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About Rufus
Rufus Stephen Barnette, Sr., was born December 31, the last day of the year and last of four Children to Rev. Rufus and Paula Barnette in Columbia, S.C. Rufus now lives next to the house where his late “Granmaw” lived in Blair, S.C. It was here that Rufus was taught the value of family and the meaning of being a real country boy.
Over the span of the last 20 years, Rufus has gained experience singing in multiple groups and multiple genres. Rufus was first noted for playing the drums and singing backup for “The Barnettes”, a band comprised of his three older sisters and himself. After graduating high school, the siblings performed at several major events like Speed Street Charlotte at ImaginOn. Their talent and positive energy resulted in an opportunity that would propel their band into the limelight. “The Barnettes” made it all the way to the House of Blues in Los Angeles, California, after a 6 month tour on the West Coast- and a long ride from the family’s residence in Charlotte, NC.
After the tour, each of the siblings went their own way and chose to focus on their respective careers. Rufus went back to Charlotte, NC. Prior to touring with his siblings, Rufus was torn between a career of music or military. Rufus was known during all the military summer camps from high school JROTC to college ROTC (where he was inducted into the National Society of Pershing Rifles) as the ‘singing soldier’ for his historically strong cadence voice and battalion command. This powerful foundation of discipline, in combination with his lower toned voice, played a key factor in him being recognized by other local artists in the Charlotte, NC area.
Rufus was later introduced to an entertainment company in Charlotte that had strong ties to the West Coast. The
owner/CEO was amazed by Rufus’ ability to sing soul and funk styles and his voices uncanny similarity to the King of G-Funk, the late Nate Dogg (Nathaniel Hale). The company made it their number one priority to get Rufus to the West Coast. Rumors suggested that the great Nate Dogg himself, desired for Rufus to continue his legacy in the industry. Before Rufus could be connected with Nate Dogg to receive his blessings and mentoring, the artist passed away. This proved to be a devastating blow to Rufus as an aspiring artist, as he was never able to make his mark on the industry as the rumored “Prince of G-Funk”. However, Rufus did not allow this set back to destroy his entertainment career, as he was later able to land a guest voice appearance for the hit T.V. show The Boondocks.
Through the years, Rufus never confined himself to one genre, and continued to practice multiple genres. As a result,
he was most successful singing for Walmart after winning the Walmart Associate Talent Search or “WATS”
competition— an international associate talent search against 2.7 million eligible associates worldwide. In 2017 Rufus performed for three shows. His first major show was the annual Walmart Shareholders event where he sang for over 14 thousand people (plus streaming web) in Bentonville, Arkansas. Rufus and several other associates performed the opening act at the meeting, preparing the stage for artists such as Blake Shelton, Mary J. Bilge, Gwen Stefani, The Band Perry, and Neo. Rufus also shared the weekend’s line up with Rascal Flatts, Kevin Hart, and Sheryl Crow. Rufus was called back by Walmart for a second performance with three others to entertain at Walmart’s Holiday event, performing in front of a crowd of about eight thousand patrons in Texas. Walmart then invited Rufus to perform at their Annual National Asset Protection meeting, where he would perform the National Anthem a cappella, and perform solo for a crowd of about four thousand. This was a great year and the momentum Rufus needed to truly push for a second chance at pursuing music as a career. It was also a learning experience that would bring him to terms with, and help him develop the way he writes his music.
Rufus began to consider Country music because of its comforting sound and freedom of humanity. It’s truly the last
genre that promotes life, love, and family as a basis for lyrical content. Rufus worked diligently until he made the
acquaintance of Ms. Joy Jordan-Frazier of Rising Joy Music Group in Nashville Tennessee. Upon recognizing his
talent, she immediately began to prepare to add Rufus to a developmental roster which he was signed to in the summer of 2018. In early 2019, Rufus teamed up with private investors after completing his development to travel to Nashville where he would record his first single “Better Man” under his company Barnette Holdings.
Rufus now embraces Country music as his home genre. He often quotes Darius Rucker as an example of cultural
success alongside Mr. Charlie Pride as history makers by saying- “I’m singing country music, I’m here to stay until y’all kick me out. This is my home, but I’ll still visit my neighboring genres when the opportunity presents itself self— cowboy
hat, boots and all!”
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