Drake first to pass 350M RIAA units with 30 new awards

Toronto rapper Drake became the first artist to surpass 350 million RIAA-certified units on Friday, when the Recording Industry Association of America announced 30 new certifications a day before his 40th birthday, Billboard reported.

The batch pushed his total of Diamond plaques, awarded at 10 million units in the United States, to 18, the most of any artist, Billboard said. No act had previously reached 350 million units, according to DancehallMag.

Three titles went Diamond in the batch: the 2016 album Views and the singles “In My Feelings” and “Marvins Room,” The Source reported. The Source said Views joins Take Care from 2011 among Drake’s Diamond albums. The RIAA’s public Gold & Platinum database lists “In My Feelings” and “Marvins Room” as 1x Diamond, both certified Oct. 23, 2026. The database did not show Views in the portion Canada News Media could view.

“God’s Plan” is now double Diamond, Billboard said. By its count the 30 certifications cover seven albums and 23 singles. “One Dance” reached 15 times platinum a decade after Views was released, and “Knife Talk” rose to eight times platinum.

Among the albums, Scorpion reached nine times platinum, More Life six times, Certified Lover Boy five times and the 2009 mixtape So Far Gone three times, Billboard and DancehallMag reported. Care Package earned its first platinum plaque. ICEMAN, released in May, went platinum about five months after its debut.

The record owes a lot to streaming, which now counts toward RIAA certifications and favours artists whose catalogues are replayed heavily, DancehallMag noted. “Marvins Room,” a 2011 single, only reached Diamond this week.

The announcement came as Drake marked his 40th birthday on Saturday. Billboard said celebrations included a dinner above the CN Tower in Toronto, his hometown.

Drake has been a steady presence on the charts this month. As Canada News Media reported Oct. 17, his HABIBTI reissue leapt from No. 116 to No. 2. He is also among the artists due to be honoured at the SOCAN Awards on Oct. 26, according to our earlier report.

The RIAA counts only U.S. sales and streams, so the 350 million figure does not include Drake’s certifications in Canada, which Music Canada tracks separately.

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Via Billboard, The Source and DancehallMag.