94年全美排行冠军大碟《Cracked Rear View》让Hootie & The Blowfish成为震天响的知名乐队，800万张的销售数字缔造史上最佳首张专辑销售的纪录，连同96年的冠军专辑《Fairweather Johnson》与98年TOP 4作品《Musical Chairs》，全球超过2000万乐迷都听过这支流行队伍中唯一的黑人歌手Darius Rucker那饶富灵魂乐色彩的歌声，尽管当时乐评推崇他是这支荣获葛莱美奖最佳新进艺人奖乐队横扫乐坛的动力所在，但众人却只流于他身处白人乐队的浮面印象，2002年首张个人专辑《Back To Then》，Darius Rucker要让大家对这副唱过《Only Wanna Be With You》、《Let Her Cry》这些TOP 10单曲的嗓子留下深刻的记忆，《Back To Then》发行首周空降Billboard热门潜力榜(Heatseekers)冠军王座的优异表现将焦点拉回他的歌声，也实践了他多年来努力做好一张节奏蓝调／灵魂乐专辑的梦想。 南卡罗来纳州Charleston的童年记忆，客厅中哼着Gladys Knight、Otis Redding、Al Green等节奏蓝调前辈歌曲的美好岁月，Darius Rucker经常不由自主的听歌厅到泪儿流，说唱传奇The Notorious B.I.G.的唱作风采也对Darius的歌唱抱负深具激励，89年与南卡罗来纳大学同窗Mark Bryan、Dean Felber、Jim Sonefeld组成Hootie & The Blowfish，经过十多年的乐队生涯后，Darius趁着与好友合作第4张专辑的空档，个人大碟《Back To Then》终于应运而生。诚如标题名称一样，Darius透过歌声追溯自己的节奏蓝调音乐成长历练，将放克节拍的活力彩度、蓝调音感、福音音乐圣洁的味道与节奏蓝调鲜嫩搅拌，并邀集80年代中后期曾与Will Smith组成DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince的DJ Jazzy Jeff为首的费城制作小组A Touch Of Jazz(Jill Scott处女作幕后制作)掌舵制作。 《Wild One》出自2001年以TOP 8单曲《What Would You Do》走红的葛莱美奖提名乐队City High队员Ryan Toby之笔，Darius在歌声中道出闯荡乐坛的不受羁绊的自在心情；2001年葛莱美奖最佳新进艺人提名的灵魂乐女歌手Jill Scott倾情对唱的《Sometimes I Wonder》柔缓烘调灵魂恋歌的动人意境;与Jill Scott同样来自灵魂乐园地-费城的真情才子Musiq担任合声与编曲的《Exodus》字里行间流露依偎厮守真情，犹如一篇温煦的爱情誓言；Darius并透过重唱灵魂乐传奇Al Green 74年名作《I'm Glad You're Mine》告慰天上的母亲；曾在《Let Her Cry》担任合声的女歌手Lil' Mo合唱的《10 Years》则是首心碎的爱恋告白衷曲；说唱名嘴Snoop Dogg助阵的《Sleeping In My Bed》显见Darius对说唱乐的涉猎。
by MacKenzie Wilson
As part of Hootie & the Blowfish, Darius Rucker changed the face of mainstream pop music in the mid-'90s. Hootie & the Blowfish's blues-rock jams were infectiously fun and singles like "Hold My Hand" and "Only Wanna Be With You" propelled the band to sell nearly 20-million albums worldwide. After Hootie & the Blowfish released Musical Chairs in 1998, they took a break from recording and the road. Rucker used him time wisely and started a solo career.
Born and raised in Charleston, SC, he was fed the sounds of Otis Redding, Al Green, and Gladys Knight at an early age. His R&B influences urged him to find his soul. He did with his debut album, The Return of Mongo Slade. The album was slated for a summer 2001 release with Atlantic, but it never saw the light of day because of contractual changes. A few months later, Rucker signed with Hidden Beach Recordings. He also made a cameo in the Farrelly brothers' comedy Shallow Hal. By spring 2002, Rucker was ready to introduce his mellow, R&B style. He hooked up with Jill Scott, Snoop Dogg, Musiq, and City High's Ryan Toby for the crazy-sexy-cool Back to Then, released in July 2002.