursday Night? Was that? What was
it like for you? That's like Ebony magazine When we
were kids. You guys know, when we were kids, we
didn't talk about the Garden. We didn't talk about the
collegeyum and called me. We about playing the Apollo, and

(01:15:01):
I always wanted to play the Pollo. When they had
the show Showtime at Apollo, who you got to play
on the stage. We played two songs on Showtime at
the Apollo. Second record we played. They played the TV
show Showtime at the Apollo. How did that come out?
What was that like? It was? It was a little different,

(01:15:23):
you know, Oh yeah, I was runk um. But Thursday night,
Thursday Night, we set a record for white people in
the Apollo. Yeah, and it was it was it was
metallic had it was awesome? That's true. Yeah, they played
the Apollo. McCartney played the Apolo too, so they probably
had us. We probably even would probably, but it was

(01:15:45):
it was greater than I ever thought it was. It
was such a great show and be on that stage
and we like broke out some Temptation songs and all
that stuff. It was. It was nice, man, it was great. Yeah.
Do you mix up the repertoire of songs you like
to cover in your show? It always because I was
I still love covers. I'm a cover band singer. I mean,
so we'll break out like we break we do this

(01:16:06):
thing where we do uh Garth Brooks uh friends of
No Places right in the No Dignity. It's I mean
back to back. It's crazy to bring up my Garth
Brooks analogy. What your R and B record Chris Gaines, right,
remember that Chris Gaines Records. Yeah, actually thought that we

(01:16:29):
don't concept my stuff like I thought it was a
good concept. I did not think of it. Sorry, think
about it at home. But I think he definitely got
more traction. No, yeah, definitely definitely definitely. Garth kind of
ran screaming after that failed, So you know, it's weird.
I think when he came on our show, was supposed

(01:16:51):
to come on this show. One of his one of
Garth's uh the Internet songs, like the extra songs that
we do on this show? Was supposed you from that?
Uh what was the name of his? Chris? Do you
have country friends with all those Yeah, that's the one

(01:17:13):
thing about the community I got on my record. I
got Luke, Brian, Jason Aldean all one on the same song.
Oh yeah, those are my boys. Yeah. Question about the
country music industry, I have a pretty good idea of
what most people's grapes are with within the R and
B and hip hop industry. What do you not like

(01:17:33):
about the country music industry? Radio is so slow, Like
right now on radio is in such a slow burn
with songs, and it takes if you're not one of
the five big ones, it could take thirty weeks for
your for your song to go up to charts and
hit number. I think my last number one took like
forty weeks. Is it? Is it the same system as

(01:17:55):
so with hip hop and a lot of clear channel
uh related stuff. Songs are added way ahead of time,
so you know, like if you're taking Beyonce's newest song
that hasn't come out yet, they'll pre program it. Wait,
you know weeks ahead of time? Is it? Is it

(01:18:16):
more moment? Because I know that you know with a
lot of the record sales, Like you know, Walmart plays
a bit like they're still buying physical copies. Is radio
still to fifteen years behind as far as ads and
as far as the country world is, Yeah, it's still
they they you know, they added and you know, you

(01:18:37):
get you're the most added the song of the week,
and you still don't make the top forty. You want
to make the top fifty, you know, just because you're
getting spent. You're getting spun at three in the morning
and four in the morning, five and morning, and then
it's a slow build. They just want to build and
they want to build, and I don't know, it's just
the way it is. I don't know why it's like that.
And it's like that for everybody. Tell us with too,
because I'm wondering. I was like, Taylor is the unicorn

(01:18:58):
and doesn't even do country. She doesn't count, just like
Kenny Rogers. Well no, even then, Kenny Rogers, you still
get played on. Let me, don't Scooby do me yet? No,
just me And that she's more pop you big with
us than I thought in the country. Um so I'm

(01:19:21):
saying that, you know, are you chilling with like uh,
Casey musk Graves or yeah, absolutely, I mean Chris Stapleton. Yeah, Chris,
Chris and I've written to three of my number ones together. Yeah,
the real deal. He's a real deal. This is how
good he is, because I was like, every time he performs, man,

