Everything You Need to Know About Tommy Richman

Spring has finally sprung, and Tommy Richman already has a contender for Song of the Summer on his hands with “Million Dollar Baby.”

The song is blowing up at a very fast pace, but before any misguided “industry plant” allegations start flowing, let's set the record straight: Tommy Richman did not pop up out of nowhere. The Virginia-born singer is having a moment right now thanks to the spontaneous combustion of “Million Dollar Baby,” but he’s been making music for a while now, with some of his earliest songs on SoundCloud and Spotify dating back to 2016.

Richman has released songs that range from R&B to punk rock over the past few years, ultimately catching the attention of Brent Faiyaz, who signed him and took him on the road last year.) He’s been steadily picking up buzz ever since, earning a spot on Complex’s R&B Artists to Watch list in January, and now he’s rising even faster with his most electric song so far: “Million Dollar Baby.” If you’re just now finding out about him, here’s a crash course on everything you need to know about Tommy Richman.

He was raised in Virginia by a legally deaf mother and a drum teacher father

Richman grew up in a suburb just outside of DC called Woodbridge, Virginia. He says he took voice lessons growing up, but there was never really music playing in his house, so he started pursuing it on his own. “My dad was a drum teacher and my mom is actually legally deaf, so she never played anything, so I just kinda did it myself,” he told Lyrical Lemonade. “I felt a connection to it and went for it.”

He is signed to Brent Faiyaz’s label

Richman has a close relationship with Brent Faiyaz, signing to his independent label ISO Supremacy in 2023 and opening up for him on the F*ck the World, It's a Wasteland tour. “Million Dollar Baby” was released through ISO in partnership with PULSE Records, and the two singers have already worked together on music (Richman appeared on “Upset” from Brent’s last album, Larger Than Life). Richman has cited the fellow DMV singer as one of his inspirations, and he’s released a steady flow of new music on the label, including his last EP, The Rush, in 2023.

He makes music in a variety of genres

A lot of people are getting to know Richman right now because of “Million Dollar Baby,” but he’s been making music that ranges from R&B to rap and punk for the past 8 years. Some of his early songs, including “Ballin Stallin,” “Penelope Terrel,” and “Silent Hill” skew more alt-R&B and rap, while other tracks like “LIKETHATSHIT” sound like they’re meant for underground raves and mosh pits. A lot of his songs take influence from funk music, as well, including the recently-released single “Selfish.”

His mantra is “everything is punk”

Richman’s YouTube bio, the name of his website, and the name of his underground concert series is “everything is punk,” which started out as an inside joke with his friends. “It was a thing that I just put in my bio as a joke,” Richman told Annabelle Kline on That Good Shit. “Then my friend Donnie Killjoy, we were in a group chat, and he was like ‘Everything is punk!’ as a joke, and everybody started saying it. So it became a thing in our friend group, and we wanted to do a show in LA, so we just called it that… we’re just trying to build that out. I’m trying to get a UFC fighter in a robe to shadowbox on stage with synth music in the background.”

He really likes the UFC

A source close to Richman tells Complex that the singer has a deep passion for the UFC, to the point where he has memorized “every UFC card.” Apparently, if you call out a specific card number, he can tell you who fought that night. In his interview with Annabelle Kline, Richman revealed that he hopes to do a show and have UFC fighters shadowbox onstage while he performs someday.

His inspirations include Dennis Rodman, Andy Serkis, and Buzz Lightyear(?)

In 2022, Richman tweeted that his three inspirations are Andy Serkis, Dennis Rodman, and Buzz Lightyear. In an interview with Lyrical Lemonade, he described Rodman as “one of the most punk people ever,” explaining, “During his time, to be as metro, and athletic, and different, and fashionable and partying as hard as he did was ridiculous. I mean he played on the best basketball team ever, was defensive player of the year, and was outside fucking Carmen Electra in Vegas every other night. I wanna interview Dennis Rodman one day.” Richman says that he’s inspired by actor and filmmaker Andy Serkis because of his roles as Golem in Lord of the Rings and Ceasar in the Planet of the Apes remake. As for Buzz Lightyear? Well, the jury’s still out on that one, but Richman does have an affinity for things that he thinks are “punk” (including Jesus Christ, apparently) so maybe the fictional astronaut fits the description for him.

He’s also influenced by Pharrell

In addition to the aforementioned names, Richman also looks up to Pharrell. Both hail from Virginia, and Richman told Lyrical Lemonade that he admires the music legend because of his approach to the craft. “People like Pharrell inspire me, because he was talking to Rick Rubin, and [explaining that] it’s not just about music theory, but more about how it feels—how the chords make you feel more than how they fit together,” he explained. During his interview with That Good Shit, Richman spontaneously brought up P’s name again while talking about how he’d approach a hypothetical Ice Spice collab, saying he'd try to be “on some Pharrell stuff” over a drill beat.