奥利弗·安东尼, the Virginia songwriter behind the viral hit “丰富的Men North of Richmond,” has voiced his frustration over the song’s appropriation by right-wing media figures for political purposes. This comes after the track was prominently featured as the opening discussion point during the recentRepublican presidential debateon Wednesday, Aug. 23.
In a 10-minuteYouTube videoreleased on Friday, Aug. 25, Anthony expressed his displeasure at the song being co-opted by those he intended to criticize.
“The one thing that has bothered me is seeing people wrap politics up into this,” Anthony said from the cab of his pickup truck. “I’m disappointed to see — like, it’s aggravating seeing people on conservative news try to identify with me like I’m one of them. It’s aggravating seeing certain musicians and politicians act like we’re buddies and act like we’re fighting the same struggle here, like we’re trying to present the same message.”
In aprior video, the country artist born Christopher Anthony Lunsford, whose stage name pays homage to his grandfather, identified his political stance as “pretty dead center down the aisle.”
The breakout single “Rich Men North of Richmond”debuted at No. 1on the Billboard Hot 100 chart this week, making the unknown singer-songwriter the first artist to premiere at the top of the list with no prior chart history. The song surpassed tracks by well-established stars likeTaylor Swift,Olivia Rodrigo, Gunna, Selena Gomez and Rema.
During an appearance on “Fox & Friends” earlier in the week, Anthony surprised the network hosts by advocating for inclusion. He emphasized, “We are the melting pot of the world, and that’s what makes us strong is our diversity. And we need to learn to harness that and appreciate it and not use it as a political tool to keep everyone separate from each other.”
突然的成功很大程度上是prope“有钱人”lled by its adoption by right-wing pundits who seized on lyrics addressing taxation and wealth disparity (particularly the verse “the obese milkin’ welfare”). But in the recent video, Anthony distanced himself from the political associations being attached to his song.
“It seems like certain people want to ride the attention of this song to make their own selves relevant, and that’s aggravating as hell,” he said. “The other thing that I find aggravating is, well, it was funny seeing my song at the presidential debate because I wrote that song about those people. For them to sit there and listen to that, that cracks me up.”
He stressed that the song’s scope has “nothing to do with Joe Biden” and that he hates to see the song weaponized. “That s— has got to stop,” he said.
Declining multi-million dollar record deals, Anthony also clarified that liberals have misconstrued the song’s intent. He explained that the line in “Rich Men” highlighting welfare was meant to shed light on children “missing meals over the summer because their parents can’t afford to feed them.”
“If you listen to my other music, it’s obvious that all of my songs that reference class defend the poor,” Anthony said, adding that “thirty-some million people understood what I was saying, but it only takes a few to try to derail the train, to try to send out false narratives.”
As the YouTube video progressed, Anthony became emotional, displaying concern over the nation’s current divisive state.
“I don’t know what this country is going to look like in 10 or 20 years if things don’t change,” he said, tearing up. “Something has to be done about it. There’s been too many people die. There’s been too many people sacrifice everything they’ve had. People die before they’re even 18. Just for us to all sit here and do the stupid s— that we do every day that keeps us all beat down and divided. That’s what I want to see stop. And I’m going to do everything I can to influence that, at all costs. Even if it does throw my world upside down.”
Reach Aidin Vaziri: avaziri@sfchronicle.com