in Japan, May 2004 In 2001, he made his solo
R&B debut album,
The Return of Mongo Slade, for Atlantic Records. Because of contractual changes, it was never released by the label.
Hidden Beach Recordings, an independent label, acquired the masters from Atlantic and released the album as
Back to Then in July 2002. The single "This Is My World" was featured in the 2001 comedy film
Shallow Hal. In regards to the album, "That was just a minute in my life," he later told
The Arizona Republic about the record. "I was listening to a lot of
Notorious B.I.G. and
Lauryn Hill at that time, and I wanted to make a
neo soul record." He also said in the article that he doesn't anticipate recording an R&B-styled disc again. "Country music is my day job now. I'll probably do this till it's all over, but that album was a lot of fun." He also portrayed a
singing cowboy in a television commercial for the fast-food company
Burger King, promoting its
TenderCrisp Bacon Cheddar Ranch sandwich in 2005. In the commercial, he sang a jingle set to the tune of "
The Big Rock Candy Mountains". In 2006 Rucker lent his voice to the track "
God's Reasons" written by
Dean Dinning and
Joel A. Miller for the film
The Still Life.
Country music 2008–2009: Learn to Live In early 2008, Rucker signed to
Capitol Records Nashville to start his career in country music. His first solo single, "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" (which he co-wrote with
Clay Mills) debuted at No. 51 on the
Billboard Hot Country Songs charts for the week of May 3, 2008. It is the first single from his second album,
Learn to Live. For this album, Rucker worked with
Frank Rogers, a
record producer who has also produced for
Brad Paisley and
Trace Adkins. Rucker also made his
Grand Ole Opry debut in July 2008. The single reached number one in September, making Rucker the first solo, African-American artist to chart a number one country hit since Charley Pride's "
Night Games" in 1983.
Learn to Live was certified gold by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on February 6, 2009, and received a platinum certification on August 7, 2009. The album's second single, "
It Won't Be Like This for Long", spent three weeks at the top of the country chart in mid-2009. Its follow-up, "
Alright", became Rucker's third straight No. 1 hit, making him the first singer to have his first three country singles reach No. 1 since
Wynonna in 1992. The album's fourth single, "
History in the Making" was released in September and peaked at No. 3. The singles also crossed over to the
Billboard Hot 100, peaking at 35, 36, 30 and 61.
Billboard magazine said that "there's a sense of purpose that makes Rucker feel like a member of the country family, rather than calculating interloper." Rucker made visits to various country stations around the United States, explaining that he was aware that he was the "new kid on the block." Mike Culotta, the program director of
Tampa, Florida, radio station
WQYK-FM expected that Rucker would be "somebody who would have entitlement," but instead said that "Darius engaged everybody." When Rucker found that "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" went to number one, he cried. On November 11, 2009, Rucker won the
Country Music Association New Artist of the Year award (formerly known as the Horizon Award), making him the first African American to do so since the award was introduced in 1981. Only one other African American has won at the CMAs: Charley Pride, who won entertainer of the year in 1971 and male vocalist in 1971 and 1972.
2010–2011: Charleston, SC 1966 Rucker released his second country album,
Charleston, SC 1966, on October 12, 2010. The title is inspired by
Radney Foster's solo debut album,
Del Rio, TX 1959. Its first single was "
Come Back Song," which Rucker wrote with
Chris Stapleton and
Casey Beathard. It was his fourth country number one as well as a No. 37 hit on the Hot 100. Rucker wrote it with Rogers and
Kara DioGuardi. "
I Got Nothin'" was the album's third single, peaking at No. 18. Also included on the album is a duet with
Brad Paisley titled "I Don't Care".
Charleston, SC 1966 received a gold certification.
2012–2014: True Believers On May 20, 2011, Rucker delivered the commencement address to the graduating class of the Medical University of South Carolina. On December 14, 2011, CBSnews.com reported that Rucker was working on a third country album with recording set to begin January 2012 followed by the release of the album early in the year. "True Believers" peaked at No. 18. Its second single is a cover of
Bob Dylan and
Ketch Secor's "
Wagon Wheel" (previously made famous by
Old Crow Medicine Show), featuring backing vocals from
Lady Antebellum. "Wagon Wheel" reached No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart in May 2013.
