It is not easy to have a long lasting career in the Hip Hop music scene. I have heard people say that most rappers have a 5 year life span. So I always respect rappers who have been able to stay relevant on the scene for ten years and more; for you to be able to sell platinum (more than a million copies of your album) ten years after your debut says a lot about the quality of music you make.
Like Nas said in that Nike Classic song with Kanye West, Rakim, and KRS1..."Oh, you went platinum? Yea, that's nice. Now let me see you do the same thing twice, three times, four times, then a couple of more times." You can go platinum with one album because you are popping at the moment, but the power to consistently go platinum over three, four, five albums says a lot about your pedigree.
Below is a list of rappers that were able to sell platinum, 10 years after their debut album.
Jay Z
This should not even come as a surprise to anyone reading this. Cos, all his 12 studio albums have attained platinum status. But, what you should know is that if he had stopped making music after album number 2, he wouldn't have been as well known as he currently is, and he definitely wont have made this list. This is because his first two albums (Reasonable Doubt- 96, and In My Lifetime- 97) didn't go platinum, till he released his third album, Hardknock Life).
So, Jay Z released his first debut album, Reasonable Doubt in 1996, and 10 years later, in 2006, he was still able to go platinum with his 9th album, Kingdom Come.
Snoop Dogg
Snoop is another person you have to give it to when it comes to consistency. Being able to persevere through all the eras so far is not a joke. His first album, Doggystyle went multi-platinum when it was released in 1993 (and it has sold over 5 million copies so far), and he was still able to sell a million copies 10 years later, with the release of his 7th album, Rhythm & Gangster, which sold over 1.7 million copies in the U.S when it was released in 2004.
Lil Wayne
Wayne started out with the Hot Boyz as the youngest member in the late 90s. And he was able to go platinum with his first ever solo album in 1999, Tha Block is Hot. Fastward over a decade later, Lil Wayne was still able to sell over a million copies with his 7th studio album, Tha Carter 4 in 2011.
Nas
The Golden Child of 1994, Nas dropped his debut album, Illmatic in 1994. Although the album didn't go platinum till several years later, it was highly respected in the Hip Hop community. 10 years later, his 7th album, Street's Disciple was released, and it has been certified platinum by the RIAA. All the albums Nas has dropped after this have not been able to reach platinum again, so this marks the last platinum selling album Nas released before he got into the Gold selling league. So, he almost didn't make this list.
Eminem
This man is the king of sales in Hip Hop, so why won't he make our list. All his albums have gone multi-platinum. His first album, The Slim Shady LP was released in 1999, and it went on to sell over 4 million copies. Ten years later in 2009, he released his not very well accepted 5th album, Relapse. But even though a lot of people look at the album as lukewarm, it still sold over 2 million copies before the end of its year of release.
LL Cool J
Mr. Smith, a.k.a LL Cool J was the G.O.A.T before Jay Z, and later Lil Wayne started claiming that title. With over 10 albums to his name; his first album, Radio was released as far back as 1985. I am sure some of you guys weren't born by then. As a young man of 17 years old under Def Jam, LL Cool J sold over a million copies of his debut album.
10 years later, when he released his Mr. Smith album, he still went Platinum. I really think LL Cool J doesn't get the respect that he deserves in Hip Hop right now. People are always hung up on the next best thing...forgetting the ones that came before and had longevity. Imagine people calling someone (I wont mention the rapper's name) with just two albums right now the best rapper ever. Come on guys!
Anyway, that's it for this list. Its just 6 rappers that made this list, and you should respect them. When next you are saying your favorite rapper 'shits' on some of this guys, ask yourself, how long as your favorite rapper been doing it.
Like Nas said in that Nike Classic song with Kanye West, Rakim, and KRS1..."Oh, you went platinum? Yea, that's nice. Now let me see you do the same thing twice, three times, four times, then a couple of more times." You can go platinum with one album because you are popping at the moment, but the power to consistently go platinum over three, four, five albums says a lot about your pedigree.
Below is a list of rappers that were able to sell platinum, 10 years after their debut album.
Jay Z
This should not even come as a surprise to anyone reading this. Cos, all his 12 studio albums have attained platinum status. But, what you should know is that if he had stopped making music after album number 2, he wouldn't have been as well known as he currently is, and he definitely wont have made this list. This is because his first two albums (Reasonable Doubt- 96, and In My Lifetime- 97) didn't go platinum, till he released his third album, Hardknock Life).So, Jay Z released his first debut album, Reasonable Doubt in 1996, and 10 years later, in 2006, he was still able to go platinum with his 9th album, Kingdom Come.
Snoop DoggSnoop is another person you have to give it to when it comes to consistency. Being able to persevere through all the eras so far is not a joke. His first album, Doggystyle went multi-platinum when it was released in 1993 (and it has sold over 5 million copies so far), and he was still able to sell a million copies 10 years later, with the release of his 7th album, Rhythm & Gangster, which sold over 1.7 million copies in the U.S when it was released in 2004.
Lil Wayne
Wayne started out with the Hot Boyz as the youngest member in the late 90s. And he was able to go platinum with his first ever solo album in 1999, Tha Block is Hot. Fastward over a decade later, Lil Wayne was still able to sell over a million copies with his 7th studio album, Tha Carter 4 in 2011.NasThe Golden Child of 1994, Nas dropped his debut album, Illmatic in 1994. Although the album didn't go platinum till several years later, it was highly respected in the Hip Hop community. 10 years later, his 7th album, Street's Disciple was released, and it has been certified platinum by the RIAA. All the albums Nas has dropped after this have not been able to reach platinum again, so this marks the last platinum selling album Nas released before he got into the Gold selling league. So, he almost didn't make this list.
Eminem
LL Cool JMr. Smith, a.k.a LL Cool J was the G.O.A.T before Jay Z, and later Lil Wayne started claiming that title. With over 10 albums to his name; his first album, Radio was released as far back as 1985. I am sure some of you guys weren't born by then. As a young man of 17 years old under Def Jam, LL Cool J sold over a million copies of his debut album.
10 years later, when he released his Mr. Smith album, he still went Platinum. I really think LL Cool J doesn't get the respect that he deserves in Hip Hop right now. People are always hung up on the next best thing...forgetting the ones that came before and had longevity. Imagine people calling someone (I wont mention the rapper's name) with just two albums right now the best rapper ever. Come on guys!
Anyway, that's it for this list. Its just 6 rappers that made this list, and you should respect them. When next you are saying your favorite rapper 'shits' on some of this guys, ask yourself, how long as your favorite rapper been doing it.
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