‘Yeezy, Yeezy how you do it, huh?’
There’s no denying the tremendous success of Kanye West. No matter what peoples’ opinions are of him, his impact on pop culture is historical.
2016 marked the release of Kanye’s seventh studio album, The Life Of Pablo. Fans eagerly awaited another album since the release of Yeezus in 2013, so the hype had been building up for quite some time. Back in 2016, at the time of the release of TLOP, Kanye tweeted his idea to put an end to physical CD’s with the Yeezus album being his final release of a physical.
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/706894783705432064
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/706895269984673792
Those that enjoy collecting physicals, myself included, were disappointed by this news. Getting to collect music in the form of CD’s and vinyls is a unique appreciation for artists and the work they put into the artwork.
It's official. #TLOP is @KanyeWest's eighth RIAA Platinum (or higher) album! @DefJamRecords 💿 pic.twitter.com/NhDMNrxR5v
— RIAA (@RIAA) April 4, 2017
A little over a year later, it seems to have worked out in his favor. The RIAA, Recording Industry Agency of America, and DefJam Records announced that not only did Kanye achieve his eighth platinum album, but it was also the first streaming-only album to achieve platinum status. In a future where streaming services are battling for dominance, Kanye seems to have predicted the future of music and where it’s headed. According to Pitchfork, the album has amassed over three billion streams worldwide, further proving that point.
.@kanyewest makes history as #TLOP becomes the FIRST streaming-only album to ever achieve RIAA Platinum certification!!💿💿 pic.twitter.com/Ycde04hLAH
— Def Jam Recordings (@defjam) April 4, 2017
The Louis Vuitton Don himself has never shied away from bold statements, and it doesn’t look like he should anytime soon.
Congratulations, Ye!
