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The Weeknd Scores First Album In History With 3 Diamond Singles

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The Weeknd’s 2015 album Beauty Behind The Madness just became the first album to have three Diamond-certified singles. Furthermore, the Recording Industry Association of America gave Diamond plaques to his tracks “Can’t Feel My Face,” “Earned It,” and “The Hills.” All these songs sold over 10 million album-equivalent units, likely pushed by their huge streaming numbers. Also, it somewhat solidifies Beauty as The Weeknd’s commercial breakthrough and his flag-planting moment in pop culture. Overall, this is quite the milestone for the Canadian singer, who’s incredibly familiar with success at this point.

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 27: In this image released on December 7, The Weeknd performs during his “After Hours Til Dawn” tour at SoFi Stadium on November 27, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Live Nation)

For example, Abel Tesfaye ranks as one of the most streamed artists of all time. Of course, such a feat is unsurprising considering that his 2020 hit “Blinding Lights” is the most-streamed song on Spotify. While much of his profile and career discussion center around the numbers, he’s arguably one of the most influential artists of his generation, as well. From his first mixtapes, he established a cult underground following that influenced a moodier R&B sound. In addition, he evolved from dark R&B to sultrier ballads, from trap beats to ’80s synth drums, and so on.

Also, the singer’s talents and creativity usually extend far beyond the musical world, as he contributed to multiple film soundtracks. Not only that, but he has some starring roles under his belt, as well. Still, his most recent soundtrack work landed on the Avatar: The Way of Water soundtrack. Furthermore, he spoke earnestly about how its predecessor helped him. “That was probably the darkest time of my life,” he expressed to The Hollywood Reporter about Avatar‘s release in 2009.

“I didn’t know if I was going to succeed as a musician,” he continued. “I didn’t know if I was going to be able to live to see tomorrow. And I remember I somehow got to see the film in theaters. I don’t know how I got in. It was such an escape from my real life that the film is tattooed in my brain.” It’s been a treat to see his trajectory, so stay tuned to HNHH for whatever The Weeknd brings us next. Also, happy belated birthday to The Weeknd, who’s celebrating big with his album and its Diamond singles.

Young Dolph Amasses 10 New RIAA Certifications

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As his music continues to connect with fans and globally impact culture, rapper Young Dolph has posthumously amassed 10 new RIAA certifications in one day for music across his legendary discography.

Dolph’s smash songs “Foreva” f/ T.I. and previously gold-certified track “100 Shots”, received platinum certifications while eight additional songs received gold certifications including “No Sense” w/ Key Glock, “To Be Honest” “1 Scale” f/ G Herbo, “Hold Up, Hold Up, Hold Up,” “1 Hell of a Life,” w/ Key Glock, “By Mistake,” “Water on Water” w/ Key Glock and “Facts.”

“We’re excited to see fans continuing to enjoy Dolph’s music” says Young Dolph’s manager Allen Parks of Street Execs Management. “From those who have been with him from day one, to those who may be just discovering him…we’re grateful. These certifications really reflect the legacy Dolph worked so hard to build.”

News of the new RIAA certifications occurred as Young Dolph’s DOLPHLAND Pop-Up Museum exhibit in honor of him and his new album Paper Route Frank, continues to tour the country to sold-out crowds with additional cities being added. It was just announced that Los Angeles, CA has been added to the tour and will be taking place among Grammy week festivities on Feb 3rd-5th. Tickets for Los Angeles are available today atwww.youngdolph.com. After successfully launching in New York City two weeks ago with packed multi-day crowds and a splashy celebrity-attended private opening, DOLPHLAND’S three-day pop-up stop in Dallas, TX this weekend was completely sold out before doors opened.

 For a complete list of Young Dolph’s 2023 platinum and gold certifications, please visit the RIAA here.

Young Dolph’s newly released posthumous album Paper Route Frank is available across all streaming services. 

Tickets for the DOLPHLAND pop-up museum tour are available atwww.youngdolph.com. Ticket purchasers are automatically entered for a chance to win $100,000 from Paper Route Empire with the winner being announced at the end of the museum tour. 

The post Young Dolph Amasses 10 New RIAA Certifications appeared first on The Source.

Today In Hip Hop History: GZA’s ‘Liquid Swords’ Certified Gold 27 Years Ago

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On this day in Hip Hop history, GZA of Wu-Tang Clan’s second album, Liquid Swords, was certified gold by the RIAA.

The album was originally released on November 7, 1995. The LP was recorded entirely in the basement studio of fellow Wu-Tang Clan member RZA (who also produced 12 of the 13 tracks on the project) in Staten Island, New York. Much to the theme of previous Wu-Tang releases, this album consisted vastly of dialogue sampled from kung fu film, Shogun Assassin.

The tone of this project was quite dark and ominous while dropping bombs of knowledge and understanding of the physical world. The way GZA rapped on this album sounded as if he were playing a game of chess against the listener. His lyrical genius attacks capturing pieces of their minds through the use of his Asiatic philosophy.

Upon its release, Liquid Swords peaked at the #9 spot on the Billboard 200 chart and #2 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. The project is critically acclaimed due to the complexity of its composition. Over the years it has been referred to on many occasions as one of the best rap albums of all time. Selwyn Seyfu Hinds of The Source is quoted saying on this album GZA is:

“a highly focused master-craftsman” and that “throughout Liquid Swords he maintains a clear, precise flow, one that reflects deadly-sharp purpose and skilled execution.”

The album was awarded 4 out of 5 mics by The Source upon release. Critics, journalists, and magazines alike had nothing but positive remarks in regards to this album. Matt Hall of Select wrote in 1995 that “…Liquid Swords sneaks under the tape to qualify as Rap Album of the Year.”

