Cardi B turned “bloody shoes” into a diamond on the wall. Her breakout single “Bodak Yellow” has been RIAA-certified diamond, making her the first female rapper to ever achieve the feat.
The artist born Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar teased fans with the news late last night by posting a video on Twitter. She had been working on her upcoming Grammys performance, she said, when she learned of an unplanned meeting with Atlantic Records. As she explained,
“I’ve been rehearsing all day today, I’m really stressed out, my body’s aching. At rehearsal, they said to me, ‘Yo, you gotta meet up with Atlantic execs.’ I’m like, ‘Yo I’m fucking tired like I don’t wanna talk about no Grammys, I don’t wanna talk about no album, I’m just tired.’ And then I still got drove to a restaurant. I’m like, ‘Are you fucking kidding me? I’m trying to go home, see Offset, fuck him. Ah!’ Then I’m here and I just got this crazy surprise. And I think you guys are gonna find out tomorrow and I just want to say: Thank you guys so much because without you guys this wouldn’t happen.”
But fans didn’t have to wait until the next day. Minutes before Cardi shared the tease, a stan account posted video of the shocked MC unwrapping her diamond plaque. “WTFFF !!! How the heiiilllll yall already [k]now ???” she wrote.
Six hours later, the Recording Industry Association of America retweeted that footage and made the announcement official. “Congratulations to @iamcardib,” they wrote, “The first female rapper to achieve a RIAA [diamond] single award!”
A single or album is certified diamond when it has surpassed 10 million units sold. It’s the equivalent of going ten-times platinum, and it’s a rare feat in today’s streaming-heavy environment. Cardi B is the very first female rapper to move ten million units of a single. Last month, Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill became the first diamond-certified album by a female MC 23 years after it was released.
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“Bodak Yellow” may have been the first diamond single, but it’s unlikely to be the last. The RIAA also recently certified Cardi B’s collaboration with Megan Thee Stallion, “WAP”, to be Wet Ass five-times-Platinum. Given the pace of sales, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see it surpass “Bodak Yellow” soon.
You can catch Cardi B performing at the 2021 Grammys this Sunday, March 14th. Last month, she shared the new single “Up”, and in January she signed on to star in the new comedy Assisted Living.
You guys are going to be so happy .I’m soo happy!!! pic.twitter.com/vJi0lORn3k
— iamcardib (@iamcardib) March 9, 2021
Congratulations to @iamcardib, the first female rapper to achieve a RIAA 💎 single award! #BodakYellow @AtlanticRecords https://t.co/D4gDxJorkR
— RIAA (@RIAA) March 9, 2021
WTFFF !!! How the heiiilllll yall already now ???I can’t 😩😩😩. I’ll be back later .DEUM YA BE KNOWING EERRTHANG !
— iamcardib (@iamcardib) March 9, 2021
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