What Does Diamond Certified Mean for Rappers
Diamond certification from the RIAA means an album or single has moved 10 million units in the United States, combining sales and on-demand audio and video streams. For rap albums, this threshold is reached when consumer demand crosses into the top tier of commercial performance, as tracked by the RIAA and reported on its official website here. The unit count is not the same as pure album sales, because streaming equivalents are included under the current certification rules.
To earn a diamond plaque, a rap project must sustain long chart presence and strong consumption over months or years. The RIAA updates its database as labels submit verified sales and streaming data, so the list of diamond certified rap titles changes only when new projects cross the 10 million unit line.
Current Rappers with Diamond Certified Albums
As of the most recent RIAA data, Eminem, Drake, Lil Wayne, Tupac Shakur, and The Notorious B.I.G. each hold diamond certified rap albums. Eminem's "The Marshall Mathers LP," "The Eminem Show," and "Curtain Call: The Hits" have all reached diamond status, making him one of the most certified rappers in history here. Other artists with diamond rap albums include Jay-Z, Kanye West, and 2Pac, whose catalog continues to earn new certifications as streams accumulate.
Among current active rappers, Drake and Lil Wayne stand out for holding multiple diamond certified projects. Drake's "Take Care," "Nothing Was the Same," and "Scorpion" have each crossed the RIAA diamond threshold, while Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III" remains one of the best selling rap albums of the 2000s. These certifications reflect sustained consumption across digital sales, physical copies, and on-demand streams.
How Rappers Earn Diamond Status in the Streaming Era
In the modern certification system, 1,500 on-demand audio or video streams count as one album unit, alongside traditional sales and track sales. This means a rapper can reach diamond status through a combination of first week consumption and long tail streaming, rather than relying only on pure sales. The RIAA's online database shows how each diamond rap album is counted, with units broken down into sales, streams, and track equivalents here.
For example, albums that stay on streaming platforms for years can slowly climb toward diamond as catalog consumption grows. Labels regularly request new certifications when internal data shows a project has crossed the 10 million unit threshold, and the RIAA publishes the updated status after verification. This process explains why some classic rap albums earn diamond plaques long after their original release, as ongoing listens convert into certified units.