Before Wednesday (July 12), only 21 acts in the history of music could boast being attached to 10 or more albums certified multi-Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Among them stood only one Black performer: the ‘Songbird Supreme’ Mariah Carey.

This week, however, brought with it news the diva was joined by legendary Rap mogul JAY-Z (born Shawn Carter) in the exclusive club.

See the latest RIAA news about the ‘Heartbreaker‘ co-stars inside.

Taking to press Wednesday, the RIAA refreshed its logs to reveal two of JAY’s most prized bodies of work – 2009’s ‘Blueprint 3‘ and 2003’s ‘The Black Album‘ – had certification upgrades of 2x and 4x Platinum each. The term “Platinum” refers to sales equivalence of 1 million units in the United States.

The standout update is attached to ‘Black’ as it becomes the emcee’s milestone 10th multi-Platinum album. As such, he becomes the first rapper and first Black male performer to boast double-digit titles by his lonesome that have met or surpassed the 2x Platinum threshold.

When considering all of his bodies of work, he holds two additional multi-Platinum projects: 2004’s ‘Collision Course (with Linkin Park)’ (2x Platinum) and 2011’s ‘Watch the Throne (with Kanye West)’ (5x Platinum).

Among all acts, Carey was the first (and, at present, only other) Black performer on the short list of acts with double-digit multiPlatinum albums as she owns 11 solo titles certified as high.

With the ‘Black’ and ‘Blueprint’ updates, JAY’s cumulative album sales total 33.5 million in the United States – making him one of the best-selling rappers of all time.

[main photo source: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images]

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