Rich Girl

"Rich Girl" is a song by American singer and songwriter Gwen Stefani from her debut solo studio album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (2004). Produced by Dr. Dre, the track features American rapper Eve, and is a remake of Louchie Lou & Michie One's 1993 song of the same name, which is in turn an adaptation of the Fiddler on the Roof song "If I Were a Rich Man". Stefani says the song discusses her dreams of fame and riches from the perspective of "when she was just an Orange County girl".[1]

The last song to be included on the album,[2] "Rich Girl" was released as the album's second single in late 2004 to mixed reviews from music critics. It was a commercial success, reaching the top 10 on most of the charts it entered. In the United States, "Rich Girl" was certified gold, and it received a nomination for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 47th Grammy Awards. "Rich Girl" is a reggae song composed in the key of C minor.It is written in common time and moves at a moderate 100 beats per minute.[7] The beat is accompanied by an alternating perfect fifth dyad and an accented piano trichord.[7][8] The song is written in verse–chorus form,[7] and its instrumentation includes the electronic keyboard, guitar, and keyboard bass.[9] Stefani's voice ranges from G3 to E5.[10]The introduction consists of the repeated use of the word na.

"Rich Girl" received mixed reviews from music critics. Richard Smirke of Playlouder said that it brought "a much-needed element of diversity" to L.A.M.B. and called it a "potential hit single".[13] Krissi Murison of the NME, however, described it as "playground chant featuring a tough-girl ragga cameo from Eve."[14] John Murphy from musicOMH gave it an overall positive review, calling it "a great fun song, and far superior to some of the dross that comes out these days", but also commented that it did not live up to "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" and found the references to the Harajuku Girls "slightly creepy."[15] Lisa Haines of BBC Music referred to the song as "disco gold, impossibly girly and very easy to dance to."[16] The song drew comparisons to the No Doubt album Rock Steady,[17] and Charles Merwin of Stylus Magazine described it as "a lite version of 'Hey Baby.'"[18]

"I could tell I had ruffled Gwen's feathers when we spoke before the disc came out. It was the first time I took her to task for disingenuousness—for being ungodly rich yet still singing, 'If I were a rich girl....' 'What do you mean by that?' she snapped. I said the song could be seen as absurd, even untrue. She explained its lyrics were about when she was just an Orange County girl—ah, that troubling phrase!—dreaming of such wealth."

Several reviewers found it ironic that Stefani, who had already sold 26 million records with No Doubt,[19] discussed having money in the counterfactual conditional. John Murphy from musicOMH found it "rather strange" for Stefani to sing the song while living off of royalties from No Doubt and her husband, post-grunge musician Gavin Rossdale.[20] Anthony Carew from Neumu called the lyrics "insipid" and noted that "the incredibly wealthy pop-starlet wonders what it'd be like to be, uh, incredibly wealthy".[21] The Orange County Register writer Ben Wener told Stefani that the song was disingenuous and "absurd", to which Stefani responded that the point of view was from before she was famous.[1] Stefani later refused to issue credentials to the newspaper[1] after Wener wrote that "while posting a reported US$90 million via her clothing lines [...] she's no more 'just an Orange County girl' than Best Buy is just a shack that sells Commodore 64s" in response to a track titled "Orange County Girl" from Stefani's second album The Sweet Escape.[22]

The interpolation of "If I Were a Rich Man" drew mixed reviews. Jason Damas, writing for PopMatters, argued that the track "turns it into an anthem of urban bling-lust" and that its "simple pounding piano chord makes for great percussive backing."[8] Nick Sylvester from Pitchfork Media found the song corny, classifying it as "Eve- and Dre- and Tevye-powered camp-hop."[23] The Villager 's Winnie MCCroy found the interpolation "innovative" and noted the song's take on "the current style of shout-out rap songs."[24] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly disagreed, stating that the interpolation was used awkwardly,[11] and Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone called the interpolation a goof.[25] Jason Shawhan from About.com called the track "a dancehall/classic house teardown of 'If I Were a Rich Man'" and added, "If this is what Jay-Z's fudging with Annie has wrought, I say, be glad of it."[26]