(01:19:43):
we're always like damn he he got us again, Like, dude,
this is how good he is. When we write a song,
he can't sing the demo because he's singing the demo
to one of my number ones And I wasn't gonna
cut it because because they're so freaking good. I kept
slaying my produce. I have you seen Christa you would

(01:20:04):
you would be a Chris Stapleton. Stand what you married? Chris?
Dolly Kenny out? Just no, I mean like you he yeah,
he must be cute. I would want Chris Stapleton on
the Roots album, Like that's how good he is. Yeah,
but Dari's record FIRS because you already told him that
job was gonna do. Yeah, we already got that. But

(01:20:28):
I'm just saying that's how dope he is. Like he's listening.
I was trying to look under the hood to see,
you know, what was there, and you know, but it's
he's the real deal man, and Chris is doing it
without radio play. Chris is never I don't think Chris
has ever had a record the top ten and he's
got the number one selling record. Wait, how's he killing Yeah,

(01:20:49):
I don't know he's killing them because people know it's
real to go into shows and everything. I don't think
Chris has never had a record and to so he's
like too short. Maybe catching up in that way though,
Like there's a lot of people you progressive, Like that's
what I mean. I like him, so that's how progressive
he is. Yeah, he's great, he's a real deal. He's
just he's off the chain. So, man, have you ever

(01:21:10):
seen gone to a club and seen another black person
same country. I'm trying to see who's after. Darius Brown's
got a number one right now, his his records number
one this week, Kane Brown. And there's a couple other
young ladies that are coming that are coming up that
are trying to Mickey guyton is one trying to get
a foothold, just you know, trying to get a hit.

(01:21:30):
And uh, there's there's a few I think me coming
over and having success. I'm not gonna say open doors,
but that that that a and our person who would
have looked at the CD and so is a black
person to throw it in the trash probably gives it
a listen now and and so there's there's guy's coming along.
There's a black hockey player now too. There's a lot
of we're taking over hockey. There's like fourteen of US

(01:21:50):
and hockey. There's a black hockey goalie. To have you
ever seen that? That's the ultimate anomaly that exists? How
could you say that? With Grant Fewer was one of
the greatest ever? That's true. Now we go super deep
at college football right now. If you want to be good,

(01:22:12):
like you want to go man, gamecock is not doing
so well this year. We're four, we're five and two again,
they'll just give it up. I come from an Auburn
My ex wife the same one who's from Alabama, she
is an Auburn fan. And it be as a Jewish
kid from Long Island. You don't know what that's like
until you get there, and it's fucking insane. Absolutely sanity

(01:22:36):
absolutely said why is this such a religion? Though? Because
they don't there's nothing else. There's nothing else, there's no
pro teams. I mean there's proteins in the area. Like
we got the Falcons and we got Charlotte. But like
and and and. The thing is when you go to
school for four or five years, you you're invested in it.
And when your football team is I mean, football is
everything in the Southeast. Everything Saturday stops. Saturday stops like

(01:23:02):
my tailgate spot. It was one of the few things
I've spursed. Ones have so much money on this tailgate spot.
But for me, it's like I want to go be
able to tailgate without people bothering, without people. I mean,
my friends are there, so wa isn't that out just
tailgate spots on the outside. You know, you got a
la Then I got me a big old it's called

(01:23:24):
I got a big old caboose. Let's been there over tailgated.
It's awesome. And we get there four hours before the game.
By game time hammered Darius questions, drink a choice. I
drink beer, but I like to drink. I'm a whiskey drinker.
I got my own whiskey out now backstage. Whiskey If
any of your drinking back, if you heard, yeah, it's

(01:23:48):
pretty good. Next time, you know, I'll bring you a bottle. Wait,
we're all pulling our whiskey right now. I'm making whiskey notes,
not even two pm in the right like me six. Eventually. Yes,
we will show up unannounced at your house any time.
You're welcome anytime oft in Charleston. Um well, I thank

(01:24:12):
you very much for coming on our show today, ladies
and gentlemen, Darius or thank you on having Sugar Steve
unpaid and Boss Bill. It's like Eah and the newly
nuptial Fontagelo. This is quest love sign and all of
course Love Supreme will see you on the next score round.
Thank you. What's Love Supreme is a production of I

(01:24:37):
Heart Radio. This classic episode was produced by the team
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