Darius Rucker has made it clear that his heart will never leave the Carolinas. However, sometimes a change of scenery is necessary to jolt the creative senses back to life. That’s exactly what the “Wagon Wheel” singer hoped for when he announced his move from Nashville to London last year. During a recent interview with Holler, Rucker, 59, opened up about what effect his new home might have on his next album, a follow-up to 2023’s much-lauded Carolyn’s Boy.
Despite leaving the birthplace of country music behind for now, Darius Rucker insists that his forthcoming project is “definitely a country record.” The CMA Award-winning artist enlisted the help of British songwriters like James Blunt, The Nocturns, and Wayne Hector for his ninth solo album.
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“You know, writing over here with these guys, we were writing about different things, and even when we’re writing about the same thing as we would in Nashville, we’re writing about it in different ways — because British people are just different,” Rucker said. “When you’re raised in a different culture, in a different country, you see things differently.”
Darius Rucker Teams Up With BigXthaPlug
Recently, Darius Rucker became the latest country artist to join forces with BigXthaPlug, an emerging rapper from Dallas. Released Aug. 22, his latest album, I Hope You’re Happy, also includes appearances from Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, and Thomas Rhett.
Rucker lends his vocals to the bluesy title track, which was co-written by Chris Stapleton. In fact, it was Stapleton’s voice on the demo that convinced the “Beers and Sunshine” singer to take up the “Texas” rapper on his offer.
“It was so good, and they asked me to do it. I told them, ‘If you don’t like it, don’t use it!’” Darius Rucker told Holler. “We went in, and I tried to make it my own. It’s just really cool to get to sing a little blues thing, then X has these great lyrics.”
[RELATED: BigXthaPlug Reveals Why Morgan Wallen Doesn’t Appear on His Country-Inspired Album]
Before his hip-hop career took off, BigXthaPlug admits he “never listened to country music in my life.” But as his star began to rise, some of country’s biggest names, including Morgan Wallen and Jelly Roll, revealed themselves as superfans.
“So many people from the country world said they f–ked with me and wanted to do something with me,” the 27-year-old rapper told Billboard.
Featured image by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images
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