In this industry, I’m always trying my best to be on the cutting edge of discovery when finding new artists that deserve their spot in the spotlight. At the same time, it’s simply impossible for me to know about every promising young talent before everyone else, so that’s why when the homies hit me up about some blossoming talents, I have to tune in because they definitely have some amazing taste in music and they always put me onto some musicians who are inevitably going to blow up sooner or later.
Most recently, I was told about an unbelievable young artist named Tommy Richman, and while I had zero expectations going into his most recent offering “Ice Kream Truck”, I left my first listen with thousands of questions, the first of which was how has this kid not blown up yet? As soon as you press play, your eardrums are met by these retro-sounding synths that are immediately complimented by Tommy’s high-pitched vocals that just fill your soul with serenity and good vibes, and we haven’t even gotten to the bulk of the record yet. I should also mention that Tommy self-produced this hit with the help of another producer named Yusf.
When the beat does drop, old-school-sounding kick drums and percussive elements storm your brain and pick up the tempo, making me question which genre this really is. It has an indie sound to it with hip-hop inspiration and even some soul mixed in, and I honestly got some heavy Tyler, the Creator IGOR vibes which is some extremely high praise considering that’s one of my favorite albums of the past few years. Tommy just seems to have this carefree vibe, and he uses multiple vocal layers during certain portions of the song that give this crowded feeling as if you’re at some big function partying with your friends, even if you’re alone in your room as I am right now writing this article.
I honestly don’t know too much about Tommy other than the fact that he’s 21 years old and he’s breaking the mold of the stereotypical music-making process with some innovative yet old school-inspired sounds that seem to be pulled off with such grace and ease. I’m definitely going to be paying a lot more attention to him as he moves forward in his musical career, but my early prediction for this kid is that his future is bright, and things are definitely looking good for him early on. With Summer running into us full speed, “Ice Kream Truck” is an absolutely essential addition to any playlist you might play at a barbecue or late-night kickback, so make sure you don’t miss out on this incredible new release by the one and only Tommy Richman.