Tommy Richman doesn't want to be "Hip Hop"....are you Surprised?

[@absoluteplum2725]

I understand not wanting to be pigeonholed as an artist, but I do not understand why one would feel the need to publicly distance themself from their influences. It makes them look more like a fraud rather than an artist who is genuinely experimenting and working on their sound. Odd.

[@BrothaNamProductions]

Exactly

[@professorskye]

I love that you "go back" to the past, but instead of doing the traditional Elvis thing, you went to Pink, which is way more relevant. Great video.

[@saewutséhuh]

@@professorskye right!?! I never saw those interviews.

[@BlueBeetle1939]

Poor bobby Caldwell just wanted to sing

[@rosemaryschild]

Nigga I see you everyone. Good taste fr

[@KoreaMojo]

Bobby Caldwell was such a treasure musically.

[@dannydamnmendez]

Idc what anyone says, Bobby Caldwell was a smooth mf no matter what color he was. Same could be said for Michael McDonald, who very much leaned into his black influences and still respects them to this day

[@FunkyGibbonTonka]

"I keep forgetting we're not in love anymore, I keep forgetting things will never be the same again." Absolutely infectious. A lot of these Soft/Yacht Rock guys had genuine relationships with their fellow black musicians.

[@GroovyFlacko]

It’s sad how inviting we are in hip hop when it comes to all races, but country and the CMT awards refused to gives Lil Nas X or Beyoncé any credit and continue to gate keep. Even Hootie and the blowfish had their fair share of combating racism solely because of the one black man in the group. Meanwhile we’ll hype up post Malone, Tommy rich man, and even Hannah Montana😤

[@LucciClubStudios]

I guess you never heard of shaboozey

[@samv6767]

Shaboozey took home New Artist of 2024 at the People's Choice Country Awards

[@wildsidedetroit]

Nobody's hyping up Post Malone Tommy Richman or Hannah Montana in real life. Stop it

[@saewutséhuh]

@@LucciClubStudios but have you heard of the other 6 black country music artist who are his contemporaries?

[@badboygoodgirl]

they can’t stop Shaboozey tho!!!

[@jackiguess]

5:17 "and black artists in white genres are honestly completely overlooked by wider white audiences" so often, i see people say that "we need a new black popstar," but we have them! people just aren't looking! bronze avery, that kid, ryl0, vincint, madison rose, and these are just the black pop musicians i've come across!

[@esmooth919]

I think I can blame the way Pink was marketed during her first album on a black man by the name of LA Reid, who's not exactly a nice man, last time I checked. Pink even called him out on her second album: "LA told me, 'you'll be a pop star. All you have to change is *_everything you are.'"_*

[@BoinkadelicJones]

Great video as always. I really liked how you put this video together. I like how you slowly built your case with real world examples, while also explaining the reason succintly as to why this ruffles feathers. Keep it up, can't wait for the next upload

[@FatCharlie215]

Glad you enjoyed it! please like, and share with anyone you think may like it.

[@Quandryification]

Mainstream rap or "hiphop" reached the "hair band" phase that metal reached in the 80's. don't have to be talented or authentic just have to have the look and one decent pop version of that genre to be big....and being white never hurts.

[@FatCharlie215]

big facts

[@zaicustis]

@@FatCharlie215 Tommy Richman submitted his song for best “rap song,” this video is aging like wine already

[@swagonometry9893]

Just gotta bank on that kurt cobain, or Nirvana type that shakes the industry to its core. Like, the moment Nirvana hit their stride hair metal or that style of rock just died. One day we'll get that again.

[@esmooth919]

8:58 At least Eminem is self-aware in this regard, as he's made fun of himself for this many times. He still has my respect, because he *_always_* acknowledges that his biggest hip hop influences are all black people, including Rakim and Big Daddy Kane. This is also why JoJo has my respect. At least they love their craft and give credit where credit is due, unlike a lot of other culture vultures.

