Tommy Richman has become one of the many recent names to find himself in the headlines constantly, whether that be for something good or bad. Fans recently had mixed reviews for the new snippet he dropped, especially since he denounced being a “solely Hip-Hop” artist months ago.
On Wednesday (Jan. 30), the 24-year-old shared a video on X and Instagram of two women singing into a camera while his track plays in the background. While the Woodbridge, Va., artist utilized his layered, chorus-like vocals, the production on the record was reminiscent of early Soulja Boy work like “Crank That,” “Marco Polo,” and more.
“Ni**a knows how to make a hit,” one fan wrote in his Instagram comments. “A bop!” another fan wrote. There were several fire emojis and requests for Richman to drop the song as soon as possible. However, some other people were quick to recall his controversial comments toward the end of 2024.
“This the same dude that said ‘I am not Hip Hop,’” one user wrote. “I can’t deny this sounds like a slap but he’s playing directly in our face.” Another user said, “Same dude that said he wasn’t hip hop…..I’m confused.” One fan even caught the Soulja Boy similarities and quoted the lyrics to “Crank That” in Tommy Richman’s comment section.
X users were even more direct and venomous toward the Coyote artist. “Sounds very hip-hop inspired by someone who said ‘they not hip-hop,’” one of the top-liked replies read. “I guess them TikTok checks started drying up.” Another listener doesn’t think he should drop the song at all, writing, “Don’t waste that beat let someone else get it.” For one user, Richman is just reinventing the wheel: “Nice sounds like the other 10 songs you dropped.”
While he may not be some fan’s cup of tea, the resounding theme here is that he would have a lot more goodwill if he hadn’t seemingly denounced Hip-Hop back in October. DJ Hed announced the mix for his upcoming radio show, which included Richman’s multi-platinum breakthrough hit “Million Dollar Baby.” The ISO Supremacy signee responded by tweeting, “I’m not a Hip-Hop artist,” which he soon deleted afterward.
DJ Hed promptly removed Tommy Richman’s record from his mix and requested songs from artists who were “proud to be Hip-Hop.” After receiving backlash from social media users and music industry figures, Richman quoted Hed and wrote, “I’ll say again, Im thankful for everything. I’m saying I don’t wanna be boxed in. I grew up on hip hop. But I’m a singer.” He later added that he meant to say he wasn’t “SOLELY a Hip-Hop artist.”
While the follow-up made his point less disrespectful in some eyes, the damage was already done and this will likely continue to get brought up every time he puts out something new. It didn’t help his case that his records were submitted for the Hip-Hop categories at the Grammys, but fans got a good laugh out of him being completely shut out from nominations. Nonetheless, there is seemingly an audience out there ready for him to continue dropping and willing to overlook his blunder.
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