Joe Budden is still not a fan of Tommy Richman after the singer distanced himself from Hip Hop – and with the release of his latest song snippet, Budden thinks he should simply retire.
On the latest episode of Budden’s eponymous podcast, the New Jersey native and his co-hosts previewed the new song…and there wasn’t a single fan in the room.
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“Aye dog I hate to be the one to break it to you – get this shit the fuck out of here, and get you the fuck out of here,” Budden began. “Don’t try to sneak back in yet. We not done being mad at you. If Daniel Caesar still sitting down somewhere, n-gga you sit down too. And Daniel Caesar got more talent in his pinky than Tommy fucking Richman. I don’t even like that name no more.”
He continued: “I don’t like nothing about Tommy Richman. I think he should retire. But he can’t because some hedge fund n-gga done signed him and keeps dumping money into him so we gotta keep hearing the horrible version of the shit that worked for you because you can’t come up with a new slap that don’t sound like the old slap.”
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The convo begins around the 43:34 mark below.
Tommy Richman, who is signed to Brent Faiyaz‘s ISO Supremacy label, was one of 2024’s biggest breakout acts thanks to the one-two combo of “Million Dollar Baby” and “Devil Is a Lie,” the first of which reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Richman failed to replicate that success on the albums chart, though. His debut LP Coyote (which did not include the aforementioned hits) didn’t even dent the Billboard 200 following its release in September, and was relatively quiet since – until last week.
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On Wednesday (January 30), Tommy ended his social media silence by sharing a snippet of a brand new track which appears to be called “Actin Up.”
Fans seemed to enjoy it and even fellow artist Russ was immediately won over, declaring in an Instagram comment: “this is it.”
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For others, however, “Actin Up” isn’t catchy enough to drown out some of the criticism that has plagued the last few months of Tommy Richman’s otherwise promising career.
Last October, the viral star (who is white) ruffled feathers by declaring on social media that he is “not a Hip Hop artist.”
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After coming under fire for his comment, fueled by the fact that his music and style feels heavily influenced by Hip Hop and he’s signed to a rap-adjacent artist, Richman later attempted to clarify his statement.
“I’ll say again, Im thankful for everything,” he wrote in response to being called out by DJ Hed, L.A. radio staple and co-host of HipHopDX’s The Bigger Picture. “I’m saying I don’t wanna be boxed in. I grew up on hip hop. But I’m a singer.”
He added: “I meant to say I’m not SOLEY a hip hop artist.”
His detractors were quick to remind him of this remark after the release of his “Actin Up” snippet – like Budden.
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Conversely, veteran Hip Hop journalist Elliott Wilson, one of Tommy’s most vocal critics after his “not a Hip Hop artist” statement, admitted: “I HATE how much I like this snippet. Oh, Tommy! Iz u iz or iz u ain’t the culture?”
While many Hip Hop fans don’t appear ready to forgive Tommy Richman just yet, it’ll be interesting to see how “Actin Up” fares compared to his previous hits once it’s freed from his vaults, both in terms of commercial performance and wider cultural impact.