[@applejellypucci]

Even Phyllis Hyman covered Bobby Caldwell, he had great soul cred.

[@mewnboy]

pasty polly pocket 😭😭😭

[@french.toastman]

I'm an old white guy and a hiphop fan since the beginning. All of this. The first rap song to hit #1 was Vanilla Ice. VANILLA ICE. I'm so looking forward to the Renaissance that is coming in hip-hop. White artists have the unique benefit of being cultural chameleons. Thank you.

[@amandasutton4056]

Did you know that Tommy submitted Million Dollar Baby for Best Rap Song and Best Melodic Rap Performance at 2025 Grammys???NFR Podcast tweeted this yesterday. Lol

[@k1llsk]

its not even hip hop tho

[@badboygoodgirl]

the artists don’t submit that stuff. but it certainly represents a disconnect in his perception of his career vs. what is actually happening

[@xant8344]

Taylor swift having 13% black fans in America is honestly way more than I expected. Isn't America also just 15% black?

[@blameitoncapitalism]

it's actually a lot of people. and yeah, it makes sense with the demographics. to me that's percentage doesn't proof anything on his point, and that hate rampage about "polly pocket" was so out of nowhere and not necessary...

[@esmooth919]

I did not know that Post Malone called hip hop shallow, but then again, I don't follow him anyway. Either way, that's effed up

[@ArtBudsTube]

Love your videos and takes! Thank you for putting so much effort into them 🖤🖤🖤

[@maxatrillionfatstacks]

I honestly didn't know Tommy Richman was white, I've only seen clips of the music video and its in black and white so i just assumed he was light skinned. I was fully Bobby Caldwelled 😂 Edit: i meant the album cover not the music video

[@ChiChe555]

Another great video! I’m happy to see fans these things out

[@badboygoodgirl]

Not surprised, but still disappointed.

[@MrGhostTube]

Excellent video. Great presentation of a fundamental topic.

[@blackstarreviews]

Not those flavorless patties on the conveyor belt 😹

[@ffbasspop]

"ALMOST playing up her racial ambiguity"?!?!?!

[@757Princess]

As a child I really thought she was mixed, and I remember the ‘mutt’ comment 😂

[@YouCallThataKnife253]

I just want to remind everyone this isn't a music channel 😉🤫

[@FatCharlie215]

Thats right!

[@757Princess]

Came for the locs, stayed for the lesson

[@badboygoodgirl]

shouts out to the sem fie sem!

[@datboi42]

*Do it baby* *I ain't never rep a set, baby* *Ain't do no wrong* *Don't at me* yeah, *hell nah* You *rep my city* for *so damn long* *I'm at they neck* *I'm runnin' up a check* *I see a bad lil' mama, she a diva* *It don't matter* *What you mean, "I changed"?* They love copying how we talk for their own gain. They love copying our music for their own gain. These are the lyrics I just looked up from Million Dollar Baby. Nothing new with people just using our rhythm. Post Malone all over again. And nobody try and @ me talking about "it’s just Southern." It’s not. Don’t make me have to prove that just because you want to detract and dismiss.

[@LurveCheruB]

Very true, spitting facts but a certain group of people aren’t ready to listen

[@beecareful69]

Still watching obvi but as soon as you said white artists have been doing that for years I immediately thought of blue-eyed soul and Elvis obviously but definitely blue-eyed soul

[@beecareful69]

Eating my breakfast and my food damn near fell out my mouth @people thinking Pink was light skinned!!! Whewww idr that but I fully believe it. Growing up in inner-Chicago MFs def knew she was a ⚪ girl but I never thought about middle America smh

[@yourpststudios]

What's your opinion on Paul Wall? I feel like he's locked into Rap/Hip Hop for life at this point.

[@schoolofschrock]

I feel like the best way for an artist to show they have other influences is through their music. Like Tommy, just make a song that isn't hip hop if you want.