True Believers was released on May 21, 2013. The album's third single, "
Radio", was released to country radio on July 22, 2013. The album's fourth single, "Miss You", was released to country radio on February 3, 2014. On October 2, 2012, Rucker was invited to join the
Grand Ole Opry. Halfway through his set at the Opry that night he answered questions from the audience which included a question from
Brad Paisley. Paisley said: "I have two questions. One, are you still the worst poker player in the world? And two, would you like to become the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry?" Rucker accepted, and it became official on October 16. Rucker was a featured performer at the
C2C: Country to Country festival in
London on March 17, 2013, which was headlined by
Carrie Underwood. On News Year's Day 2013. he sang the
national anthem at the
Outback Bowl in
Tampa,
Florida. On May 11, 2013, Rucker was the speaker at the commencement ceremony for the
University of South Carolina in
Columbia. Before his speech, he received an honorary doctorate of music. Rucker also sang the national anthem at the NBA finals on June 16, 2013. On December 6, 2013, it was announced that Rucker's version of "Wagon Wheel" had earned him a nomination for
Best Country Solo Performance for the
56th Annual Grammy Awards. At the awards ceremony on January 26, 2014, Rucker won, becoming only the third
African American recording act (the first being
Charley Pride, the second being
The Pointer Sisters) to win a vocal performance Grammy Award in a country music category.
2014–2015: Southern Style and Home for the Holidays On August 25, 2014, Rucker released a new single titled "
Homegrown Honey" to country radio and to digital retailers. It served as the lead single to his fourth country studio album,
Southern Style, released on March 31, 2015. It reached No. 2 on the Country Airplay chart in April 2015. The album's second single, the title track, released to country radio on May 4, 2015. On September 15, 2014, it was announced that Rucker had completed his first Christmas album and that it would be released on October 27, 2014. Included is a collaboration with
Sheryl Crow on "
Baby, It's Cold Outside". May 30, 2015, Rucker headlined Philadelphia's famous XTU 31st Anniversary Show at the Susquehanna Bank Center. Christopher Bousquet named President of the Hootie fan club Rucker makes an appearance on
Sister Hazel's 2016 album,
Lighter in the Dark.
2016–present: When Was the Last Time and ''Carolyn's Boy'' On January 6, 2016, Rucker announced that he was working on his fifth country album. The album's lead single, "If I Told You", was released to country radio on July 5, 2016. It reached number one in the Country Airplay chart nearly a year later, and peaked at number four on the Hot Country Chart. Rucker also returned to the
C2C: Country to Country festival in the UK in March 2017, where he was second on the bill to
Reba McEntire. On May 29, 2016, Rucker performed the national anthem prior to the
100th running of the Indianapolis 500. Rucker also performed the national anthem for a game between the
Buffalo Bills and the
New York Jets on September 15. Rucker agreed to perform the song at the behest of personal friend and former Bills player
Bruce Smith, whose jersey was being retired that night. He sang the national anthem again ahead of the
Saints-Dolphins game held at
London's
Wembley Stadium in October 2017, as part of the
NFL International Series. Rucker was selected as one of 30 artists to perform on "
Forever Country", a mash-up track of "
Take Me Home, Country Roads", "
On the Road Again" and "
I Will Always Love You", which celebrates 50 years of the
CMA Awards. On July 24, 2017, Rucker released the second single from his upcoming album, titled "For the First Time." On July 26, 2017, he shared details of his fifth country album, titled
When Was the Last Time and it was released on October 20, 2017. Rucker appeared as a mentor on
seventeenth season of
The Voice for
Team Blake. Rucker released Beers and Sunshine in August 2020 under Capitol Records, and released a "summer mix" version of the song in 2021. In 2021, Rucker contributed a cover of the Metallica song "
Nothing Else Matters" to the charity tribute album
The Metallica Blacklist. Rucker released a new single titled "Same Beer Different Problems" in April 2022. Later in the year, he confirmed that he would be releasing a new album which would feature a collaboration with
Chapel Hart. Rucker subsequently announced that his seventh solo album, ''
Carolyn's Boy'', named after his mother, would be released in 2023. He featured on the single "
To Be a Man" by
Dax in October 2023. On September 26, 2025 Rucker performed, at the
Royal Albert Hall in London, to celebrate Opry 100, alongside
Luke Combs,
Carly Pearce,
Ashley McBryde and
Marty Stuart. In 2025, Rucker,
R.E.M. (band) guitarist
Mike Mills, and drummer
Steve Gorman of the
Black Crowes formed a supergroup called Howl Owl Howl, releasing the single "My Cologne." ==Golf==