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Up-and-coming country musician Oliver Anthony has shot to internet fame after his powerful song, Rich Men North of Richmond, took social media by storm. The song, released on August 9 through radiowv's Youtube channel, surpassed 1,1 million views at the time of writing. The music carried a solid political message geared toward the working class.
The song massively blew up on social media platforms like TikTok and Reddit. Netizens could not get enough of Oliver Anthony's music, and to their treat, another one of his songs, Virginia, was released a couple of days later. Reddit and Youtube produced lively discussions and appreciations of Rich Men North of Richmond. One Youtube user said on Oliver Anthony's official channel:
Oliver Anthony's Rich Men North of Richmond took the internet by storm, launching him into an overnight success. His official Youtube channel, @oliveranthonymusic, now has 24.6K subscribers, and his Instagram, @oliver_anthony_music_, amassed over 49.6K followers. Parts of the song were also uploaded to his Instagram and Youtube shorts.
Rich Men North of Richmond struck a chord with netizens
Netizens were amazed by the singing and storytelling ability of Oliver Anthony, portrayed in Rich Men North of Richmond. In the comments section of a Youtube short he posted of a clip of his song, netizens cheered him on and talked about the song's meaningfulness and outstanding voice.
Rich Men North of Richmond was also linked to the r/zachbryan subreddit by u/Sad_Theme6288. Underneath the Reddit post, a lively discussion ensued on the story and message being told in the song. People took sides and discussed the reality of class struggle and whether Oliver's statement in his song was genuine.
"People are just sick and tired of being sick and tired": Oliver Anthony
According to a Youtube video, he put out before the release of Rich Men North of Richmond, this was the first song he put out that was recorded using a "real microphone and a real camera." He earlier put out music that was recorded from his phone. He started to write his music back in 2021. He stated in the video titled, It's a pleasure to meet you:
"I'm gonna write create and produce as much original authentic music as I can, in the hopes that it'll at least help somebody out there that needs it."
He revealed in the video that he used to be a factory worker working three shifts for 12 hours, six days a week. While visiting sites, he would meet working-class people who worked hard to get ahead but just entirely couldn't because "the dollar is not worth enough."
He stated:
"People are just sick and tired of being sick and tired."
He proclaimed:
"I wanna be a voice for those people, and not just them, just humans in general and some of the struggles and the battles that they go through."
According to the description underneath radiowv's post of his song, Oliver Anthony Farmville, VA, with his three dogs and a plot of land, he plans on turning into a small farm to raise livestock.
