OutKast‘s penultimate album as a group is now their most prized. Recently, RIAA updated its website to signify that the Atlanta-bred group’s 2003 LP Speakerboxxx/The Love Below has earned 13x platinum status. Receiving this honor after the project first went diamond in 2004, makes Speakerboxxx/The Love Below the highest-selling rap album of all time, surpassing Eminem’s The Eminem Show which sits at 12x platinum.
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To celebrate the occasion, Big Boi of OutKast took to Instagram. Posting a video of him holding a commemorative 13x platinum plaque, the now-48-year-old thanked all the duo’s fans for making history happen.
“Special delivery just in time for the 20th anniversary 9/23/03,” he wrote. “#speakerboxxxthelovebelow Over 13 Million albums sold. (Diamond & a 3.5) What Are Your Jams? @ outkast is everlasting. Stank You Smelly Much… To All Y’all.”
As Big Boi noted, September 23 marked the 20-year anniversary of Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, which OutKast honored in a special way a week later. On September 29, the group put a limited-edition collector’s vinyl up for sale on their site, priced at $54.99. According to a press release, the record is “pressed on Double ‘Platinum Chain’ and Double ‘Pearl’ colored vinyl packaged in a gatefold jacket.” Pre-orders are available now and vinyls will be shipped in November.
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Additionally, they also launched a separate giveaway to further salute their 13x platinum achievement. With sign-ups available on their site, the giveaway will see one lucky fan win “a certified custom plaque” of the classic album.
Though earning 13x platinum status is incredibly difficult to do, it should be noted that since Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is a double album, with the Speakerboxxx portion essentially being a Big Boi solo album and The Love Below is an André 3000 solo album. This means that each sale of the LP counts for two, according to RIAA, which goes for every double album released commercially. Other iconic albums that have benefitted from this loophole are The Notorious B.I.G.’s Life After Death and Tupac’s All Eyez On Me.
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