J. Cole is closing in on his first ever diamond plaque as the rapper has been awarded almost 30 new gold and platinum certifications in just one day.
On Tuesday (November 21), the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) issued a total of 27 new certifications for Cole’s catalog, with the most notable being that “Middle Child” is now 9x platinum, signifying at least nine million sales in the U.S.
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That puts the song, which was released in 2019 and later appeared on the Dreamville compilation Revenge of the Dreamers III, just one million units away from achieving elusive diamond status.
Just 120 songs in history have been certified diamond, including “Not Afraid” by Eminem who also has diamond certifications for “Lose Yourself” and “Love the Way You Lie.”
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Drake also has several diamond-selling singles in “God’s Plan,” “Hotline Bling” and “One Dance,” with his features on Travis Scott‘s “Sicko Mode” and Future‘s “Life is Good” also reaching 10 million sales.
Other Hip Hop artists to have achieved the distinction include JAY-Z, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Wiz Khalifa and Kid Cudi.
J. Cole’s spree of new RIAA plaques were celebrated in a post on X (formerly Twitter) by the rapper’s longtime manager, Ibrahim “Ib” Hamad, who simply wrote: “Certified.”
His post also revealed that 2014 Forest Hills Drive is 5x platinum, Born Sinner is 3x platinum, 4 Your Eyez Only is double platinum, and KOD and The Off-Season are both platinum.
Several of Cole’s songs also had their sales status updated with “Neighbors” certified 4x platinum, “Deja Vu” 3x platinum, “Kevin’s Heart” 3x platinum and “KOD” also 3x platinum.
Earlier this year, Cole achieved his first ever No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 thanks to his Drake collaboration “First Person Shooter.”
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While the song represented Cole’s first time atop the chart, it marked Drake’s 13th No. 1 in seven years after he scored his first in 2016 with “One Dance.”
The collaborations between the two rap titans are not just confined to the studio as they recently announced a co-headlining tour across the U.S. in early 2024.
The pair will perform together on 18 dates starting on January 18 in Denver and running until March 10 in Kentucky.