[@thebigoaktree8401]

Order up! Boy didn’t want that smoke.

[@OfteninLondon]

I totally forgot about pink, still loved her first album tho

[@foodiusmaximus]

Ok, ok, ok, but, buuuuuut, culture vulture discussion aside, ‘Million Dollar Baby’ ain’t hip hop or rap and it baffles me that anyone would try to call it that. It’s black music in form no doubt, but it’s closer to being throwback to 80s soul. It’s a full twist in a different direction the way Snoop’s album, ‘Bush’ made deep references to a very specific time and sub genre in RnB while owning the lane it lived in ‘Million Dollar Baby’ reminds me of 80s acts like Cameo, Rene & Angela, Midnight Star, etc

[@WestsideGunnnn]

I specifically hate that rap discourse still eyeballs releases from the sellouts. Like you a rap fan, why are you listening to the Post Malone album anyway?

[@saewutséhuh]

8:25 had to pause. You ain’t wrong but don’t come for my chilli peppers😂😂😅 they’re too versatile to say they capitalized from our culture. They did gain a new audience in their endeavor.

[@FatCharlie215]

im not coming for the peppers im sayin Anthony Kiedis cant sing lol- which is very true

[@saewutséhuh]

@@FatCharlie215 too funny, but that’s why we love him because we all can sing his songs like a rockstar

[@MrBaskins2010]

listen to "last nite" by tommy richman. it literally feels like boyz II men

[@daksh1673]

I was genuinely shocked to find out Tommy Richman was not black.

[@KannaWorks]

Theres no better take than this

[@FunkyGibbonTonka]

Bobby Caldwell is really cool.

[@sarahmcdonald6980]

He’s directly stealing Tommy wright III’s sound

[@bobby4f]

Ppl drop hits and disappear from hip hop all the time(regardless of race or reason).It's called falling off. The challenge at the end of the day is to make a hit song, if you can pull that off i aint mad at ya.

[@sea3272]

wknd at bernie’s @ a trap house 💀🪦

[@SeekTruth28]

I laughed my ass off😂😂😂😂😂

[@k1llsk]

From what ik somewhat from Tommy Richman, he was never hip hop to begin with. I dnt think his a culture vulture, he jus doesnt wanna be boxed in

[@CountryBwoy]

3:07 i would have known that he was white based on that cover alone. 😂

[@SomeOldHeadOnGas]

I’m starting to think record labels just push there white artists in hiphop to distance themselves from hiphop when they start falling off😂 and now overall hiphop artists are getting pushed towards country by labels now because they saw how successful post malone and other artists are in country

[@TrazzyStar]

In the conclusion, you mention holding these artists accountable for profiting from hip hop then dropping it. The idea sounds good, but my first thought is that the people who would be holding these artists accountable are no longer that artists targeted demographic once they sellout. Due to that, it doesn’t seem like the artists would care what their former fans think. Is that too pessimistic an outlook tho?

[@blameitoncapitalism]

Taylor Swift black fan base is 13%.. as a black swiftie, yay, the 13! but also, isn't 13% also the percentage of black people in ya know the United States? I mean it makes sense.

[@FatCharlie215]

..yea, thats not how demographic data works. otherwise that 13% would be reflected across the board

[@yusifudo46]

I don't know man. This video just to me seems like dry hating, but that's just me. I'm aware of all these issues when it comes to white artists using Hip Hop sounds, but this case sounds nothing like what Miley Cyrus or Post Malone did, especially Miley, and I never heard anyone saying Tommy Richman or that Million Dollar Baby were rap tunes like Post Malone had done with his music.

[@samv6767]

Beyonce said herself that the album wasnt country. There aint nothing country about her album. If you wanna talk about black people that do country tho and are succesful at it, talk about Shaboozey. A guy that's like the ying to Post Malone's Yang in the sense that he started with rap, got some recognition, then switched straight to country when he saw that the popular music was switching from rap to country. Dont get me wrong, I ain't calling him a culture vulture, but I can see someone making that argument.

