Lauryn Hill makes history as first female MC to go diamond

Lauryn Hill joins the likes of 2Pac, Outkast and Eminem to have sold 10 million copies of an album

Lauryn Hill‘s debut album ‘The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill’ has gone diamond after selling over 10 million copies in the US, making her the first ever female rapper to achieve the feat.

The Recording Industry Association of America made the news official on Tuesday (February 16), tweeting its congratulations to Hill.

“Welcome to the RIAA Diamond Club @MsLaurynHill! #TheMiseducationofLaurynHill is now a (10X) certified album!” it said.

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Released in 1998, the album was an immediate commercial success, selling 422,624 copies in its first week and debuting at Number One in the US charts.

In the UK it peaked at Number Two, while the record has sold an estimated 20 million copies internationally.

Although other women have achieved the rare feat of a diamond-selling record, including Adele for ’21’ and Britney Spears for ‘…Baby One More Time’, Hill is the first female rapper.

Other hip hop records to go diamond include Eminem‘s ‘The Marshall Mathers LP’ and ‘The Eminem Show’, Beastie Boys‘ ‘Licensed To Ill’, 2Pac‘s ‘All Eyez On Me’ and Outkast‘s ‘Speakerboxxx/The Love Below’.

Last month, meanwhile, Hill spoke about why ‘The Miseducation Of…’ remains the only solo album in her catalogue to date.

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In a rare interview, Hill said her label had never chased her to make another album. “The wild thing is no one from my label has ever called me and asked how can we help you make another album, EVER…EVER,” she said.

“Did I say ever? Ever! … With the ‘Miseducation’, there was no precedent. I was, for the most part, free to explore, experiment and express.”

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