Drake got a happy birthday as he received 14 new certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America this week.
Take Care is now 8x platinum, Nothing Was the Same is 6x platinum, Thank Me Later is 4x platinum, Certified Lover Boy is 3x platinum and Her Loss is 2x platinum. That was followed by “Hold On, We’re Going Home” featuring Majid Jordan going 9x platinum, “Headlines,” “Started From the Bottom” and “The Motto” featuring Lil Wayne are all 8x platinum, and the Rihanna-featured “Take Care” is 7x platinum.
Drake has surpassed 200 million RIAA-certified single units as a lead artist.
“Tried to have this all go live for you yesterday, but we certified a lot of certifications for your bday,” Mr. Morgan, president of OVO Sound texted to Drake. “Drake now has 223M RIAA Digital Certified Song Units as a lead artist. First artist to cross 200M in RIAA History.”
The Certified Lover Boy got his start as Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation, but then pursued a career in music with his debut mixtape Room for Improvement in 2006. He would sign with Young Money Entertainment, and his first three albums, Thank Me Later, Take Care, and Nothing Was the Same, were all critical successes.
His fourth album, Views stood atop the Billboard 200 for 13 weeks, and featured the record-setting single "One Dance". In 2018, Drake released Scorpion, which featured the number-one singles "God's Plan", "Nice for What", and "In My Feelings".
Drake's sixth album, Certified Lover Boy had nine top 10 hits on the Hot 100, setting the record for most US top-ten hits from one album, with "Way 2 Sexy" reaching number one. In 2022, Drake followed that with the house-inspired Honestly, Nevermind.
As an entrepreneur, Drake founded the OVO Sound record label, became the "global ambassador" of the Toronto Raptors, collaborated with American entrepreneur Brent Hocking on the bourbon whiskey Virginia Black, and became a part owner of Italian football club A.C. Milan.
Happy Birthday Drake, yours is a certified blessed life.