The ghostly melodies of Tommy Richman bring to mind Brent Faiyaz if he grew up on Mac DeMarco’s Salad Days, in the bestway possible. The Woodbridge, Virginia, singer caught my ear after I heard him on the buttery hook on “No Plans,” maybe the best track on DMV rap lynchpin Sparkheem’s compilation mixtape earlier this year. Richman links back up with Sparkheem—along with fellow producers Mannyvelli and Jonah Roy—for “Last Nite,” an eerie mood piece with cryptic synths and ticking hi hats. Like Faiyaz, who he is signed to, Richman has a flair for dragged out dramatic vocal riffs that make you want to respond to somewhat vague and simple lyrics with This is my life. Sometimes that’s all that it takes.
With artists releasing songs at a fast and furious pace, it’s difficult for the average hip-hop head to keep track of it all—no matter how tapped in they are. That’s why we created The Ones, a daily post to highlight the song you need to hear.
Check out previous Ones, and listen to new rap from Tommy Richman and more on our Spotify playlist.
