‘Bodak Yellow’ by Cardi B went certified diamond by the RIAA! This makes Cardi B the first female rapper with a diamond song.
On Monday (March 8), Cardi B‘s top-charting breakout single officially became certified diamond by the RIAA. Additionally, the new certification places the Bronx, N.Y.-bred artist as the first female rapper to have a song go diamond; or sell more than 10 million units.
In a tweet by the RIAA on March 9, they congratulate Cardi B.
Congratulations to @iamcardib, the first female rapper to achieve a RIAA 💎 single award! #BodakYellow @AtlanticRecords https://t.co/D4gDxJorkR
— RIAA (@RIAA) March 9, 2021
Following the tweet the music industry executive, Brooklyn Johnny, shared the news of her accomplishment via an Instagram post. “🔥🔥🔥Bodak Yellow is certified Diamond 💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎 #WAP 5x #CardiB #BodakYellow,” he makes the caption.
During the video in his post, Bardi appears to be in disbelief while asking, “It’s diamond, for real? Certified by the RIAA? For real?.”
Cardi first dropped “Bodak Yellow” in June of 2017. In September of that same year, the record went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, which was a historical moment as well. “Bodak Yellow” was the first song by a solo woman rapper to land at No. 1 in 19 years.
Before this, Lauryn Hill‘s “Doo Wop (That Thing)” landed at the top spot on the Billboard chart in 1998. Just last month, Lauryn Hill’s debut solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, was officially certified diamond, making Hill the first female rapper with a 10-times platinum-certified album. L Boogie dropped the LP back in 1998.
Additionally, Cardi also became the fifth woman rhymer to top the chart after the Fugees frontwoman and other female rappers such as: Lil’ Kim (“Lady Marmalade” in 2001), Shawnna (“Stand Up”) in 2003, and Iggy Azalea (“Fancy” in 2014).
