Negativity Unleashed

In today’s society, romance has become more focused on wealth rather than love. In the song “Hey Rich Boyy” by the Millionaires, the trio expresses their love for money and their apparent dislike of love. The song’s message is very distasteful considering the audience includes innocent teenage girls. It makes it seem as though the only thing that matters in finding a mate is their car and their bank account. I so fervently dislike this song because I despise its message as well as the absolutely repetitive and obnoxious nature of its composition.

There are many reasons why I dislike this song, one of which lies on the surface. The trio called The Millionaires have absolutely no talent whatsoever. It is comprised of very “insightful” lyrics such as, “Hey hey rich boy look my way!/ Hey hey rich boy make my day!/ Hey hey boy you look so fly!/ Throw that money in the sky!” That lovely stanza is the chorus, which is repeated in the song seven times. There are only twelve stanzas in the entire song- and yes, seven of them are the annoying chorus. Not only are the words repetitive, the structure of the song itself is obnoxious. Each line is made up of seven of eight syllables, using the rhyming structure AABB in each stanza. The song is set to a canned beat with no real instruments; only a computer and someone that doesn’t know how to work their music program very well. With the repetitive structure and its horrendous music this song is an absolute failure. Although the repetitive nature of the songs shows a lack of lyrical genius and mere stupidity, the reason I have such a strong disdain for the song is much deeper than that.

Self-esteem, especially in younger teenage girls, has become a prevalent concern in our society. Young women are forced into believing that they have to be perfectly made up for boys to have any interest in them; this song contributes to this misinformation. It implies that in order to fall in love you must lose your dignity and do whatever the boy wants. “If you want boys with cars and cash / Show them how you shake it fast.” Considering this horrible band’s audience they certainly should not be telling girls to “shake it fast” to find love. I imagine that is exactly what they did in order to move up in the music industry and their utter lack of talent and self-respect is nothing to aspire to. They’re inspiring immense self-esteem issues in these young girls and are not going to lead them on a successful path this way.

Another reason “Hey Rich Boyy” should cease to exist is the focus it puts on wealth. The speaker tells young girls that they should not worry about anything except the car a boy drives or how heavy a wallet is; which is exactly opposite of the real world. “But your boy’s not the one for me / This boy in front’s the one I see / You can tell he’s drippin’ dollars / So of course, I have to holler..” The only reason these girls care about whether he’s wealthy is because they don’t have enough talent to actually make money themselves. It inspires complacency in young girls because if they believe they can find someone who will pay for their every whim, they don’t need to actually do anything with their lives. I absolutely despise the message The Millionaires are trying to portray because it promotes false values and ideals to young people.

Since musicians stopped actually playing music and started pushing buttons on a computer to create their songs, the music industry went downhill. This song shows a lack or talent and I cannot stand it. When I first heard this dreadful song, I was a fourteen year old enjoying Warped Tour when I accidentally heard The Millionaires live. There was a large audience when I arrived, but after they sang another of their insightful songs called, “Take Your Shirt Off” and literally took their shirts off, I was proud to see most of the audience disperse. I realized that their songs weren’t really music; it was merely a joke to the music industry. My distaste for the song shows that I prefer a positive message as well as actual instruments. I’m glad to say I will never listen to this song ever again. (Thank goodness.)