Darius Rucker He famously pivoted to country music in 2008, and the musician shares his thoughts on the subject Beyonce Making her debut with Cowboy Carter.
“I'm happy for her. I'm kind of happy,” Rucker, 57, told EXCLUSIVELY Us Weekly While promoting his memoir and upcoming tour. “The eyes I brought to country music have gone up, and that's always a good thing when you have more people watching country music.”
The Hootie and the Blowfish frontman added: “I hope what I did translates[s] Even more than it already is, more people of color are enjoying country music.
Beyoncé, 42, made history as the first black woman to top the Hot Country Songs chart with the album's lead single, “Texas Hold 'Em.” Cowboy Carterwhich she released on March 29, quickly topped the charts, becoming Beyoncé's eighth No. 1 album. The Grammy-winning star paid tribute to black women in country music and country history in general throughout the record, with a slew of star-studded features as well as historical samples and interpolations.
Notably, “Spaghettii” and “The Linda Martell Show” include cameos from Linda Martellwidely considered the first commercially successful black female country artist.
Darius Rucker, Beyoncé
Tiprina Hobson/Getty Images (2); Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood“I feel proud to be the first black woman to have a #1 song on the Hot Country Songs chart. This wouldn’t have happened without the outpouring of support from each and every one of you,” Beyoncé wrote via Twitter. Instagram in March. “I hope that years from now, mentioning an artist's race, in relation to releasing genres of music, will no longer be relevant.”
Rucker is also a country music pioneer and advocate for people of color in the genre. After quitting his band Hootie and the Blowfish and signing with Capitol Nashville in 2008, he made his country debut with Learn how to live. The following year, Rucker became the first black American to win New Artist of the Year at the Country Music Awards, and only the second black person to win a CMA Award.
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He broke records again when he won a Grammy Award for Best Country Solo Performance in 2014 for “Wagon Wheel,” becoming the third black recording act to win a Grammy Award for Country Music Vocal Performance.
Rucker still moves back and forth between genres. After he finishes European concerts for his solo music, he will reunite with Hootie and the Blowfish for his own music. Summer camp with truck tour, which launches on May 30 in Texas. The band's summer tour begins immediately after Rucker's memoir. Life is too shorthits bookstores May 28.
With reporting by Leanne Aciz Stanton
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