Posted by Baby Keem‘s debut effort The Melodic Blue is now officially certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
The plaque was awarded to Keem on Wednesday (April 13) and means the project has sold over 500,000 certified units in the U.S. The accomplishment should come as no surprise to Keem fans considering how impactful the album was when it dropped.
US Certifications (@RIAA): @babykeem, The Melodic Blue Gold (500,000; album).
— chart data (@chartdata) April 14, 2022
The Melodic Blue was elevated by two guest appearances from Kendrick Lamar on “Range Brothers” and “Family Ties” and by the singles “Durag Activity” featuring Travis Scott and “Cocoa” with Don Toliver.
The album also earned 70.1 million on-demand streams on its September 10 release day, making it the second-most streamed album of that week behind Drake’s chart-topping behemoth Certified Lover Boy.
The Melodic Blue ultimately landed at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart with an estimated 53,000 total album-equivalent units earned.
Baby Keem Shows Potential But Delivers Half-Baked Songs On PgLang Debut ‘The Melodic Blue’
“I don’t think music has anything out right now, like this project,” Keem told Billboard last September. “I took my time carefully recording every vocals. I was going through a lot during that process, just becoming a man.”
He continued, “I just want to make sure I’m always giving people something new — maybe not what they want to hear, but what they need to hear. If it was up to some people, I’d just make a bunch of ‘Orange Soda’s and call it a day.”
The 21-year-old rapper is currently in the throes of his Melodic Blue Tour and will wrap up his North American leg on the Coachella stage on April 15.
Revisit The Melodic Blue‘s hit single “Family Ties” with Kendrick Lamar below.