In the spirit of celebrating hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, Brooklyn-bred rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z is doing his part in keeping the culture and himself relevant to the masses. The man born Shawn Carter is the first Black male recording artist to have 10 multi-platinum solo albums (selling at least two million units).
On July 12, 2023, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified two of Jay-Z’s albums to another plateau when The Black Album (originally released November 14, 2003) reached four times platinum and Blueprint 3 (released on September 8, 2009) achieved double platinum status.
According to Complex, Jay-Z has 12 multi-platinum albums under his belt when you count his collaborative albums with nu-metal band Linkin Park (Collision Course, which has sold two million copies) and Kanye West (Watch the Throne which has sold five million units so far).
Jay-Z has sold over 33.5 million albums to date.
Although Jay-Z is the first Black male recording artist to achieve this feat, Mariah Carey was the first Black recording artist to have 10 solo albums that have sold over two million copies. Eleven of her solo projects that have gone multi-platinum.
This news comes on the heels of the Brooklyn Public Library announcing that an exhibition titled “The Book of HOV” debuted on July 14, 2023. The installation, which Roc Nation created, was done to honor and celebrate the life and work of hip-hop’s richest recording artist.
“The Book of HOV” takes up two floors of the Central Library at 10 Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn. To find out more about the installation, you can visit thebookofhov.com.
The Brooklyn Public Library has also announced limited edition releases of 13 Jay-Z-inspired library cards, representing the hip-hop legend’s 13 solo albums. The library said anyone who visits other Brooklyn branches can collect all 13 cards starting in August 2023. The cards are now exclusively available at Central Library and Marcy Library.
