QLS Classic: Darius Rucker

Published Aug 26, 2024, 4:01 AM

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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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 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 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, 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, 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 Primo roll calm so prema sub premo road call. Forgot boss Bill's name? Yeah, I forgive you second road call 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 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 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, 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? 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 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 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 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, 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 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, 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 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 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. 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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. 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 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 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. 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, 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. 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 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 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. 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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? 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 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 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 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, 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 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 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 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 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, 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 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. 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 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 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 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 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, 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. 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 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, 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 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. 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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, 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 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. 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. 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. 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 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. 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 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. 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? 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 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 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? 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 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 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 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 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, 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, 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, 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, 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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? 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 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 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, 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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. 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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, 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 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 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 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? 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 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, 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 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. 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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, 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 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? 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 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, 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, 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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, 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. 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, 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, 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 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? 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, 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 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 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 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 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 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. 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 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. 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 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. 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 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 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 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 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. 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, 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 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, 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. 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 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 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 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 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 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, 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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, 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 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 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, 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 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. 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 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, 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 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 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 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 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 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 Heart Radio. This classic episode was produced by the team at Pandora. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

Questlove Supreme

Questlove Supreme is a fun, irreverent and educational weekly podcast that digs deep into the storie 
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