Lauryn Hill becomes first female rapper to reach RIAA Diamond Status in history-making career milestone

Lauryn Hill has become the first female rapper to reach RIAA Diamond Status following 10 million sales of her acclaimed 1998 album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

The Record Industry Association of America announced the 45-year-old’s history-making moment on Wednesday, tweeting: ‘Welcome to the RIAA Diamond Club @MsLaurynHill!’

At age 23, Lauryn saw immediate success following her spectacular debut album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

The neo-soul and R&B album shot straight to the number one spot on the Billboard 200 chart, breaking a record for a female artist’s first-week sales.

Five Grammy awards ensued, and Lauryn’s album also made its way into the top 10 of Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums.

However, much to her fans’ dismay, the hitmaker never followed it up with another full-length release but has released a series of one-off singles throughout the resulting years.

In an interview earlier this year with Rolling Stone, the New Jersey-born star explained why she never made a follow-up album to her hugely successful debut.

‘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. Did I say ever? Ever!’ she told the publication.

‘With The Miseducation, there was no precedent. I was, for the most part, free to explore, experiment and express.

‘After The Miseducation, there were scores of tentacled obstructionists, politics, repressing agendas, unrealistic expectations, and saboteurs everywhere.

‘People had included me in their own narratives of their successes as it pertained to my album, and if this contradicted my experience, I was considered an enemy.’

She also made an appearance at Glastonbury Festival in 2019 to perform a medley of her hits on the Pyramid Stage at Worthy Farm. 

Although fans loved her performance, she appeared to have some issues with the sound engineering on the day.

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