Gucci Mane Wants to Sign "Rich Men North of Richmond" Artist to His Record Label

Looks like Gucci Mane wants to strike big in country music. On Wednesday (August 16), Guwop announced on Instagram that he wants to extend a 1017 Records contract to Virginia musician, Oliver Anthony, whose single “Rich Men North of Richmond” has gone viral.

“Aye fam I need y’all help on this one I’m trying sign these guys as my first country artists to 1017!!! I need the info asap,” Gucci captioned his Instagram post beneath the cover art for “Rich Men North of Richmond” on Apple Music.

Although Anthony hasn’t publicly responded, other artists jumped at the opportunity to sign to 1017 Records in Gucci’s comments section, including other country, metal and rock musicians. However, others showed disdain for the potential signing, allegeding that Anthony could be racist, as lyrics in “Rich Men” point towards the January 6 United States Capitol Attack.

“This dude should not be getting signed y’all really did not listen to that weak a** song,” wrote one commenter. “He had no real thoughts or flow to it. Sign a country artist that has deeper s*** to him than just “I don’t f*** with poor people.”

On the song, Oliver Anthony first sings about a working-class struggle against wealthy elites before quickly taking a sharp dive into pointing the finger at welfare recipients, "Lord, we got folks in the street, ain't got nothin' to eat / And the obese milkin' welfare / Well, God, if you're 5-foot-3 and you're 300 pounds / Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds."

According to Rolling Stone, “Rich Men” is on par to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, as the track has topped Spotify and Apple Music’s U.S. charts. The “Rich Men” controversy also follows the outcry to Jason Aldean’s “Try That In A Small Town,” which is alleged to have subtle threats to African-Americans. Aldean has denied the allegations, although images of Black Lives Matter demonstrations have been removed from the song’s music video.