Hip hop has come a long way since The Sugarhill Gang dropped the first commercially successful rap song when “Rapper’s Delight” cracked the Billboard top 40. In recent times, Drake has been absolutely killin’ it and was announced as the most streamed artist of all time in 2023.
From Run-D.M.C.’s Raising Hell – which was the genre’s first platinum album – to MC Hammer’s Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em – rap’s first diamond record – hip hop has seen its fair share of successful artists.
According to a great article by DJBooth , over 130 hip hop artists have since released platinum albums. However, scoring more than one platinum album is way harder, and that’s when the list starts shrinking quickly.
So let’s get into it, here are 32 rappers who have achieved the most platinum albums in hip hop history.
Wu-Tang Clan
Platinum albums: 3
- Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
- Wu-Tang Forever
- The W
Public Enemy
Platinum albums: 3
- It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
- Fear of a Black Planet
- Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black
Run-D.M.C.
Platinum albums: 3
- King of Rock
- Raising Hell
- Tougher Than Leather
Salt-N-Pepa
Platinum albums: 4
- Hot, Cool & Vicious
- Blacks’ Magic
- The Greatest Hits
- Very Necessary
MC Hammer
Platinum albums: 4
- Let’s Get It Started
- Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt ‘Em
- Too Legit to Quit
- The Funky Headhunter
Ja Rule
Platinum albums: 4
- Venni Vetti Vecci
- Rule 3:36
- Pain Is Love
- The Last Temptation
Nelly
Platinum albums: 5
- Country Grammar
- Nellyville
- Da Derrty Versions: The Reinvention
- Sweat
- Suit
Busta Rhymes
Platinum albums: 5
- The Coming
- When Disaster Strikes…
- E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front
- Anarchy
- Genesis
Missy Elliott
Platinum albums: 5
- Supa Dupa Fly
- Da Real World
- Miss E… So Addictive
- Under Construction
- This Is Not a Test!
Ludacris
Platinum albums: 5
- Back for the First Time
- Word of Mouf
- Chicken-n-Beer
- The Red Light District
- Release Therapy
DMX
Platinum albums: 5
- It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot
- Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood
- … And Then There Was X
- The Great Depression
- Grand Champ
T.I.
Platinum albums: 5
- Trap Muzik
- Urban Legend
- King
- T.I. vs. T.I.P.
- Paper Trail
The Notorious B.I.G.
Platinum albums: 5
- Ready to Die
- Life After Death
- Born Again
- Duets: The Final Chapter
- Greatest Hits
Scarface
Platinum albums: 5
- We Can’t Be Stopped (with Geto Boys)
- The World Is Yours
- The Diary
- The Untouchable
- My Homies
Cypress Hill
Platinum albums: 6
- Cypress Hill
- Black Sunday
- Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom
- Cypress Hill IV
- Los grandes éxitos en español
- Skull & Bones
Method Man
Platinum albums: 6
- Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (with Wu-Tang Clan)
- Tical (1994)
- Wu-Tang Forever (with Wu-Tang Clan)
- Tical 2000: Judgment Day
- Blackout! (with Redman)
- The W (with Wu-Tang Clan)
Eazy-E
Platinum albums: 6
- Straight Outta Compton (with N.W.A.)
- Eazy-Duz-It
- 100 Miles and Runnin’ EP (with N.W.A.)
- Niggaz4Life (with N.W.A)
- It’s On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa
- The N.W.A Legacy, Vol. 1: 1988–1998 (with N.W.A)
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony
Platinum albums: 6
- Creepin on ah Come Up EP
- E. 1999 Eternal
- The Art of War
- The Collection: Vol. 1
- BTNHResurrection
- Greatest Hits
Too $hort
Platinum albums: 6
- Life Is…Too Short
- Short Dog’s in the House
- Shorty the Pimp
- Get in Where You Fit In
- Cocktails
- Gettin’ It (Album Number Ten)
Dr. Dre
Platinum albums: 7
- Straight Outta Compton (with N.W.A.)
- 100 Miles and Runnin’ (with N.W.A.)
- Niggaz4Life (with N.W.A.)
- The Chronic
- Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath
- The N.W.A Legacy, Vol. 1: 1988–1998 (with N.W.A.)
- 2001
Beastie Boys
Platinum albums: 7
- Licensed to Ill
- Paul’s Boutique
- Check Your Head
- Ill Communication
- Hello Nasty
- Beastie Boys Anthology: The Sounds of Science
- To the 5 Boroughs
LL Cool J
Platinum albums: 7
- Radio
- Bigger and Deffer
- Walking with a Panther
- Mama Said Knock You Out
- Mr. Smith
- All World: Greatest Hits
- Phenomenon
OutKast
Platinum albums: 7
- Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik
- ATLiens
- Aquemini
- Stankonia
- Big Boi & Dre Presents… OutKast
- Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
- Idlewild
Nas
Platinum albums: 7
- Illmatic
- It Was Written
- I Am…
- Nastradamus
- Stillmatic
- God’s Son
- Street’s Disciple
Snoop Dogg
Platinum albums: 8
- Doggystyle
- Tha Doggfather
- Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told
- No Limit Top Dogg
- Tha Eastsidaz (with Tray Deee and Goldie Loc as Tha Eastsidaz)
- Tha Last Meal
- Paid tha Cost to Be da Boss
- R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece
Ice Cube
Platinum albums: 8
- Straight Outta Compton (with N.W.A.)
- AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted
- Kill at Will
- Death Certificate
- The Predator
- Lethal Injection
- War & Peace Vol. 1 (The War Disc)
- The N.W.A Legacy, Vol. 1: 1988–1998 (with N.W.A.)
Lil Wayne
Platinum albums: 9
- Tha Block Is Hot
- Tha Carter
- Tha Carter II
- Tha Carter III
- Rebirth
- I Am Not a Human Being
- Tha Carter IV
- I Am Not a Human Being II
- Tha Carter V
Kanye West
Platinum albums: 9
- The College Dropout
- Late Registration
- Graduation
- 808s & Heartbreak
- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
- Watch the Throne (with Jay-Z)
- Cruel Summer (with GOOD Music)
- Yeezus
- The Life of Pablo
Drake
Platinum albums: 9
- Honestly, Nevermind
- Thank Me Later
- Take Care
- Nothing Was the Same
- If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
- What a Time to Be Alive (with Future)
- Views
- More Life
- Scorpion
2Pac
Platinum albums: 11
- Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z…
- Me Against the World
- All Eyez on Me
- The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory
- R U Still Down? (Remember Me)
- Greatest Hits
- Still I Rise (with Outlawz)
- Until the End of Time
- Better Dayz
- Loyal to the Game
- Live at the House of Blues
Eminem
Platinum albums: 12
- The Slim Shady LP
- The Marshall Mathers LP
- Devil’s Night (with D12)
- The Eminem Show
- D12 World (with D12)
- Encore
- Curtain Call: The Hits
- Relapse
- Recovery
- Hell: The Sequel (as Bad Meets Evil)
- The Marshall Mathers LP 2
- Kamikaze
Jay-Z
Platinum albums: 17
- Reasonable Doubt
- In My Lifetime, Vol. 1
- Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life
- Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter
- The Dynasty: Roc La Familia
- The Blueprint
- The Best of Both Worlds (with R. Kelly)
- The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse
- The Black Album
- Unfinished Business (with R. Kelly)
- Collision Course (with Linkin Park)
- Kingdom Come
- American Gangster
- The Blueprint 3
- Watch the Throne (with Kanye West)
- Magna Carta… Holy Grail
- 4:44
