JAY-Z’s 4:44 Album Has Gone Platinum In Less Than A Week

Less than one week after JAY-Z released his 13th solo album, 4:44 is platinum. That Roc Nation LP was available June 30. As was the case with its 2013 predecessor Magna Carta…Holy Grail, the 10-track offering was accessible on a limited basis. In this case, only Tidal subscribers and Sprint users were able to listen to the No I.D.-produced work on-demand, in addition to radio previews of the album. Over the holiday weekend, a Tidal promotional code allowed an influx of others in on the 4:44 party.

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This morning (July 5), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has confirmed that 4:44 has been certified platinum. Despite its exclusivity, the digital album achieved the benchmark through streams. In the RIAA press release, no stream count was provided.

Jay now has 13 platinum releases as a solo artist. Through collaborative work, he has four additional titles with that distinction. As the RIAA reminded in its announcement, Hov’ is the only Rap/Hip-Hop artist with 10 platinum solo titles. Tupac has eight titles. Eminem has seven.

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A photo shows Jay receiving his commemorative plaque from RIAA Chairman and CEO Cary Sherman.

Notably, Magna Carta… was certified platinum the day of its release. Pitchfork points out that the RIAA changed rules in 2013, just ahead of that album’s summer release. Previously, an album had to be available 30 days before review.

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In related news, another Brooklyn, New York MC who been previously photographed with JAY-Z has a theory about 4:44. Joey Bada$$ stated over the weekend that he believes the album’s title is a reference to being the fourth installment of the Blueprint series.

JAY-Z’s last entry in the series was in 2009, an album that No I.D. also worked on.

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Jay stated otherwise, in his liner note conversation with iHeartRadio: “‘4:44’ is a song that I wrote, and it’s the crux of the album, just right in the middle of the album. And I woke up, literally, at 4:44 in the morning, 4:44 AM, to write this song. So it became the title of the album and everything. It’s the title track because it’s such a powerful song, and I just believe one of the best songs I’ve ever written.”

Photo by Jeff Kravitz.