Kanye West’s iconic album, “Graduation,” continues to garner recognition worldwide, receiving an additional certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The esteemed industry collective recently declared that the album has reached septuple platinum status as of Thursday (January 11), surpassing its previous six-times platinum certification obtained just the day before. Notably, on Wednesday (January 10), “All of the Lights” achieved seven-times platinum, “Follow God” secured double-platinum, and “Runaway” with Pusha T officially attained five-times platinum.
Originally released in 2007, “Graduation” has become a pivotal moment for Hip Hop, according to Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def). In a 2022 Drink Champs interview alongside Dave Chappelle and fellow Black Star MC Talib Kweli, Bey likened the impact of Kanye’s third album to Michael Jackson’s bestselling 1982 LP, “Thriller.”
Expressing a sentiment shared by many, Ye emphasized that “Graduation” altered the trajectory of Hip Hop, particularly during the highly publicized sales showdown with 50 Cent’s “Curtis” in September 2007. He described it as a “Thriller moment” that is often overlooked, noting the album’s creativity, humor, and its significant role in shaping the direction of the culture.
Ye remarked, “It kept the record industry floating for at least the next five years and helped them transition into this whole streaming model because they were just sitting on cash. I mean, who performs like that? It wasn’t Coldplay, it wasn’t U2 — it was Kanye West with a beautifully, cleanly-produced album that was pure Hip Hop.”
Highlighting tracks like “Barry Bonds,” Ye emphasized the groundbreaking and inventive nature of “Graduation,” asserting its impact on the cultural landscape. He viewed it as a pivotal moment that determined the cultural direction for at least the next five years, if not an entire generation, opening up new creative paradigms in a genre that hadn’t seen such innovation at that scale.
Kanye West’s “Graduation” goes septuple platinum with new RIAA certificationhttps://t.co/52WCdDsvQr pic.twitter.com/iE64tGZRjd
— HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) January 13, 2024
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