Celebs

Kendrick Lamar’s Certified Platinum Album ‘DAMN.’ Celebrates Fourth Anniversary

If you’re a music lover then you understand the joy of cutting on a new track or album. Well, like our good sis Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar has left us to continue finding joy in a “oldie but goodie” project. His album ‘DAMN.’ is arguably one of the hottest everthat is according to all the outstanding accolades it has racked up over these last four years.

The artistry of the album is seen in Kendrick’s layered and repetitive lyrics as well as the simplistic presentation of the album as a whole. Each song, like the album name, is titled with a single, uppercase word followed by the period punctuation mark. The album cover showcases Kendrick wearing a white tee while sporting a distracted look on his face. Across the top of the cover, the album name is spelled out in thin, bright red letters.

Whatever messages Kendrick intended to impart with this masterpiece were felt strongly and subsequently acknowledged with streams and awards. The year 2018 was especially huge for Kendrick’s last solo project. In May 2018, the entire ‘DAMN.’ album earned the triple platinum status with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). That same year, all 14 songs on ‘DAMN.’ were certified platinum or multi-platinum by RIAA, according to reports by Billboard. Currently, the track “LOYALTY.” boasts a double platinum status. ‘LOVE.’ is four times platinum. ‘HUMBLE.’ is seven-times platinum. The list goes on.

Back in January 2018, Kendrick loaded up on Grammy Awards for this album, according to their official site. He earned an award for Best Rap Album. The song ‘HUMBLE.’ gave Kendrick three Grammy Awards, including Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song and Best Music Video. He also won Best Rap/Sung Performance for ‘LOYALTY.’

With ‘DAMN.’ Kendrick also became the first hip-hop act to win the highly prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2018. They described the project as “a virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life,” says the Pulitzer Prizes site. The prize was $15,000.

Not sure how the rapper plans to top this award-winning album, but we’ll just have to wait and see. Roommates, are you anticipating Kendrick’s next project?

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Cassandra Santiago

Cassandra Santiago is a multimedia journalist, editor, and editorial strategist with over a decade of experience shaping conversations across arts, entertainment, culture, and global news. A graduate of the University of Iowa, she has built a cross-platform career spanning newspapers, magazines, radio, and digital media. She joined The Shade Room five years ago and currently serves as a Senior Editor, where she leads editorial direction, oversees exclusive coverage, and trains and edits a team of writers. Cassandra has played a key role in developing high-impact content and editorial strategies for an audience of more than 30 million, contributing to platform growth, engagement, and monetization across multiple channels. In addition to her leadership role, she remains a daily contributor, with her articles generating more than 41 million views since 2023. Beyond The Shade Room, Cassandra offers freelance social media strategy services, speaks on the influence and impact of Black media at public panels, and owns Did It For You, an event design company in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. She is Poynter Institute–certified and was named to the DMV’s 35 Under 35 list in 2024.

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