The announcement was first made by RIAA in a tweet on March 9 that said, “Congratulations to @iamcardib, the first female rapper to achieve a RIAA [diamond emoji] single award! #BodakYellow @AtlanticRecords.”
A diamond certification means that a single moved 10 million units, Yahoo! Life said. This means that the record was certified 10x Platinum. With this distinction, Almanzar’s name is now alongside artists like Justin Bieber, Eminem, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Lorde and several others.
“HUGE congrats to @iamcardib as her smash hit #BodakYellow is now certified diamond!” Atlantic Records said.
Almanzar’s fans speculated about the certification before she said it herself.
The rapper took to Twitter to reveal the news to her fans and celebrate her excitement with them. In a series of tweets, Almanzar expressed her gratitude to fans for helping with her accomplishment in a video.
“I just want to say thank you guys so much because without you guys, this wouldn’t happen like this really made my day,” Almanzar said.
Not only did Almanzar enjoy the new record she set with the single, but she also celebrated her song “WAP,” featuring Megan Thee Stallion, which has gone 5x platinum, Entertainment Weekly said. She is no stranger to making history either.
For instance, Almanzar has made history for being the first female rapper to have a No. 1 hit in two different decades and the first female solo artist to win a Grammy in the category for Best Rap Album, Entertainment Weekly mentioned.
“Bodak Yellow” was released back in June 2017. The single eventually went on to become the lead single from her debut studio album Invasion of Privacy.
Some people felt that Almanzar didn’t give enough credit to rapper Kodak Black for her diamond certification because her song was inspired by Black’s “No Flockin.” Almanzar explained that she gave Black credit on the song and that they were “both getting rich with the song till [they] die,” she said in a tweet.
“.@iamcardib really IS the most hated user on this app for no reason. like whyyyy are ppl so pressed bc a woman is more successful than you, MAKE IT MAKE SENSE,” one Twitter user wrote.
Many celebrities congratulated the artist for her achievement including Megan Thee Stallion, G-Eazy and Lil Yachty.
At the time of its release, “Bodak Yellow” became popular and quickly turned into a chart topping success. The single helped to propel Almanzar into the more mainstream music industry and to give her an identity outside of her television exposure from the VH1 show, Love & Hip Hop: New York, which she was on for two seasons, seasons 6 and 7.
The New York Times argued that this single allowed Almanzar to carve her own lane in the music industry. It was Almanzar’ approach to the verses and her relatable roots that contributed to her success. Specifically, the NYT said that Almanzar was guided by the “blunt doom-and-gloom beat” where she worked in a “palpable rhythm of inhale and exhale, making for an entrancing rhythm.”
The fact that Almanzar’s artistic choices for the song were able to turn into success on the charts was something new—“without a meme, without a dance”— made the attention that the song got almost strange, chart manager at Billboard Trevor Anderson said to the NYT.
Prior to “Bodak Yellow,” Almanzar released Gangsta Bitch Music, Vol. 1 in 2016 and Gangsta Bitch Music, Vol. 2 in 2017. These were her mixtapes.
Also, the song solidified its legacy when it became No. 1 in October 2017. Almanzar had become “the first female rapper to top the all-genre tally without any other credited artists in nearly 20 years, since Lauryn Hill‘s first solo entry, “Doo Wop (That Thing),” with its Nov. 14, 1998, debut at No. 1,” Billboard said.
Almanzar has sustained relevance on the charts. In fact, Almanzar’s single “Up” that dropped in February has spent four weeks on the Billboard 100 so far. Additionally, the song peaked at No. 2 on the chart and remains there for the week of March 13.
