Darius Rucker Talks Transitioning from Pop Music to Country: 'I Was Going to Give It All I Had'

Darius Rucker is looking back on his start in the country music genre.

In PEOPLE's exclusive clip from the May 22 premiere episode of Clint Black's upcoming series, Talking in Circles, Rucker sits down with the fellow country star to discuss how he transitioned to country music when he signed to Capitol Records Nashville in 2008.

"We were in a meeting, the very first meeting about the record when i was finishing it up. I said to him, 'What do you do if you're the low guy? What do you do if you're the new guy?' Rucker, 55, recalls to Black, 59. "And they were like, 'Well you do a radio tour. But we didn't think you would do that.' And I said, 'Light it up.' We went to almost every radio station in the country."

"For me it was, if we're gonna do it on this level, I was going to give it all I had," says Rucker. "I knew the best way I could do that was to let everybody that were the people playing the songs to know that I know I'm not anything in this genre. I'm just trying to get on the radio like everybody else. If you play my song, great. If not, hey man we had a beer, it was cool."

"We went around with that attitude, and people liked the song," Rucker recalls of his country single "Don't Think I Don't Think About It," which catapulted the star to becoming the first Black black artist to chart a No. 1 country hit since Charley Pride in 1983.

"And that was really cool," Rucker tells Black.

Talking in Circles with Clint Black Darius Rucker

RELATED: Darius Rucker Was Once Told That People Wouldn't 'Accept a Black Country Singer' By Radio Station

Slaven Vlasic/Getty Darius Rucker

Talking in Circles with Clint Black, which will air on the Circle Network, will feature Black sitting down with a variety of musicians, songwriters and artists. Confirmed guests include Rucker, Brad Paisley, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Rodney Crowell, Keb' Mo, John Rich, Sara Evans, Travis Tritt, Steve Wariner and Trace Adkins.

"Talking in Circles will be a candid artist-to-artist conversation with some of the top entertainers in the business about songwriting, recording, and performing on the road," Black said in a statement. "I'm excited to let people 'overhear' some of the things we artists have to say when we talk shop."

To celebrate the show's launch, the Circle Network will host an exclusive giveaway with various prizes including a complimentary two-night stay in a one-bedroom suite at Nashville's Hutton Hotel plus a pair of show tickets with a $50 food and beverage credit for Analog at Hutton Hotel, the music venue where the series was filmed. There will also be a chance to win items such as Black's famous Cowboy Coffee, two Clint Black Cowboy Coffee mugs and a brand-new guitar signed by Black. Entry into the giveaway is made by texting "CLINT BLACK" to 1-615-395-6903 beginning June 1 through June 30.

Talking in Circles with Clint Black premieres May 22 on the Circle Network.