Read on after the jump!
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Congrats on being a successful country star.
I dont think I would have called that.
[laughs]It feels good.
So I think familiarity had something to do with it.
But I think people can relate to those songs.
Youve all been there.
I wasnt inspired, I waslazy.
you might write a song any time you want.
Most of the songs that made the record, we just sat down and we started talking.
It Wont Be Like This for Long, we just started talking about our kids.
I think thats what makes country music more relatable.
Theres a lot of indie rock with great lyrics, but theyre so obscure.
And in country, its pretty literal.
You are onOprahtoday…[he starts chuckling]That makes me chuckle.
I mean, when we were filming, I was sweatin like a pig.
I was so nervous!
Or your companions on the show?Aw.
I have major respect for Kenny Chesney and Carrie Underwood and Sugarland.
Theyre superstars in the music business.
But Oprah is OPRAH.
And I was gonna get to play a song.
Just wanted to be a success at what I did.
Oprahs the ultimate success.
And to watch her, as an African-American kid trying to make it in a world… Yeah, its interesting to me.
Yes, this is a world youre not supposed to be making it in.
But as far as I can tell, you are not playing that race card.
Other people are playing it for you.Yeah, the thing for me even making the record.
Even playing with Hootie all those years.
I never thought about it.
The only time I ever think about it is when somebody says something to me.
Somebody who just doesnt think I should be doing it, or wants to know why Im doing it.
For me, its just music.
Ever since I was a kid.
I was lost in AM radio and finding music.
It was never about it being white boy music or our music.
It was just about, I like that song.
Being the only African-American whos had a No.
I never thought about that stuff until other people brought it up.
And any time youre mentioned with Charley Pride and Ray Charles, its a positive.
So Im very proud to be that guy.
But its not why I do what I do.
And its not something that I really even want to talk about.
Its not something that I want Capitol to put in the press.
It was just the reality of the situation.
Because who else was doing what Charley Pride was doing?
And thats what gets to me.
I dont think about that stuff!
It cant even be close.
All that other stuff is what everybody else is talking about.
Lets talk about the long-range plan and how country plays into it.
Are you hanging out here temporarily, waiting to go back to Hootie?
I know youve said youre a country singer now.
But honestly, being a country singers my day job.
Thats what I do now.
Thats what Im gonna do.
Thats gonna be the focus of my career.
Hootie and the Blowfish, I know were gonna make another record and do another tour.
We do shows for charities that Im sure well do for years to come.
But I said to country fans, Hey, Im in this for the long haul.
And I mean that.
So you get grouped in with those people, right?Absolutely.
I want to let the music speak for me.
Do any of your old fans hate your new music?Sure.
But no ones come up to me and said they hate it.
I dont think they hate the record, they just hate whats happening.
It must be weird from your perspective, too, to look at record sales.
Its so different now, the music industry.I know!
We sold 16 million records withCracked Rear View.
So the country records only gone gold.
If everybody else sold 2 million and I only sold 500,000, then youd go, Wow.
But when youre selling just as much as other people, its just the game.
Theres nothing you could do about it.
And Im as bad as all those other people.
I was just online buying a bunch of singles.
So how could I get mad at them?
What singles were you just buying?Im making CDs to play at the shows I have by myself.
I bought Randy Travis, Forever and Ever, Amen.
I bought Billy Covington.
Has country helped your golf game?It hasnt hurt it.
Im just dying to play golf with George Strait.
And now youre all in country.Kristian is Im so happy for him, and so proud of him.
Really?Theres no place on pop radio forCracked Rear View.
You tell me where.
AAA, I guess.But AAAs not gonna sell the records that we sold.
That was pop radio.
Were talking about doing what Hootie did.
Tell me where a band like Hootie would fit into pop radio today.
Theres two or three rock bands.
The only place in music for the singer-songwriter right now is country music.
But now youre on this Rascal Flatts tour.
Thats like hair metal circa 1987.
Do you have to step up your onstage game in this genre?Oh yeah.
I just got out of a tour with Brad Paisley, whose show is as big as Flatts.
Brad Paisley and Dierks Bentley.
And I realized the first night that you cant come out here and take a night off.
You gotta run.
I gotta step it up bigtime.
We gonna get you into a headset mic?Dont get crazy.
If theres one thing you’re free to guarantee, Darius will never have a headset on.
Its not for me.
Its not for me.
And you finally have people calling you Darius Rucker instead of Hootie.Yep.
Are you Darius Rucker the country singer?
In 10 years, where do you hope people have you in their minds?
And Im cool with that!
We did special things.
For a little while, we changed music.
Im proud of that, man.
How are you gonna change country radio?Im not.
Im just gonna take a stab at fit in.
[laughs]Im just gonna have a go at fit in.
I think thats the way you change things: You dont try.
Im never trying to change anything.
Thats not for me.
Even people who say Im changing music, what youre doing has already been done.
We just dont remember.
