Some memes, it seems, will never die. As long as J. Cole continues putting out new music and racking up incredible sales without the benefit of any guest appearances, we’ll probably continue to hear the phrase “platinum no features” for a long time to come. Today, the North Carolina rapper pulled off that distinction once again, when his most recent album 4 Your Eyez Only was certified as another million-seller.
Dreamville President Ibrahim Hamad was understandably excited about the distinction and took to Twitter to celebrate.
Congrats to my brother @jcolenc on his 4th Platinum album. Also congrats to @Dreamville and All producers & musicians who worked on 4YEO. pic.twitter.com/zLWAy2g9Lh
— Ibrahim H. (@KingOfQueenz) April 7, 2017
The “platinum no features,” meme went super-viral just after Cole’s last album2014 Forest Hills Drive sold over a million copies back in 2015. It was an argument brought out by the Carolina rapper’s biggest fans as a way of defending his place as one of the most vital lyricists in the game and has since taken on a life of its own. Cole’s fans were understandably excited by the news today. Maybe too excited.
https://twitter.com/WarriorBBall5/status/850391807959728128
J. Cole just went platinum with no features for the second time in 3 years 🐐🐐🐐
— Quin (@TheQC_) April 7, 2017
https://twitter.com/AmBlujay/status/850298469709467648
https://twitter.com/Monrowe/status/850264954636652544
https://twitter.com/clarity_elise/status/850424545416814593
Platinum in 4 months. NO FEATURES
— ijustwannablegendary (@wahk_folarin7) April 7, 2017
Before 4 Your Eyez Only, the last major rap release to go platinum without any features was Kevin Gates’ 2016 standout album Islah. “He always said he didn’t want to release an album until he knew it was going to sell a million copies,” Dreka Gates remembered about her husband’s record. “And then it did, which is f*cking amazing.”
