JAY-Z and Kanye West’s “Ni**as In Paris” is nearing diamond status. On Wednesday (March 24), Chart Data reported that the pair’s Watch the Throne cut has been certified 8x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. This means that the 2011 hit has sold over 8,000,000 units — just two million away from reaching diamond certification.
Earlier this month, Cardi B herself joined the elite diamond club with her 2017 breakout single, “Bodak Yellow.” The Bronx native became the first female rapper ever to have a diamond-certified single. Back in January, it was also reported that Roddy Ricch’s smash-hit “The Box” was nearing diamond status with over 8,000,000 units sold.
Of course, Lauryn Hill additionally made history this year after her 1998 debut album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, became the first female rap album to receive diamond certification.
A total of 45 songs have been certified diamond, with rap artists filling out several on the list. Ludacris has a diamond-certified single by way of Justin Bieber’s “Baby,” Drake’s “God’s Plan” made the cut, Juicy J achieved the feat by way of Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse,” Quavo and Post Malone’s “Congratulations” reached the certification and more.
If JAY-Z and Kanye West’s “Ni**as In Paris” sells 10,000,000 units, it will be both artists’ first-ever diamond single.
The news follows a week after Kanye made other lofty headlines, which were later determined to be untrue. A now-redacted Forbes article reported that the Chicago native had become the richest Black billionaire in America thanks to his lucrative Gap-Yeezy deal.
The outlet reported that Ye’s net worth increased to $6.6 billion, skyrocketing past other notable billionaires like JAY-Z and Oprah Winfrey. However, REVOLT and other outlets later reported, the $6.6 billion was actually the value of Kanye’s Gap-Yeezy deal and not his personal net worth. Bloomberg estimates that his net worth is actually between $1.3 and $1.8 billion.