[@samv6767]

And btw Shaboozey took home New Artist of 2024 at the People's Choice Country Awards.

[@e.a4578]

Algo

[@usagiwerd6664]

You know what’s weird I know babe Ruth but I don’t know black baseball stars but I also don’t like baseball

[@xant8344]

Jackie Robinson? But also Hank Aaron is black and was the first one to beat babe Ruth's record for most career home runs. He did it in 1974 and received some death threats for it. He's still at number 2 and the only person above him is Barry bonds who's also black but famously used steroids - though I would argue that it doesn't really detract from his record since he was competing against a bunch of other steroid users too. Tho imo the coolest baseball player ever is satchel Paige. Definitely worth reading about him. Most of his career was before baseball was desegregated but he is a legend

[@usagiwerd6664]

@@xant8344 interesting thanks for the push in the right direction for information and knowledge

[@roastbeefy0weefy]

yurt

[@elefantefresa1059]

Taylors Swifts fanbase demographics is suuuuper close to the United States demographics (also 75% white, 13% black, and about 6% asian), so I feel like the statement that Taylor Swift only caters to white women is kinda misleading lol 5:44

[@xant8344]

The USA is 60% white and 13% black. But also that survey only had 400 replies. A more interesting survey would poll random Americans and ask them both their race and whether they're a fan of Taylor swift

[@badguymonologue]

​@@xant8344No, blacks make up about 15% of American citizens.

[@badguymonologue]

And then to call her Pastey Polly Pocket as if she's personally offended him...

[@mfcardinal.]

i like ur videos but the 2hollis statements are kinda misinformed, 2hollis is a hyperpop artist and if you actually look at his whole discography it leans more heavily into the club/edm vibe that hyperpop is now known for than the trap styles of the song used in the example which are in the minority in his current discography

[@mfcardinal.]

jeans, crush, and gold are very far from trap music

[@FatCharlie215]

earliest track on his youtube is distorted mumble staccato with some "yeas" thrown in. Hyper pop is just new age grunge music ( hip hop without a base)

[@ckf36]

⁠@@FatCharlie215Hyperpop does not have roots in hip hop at all. I love this video and the statement you’re making but this is just factually incorrect. Hyperpop used to be just as it sounds, pop music at its most extreme and experimental. (Think Sophie, ag cook, charli xcx.) For some reason around 2020, a bunch of tiktok kids started using the term to describe the type of music you’d hear on there around that time (essentially just melodic trap beats with some glittery synths and distorted bass and heavily processed vocals) which is not at all accurate to what hyperpop really is, or started out as. And of course given the massive popularity of tiktok, the term eventually stuck and most people associate it with those colorful trap beats I described, aka the type of music you’re thinking of. I admire your confidence and bravery in regards to speaking out on the overall topic but you’re just straight up wrong about this definition lol

[@LenaHarnessMusic]

million dollar baby isnt a hiphop song lol

[@CLOempire]

i honestly dont blame him, hip hop has become a very toxic culture and ive distanced myself from it in the same way

[@FatCharlie215]

Distance yourself from my channel

[@Bravetreee]

Let’s keep in mind Tommy isn’t just a White man, but a white man who is also )Ewish and benefits like most )ewish men in the entertainment industry do. He will be successful without hiphop for that exact reason, but time will tell…..loved the video

[@cookingwithsilence]

Really? You think it's bad? Cause me, I think we need one fake rapper for each genre of popular music, like trading cards. So like an MC who secretly aspires to be like the #1 polka artist, and an MC who secretly aspires to be the next piano virtuoso and maybe like an MC who is just really passionate about watercolor painting, that's what real hip hop is all about is wealthy kids from suburbia going triple platinum with bigger fish to fry... ..what about an MC who daylights as an MC but secretly he just wants to make lo fi beats for his accounting friends that he met playing Call of Duty? That would be good....