Said to be one of the best solo projects out of Wu-Tang, this album helped GZA build his kingdom in the rap game. After this release, he and Wu-Tang Clan went on to be the most successful rap group in the history of music.

The post Today In Hip Hop History: GZA’s ‘Liquid Swords’ Certified Gold 27 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

Today In Hip Hop History: Ghostface Killah’s Debut Album ‘Ironman’ Was Certified Gold 26 Years Ago

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On this day in 1996, Ghostface Killah’s released highly anticipated debut album Ironman was certified gold by the RIAA. With exclusive in-house Wu production from True Master and the RZA coupled with Raekwon The Chef appearing on almost every song on the album, making this album one of the best concept albums completed by the nine man conglomerate to date.

The 16-track album featured several hits that bolstered the Wu Tang Clan’s status as the best rap collective in the game, including the haunting street saga “Motherless Child”, “All That I Got Is You” featuring Mary J. Blige and the late Popa Wu and “WInter Warz”, which appeared on the Don’t Be A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood soundtrack.

This album proceeded Ghost’s abstract lyrical content as witnessed on 2000’s Supreme Clientele LP, but it’s story telling premise keeps listeners glued to the cadence and rhyme style of Mr. Coles equally as much as they are attracted to RZA’s production.

Ironman finally reached platinum status in 2004, which still proves to be Ghost’s most successful album of his career. The WTC would follow up with albums that attempt to mirror the conceptual preciseness of Ironman, however, none of the Clan’s solo projects can be compared in its totality to that of Tony Starks.

The post Today In Hip Hop History: Ghostface Killah’s Debut Album ‘Ironman’ Was Certified Gold 26 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

Which Artists Got Their First Gold Or Platinum Award In 2022?

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2022 was an unusual year for music. Despite more records being released than ever before, there were only a handful of new hits; Billboard recorded only a dozen new No. 1 singles, while only new 23 albums reached the top of the Billboard 200. Those numbers reflected a dip from prior years, thanks to many of the songs and albums that topped the charts reigning for weeks at a time.

Meanwhile, the Recording Industry Association of America recently welcomed its “class of 2022” — the artists who earned their first Gold or Platinum certification last year. Among the 39 performers are TikTok favorites like Armani White, Bella Poarch, and GAYLE, while runaway success GloRilla stayed “F.N.F.” all the way to her own first certification. International artists also broke in a big way stateside with Afrobeats crooners Fireboy DML and Rema joining K-pop girl group TWICE in racking up the plaques.

A Gold certification denotes 500,000 units sold, while a Platinum record has sold 1,000,000 units. In the streaming era, one album sale is calculated as 1,500 on-demand audio and/or video song streams, which also counts as 10 track sales. In order for a qualifying track or album to be certified, often a label must request certification, so technically there might be one or two songs out there that qualify but were not certified. You can see the full list of singles courtesy of RIAA’s Twitter account below.

One Of Lil Wayne’s Signature Hits Has Become His First Song To Be Certified Diamond

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One of Lil Wayne‘s signature hits has become his first song to be certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). A Diamond certification denotes over 10 million units sold. Wayne’s 2008 hit “Lollipop” featuring Static Major reached that milestone today, thanks in large part to a digital resurgence in the past two years. It was actually certified both Gold and Platinum (8x) on January 23, 2020 (Certification is not automatic; for an award to be made, the record label must first request certification, which Cash Money and Republic Records did, 12 years after the song’s release).

“Lollipop” recently became the subject of some controversy when it was falsely reported that Wayne denied a request to sample the hit by Atlanta rapper Latto. The report — which came from a parody account — likely arose as a result of Latto’s ongoing feud with Lil Wayne labelmate Nicki Minaj. However, Latto herself debunked the rumor on Twitter, joking, “POV: u don’t even have a song sampling lollipop.”

Meanwhile, another Wayne smash from the same album (Tha Carter III) popped up earlier this week in a cringe-worthy TikTok posted by a Florida Police department. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office used “A Milli” to soundtrack a drug bust video on the app, leading to ridicule on Twitter.

Drake Surpasses Eminem as the Highest-Selling Singles Artist in RIAA History

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Drake earned ten new plaques from the RIAA ( Record Industry Association of America), totaling 184 million singles sold. This new record propelled Drake past Eminem, who held the record since March when he hit 1​​66 million units across his singles catalog. Drake became only the third act in history to have at least five diamond singles; Bruno Mars has six, and Post Malone has five.

The RIAA began its certifications in 1958. Its process is as follows: one unit equals 150 on-demand streams. Regarding plaques, Gold means an artist has hit 500,000 units, Platinum is 1 million units, multi-Platinum is 2 million units, and Diamond is 10 million units. While digital and physical albums count as one “unit” per sale, the RIAA requires ten permanent track downloads and 1,500 on-demand video or audio streams for the same amount. In other words, 1,000 downloads and 150,000 streams equal the 100 units you’d earn by selling just 100 physical or digital albums. 

Drake has been on a record-breaking streak. Presently he is close to breaking the record for the highest certified RIAA song, which Post Malone and Swae Lee currently hold for Sunflower and Lil Nas X for Old Town Road. Both pieces are presently 17x platinum. Last month, the Toronto rapper tied Jay-Z’s record for the most No. 1s on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums with 14. His latest album, Her Loss, dropped on November 4, 2022. 

Drake has solidified himself quite nicely in the music industry. With 170 million records sold worldwide, he is among the best-selling music artists in history. Drake has achieved eleven number-one albums on the Billboard 200 and twelve hits on the Billboard Hot 100.

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