Yesterday, Virginia rapper D.R.A.M. announced on his personal Facebook page that his “Broccoli” single (featuring hip-hop head favorite Lil Yachty) went double platinum. While the breezy bounce record has been a favorite for months, it got little love from the radio—“little” meaning just about none. D.R.A.M’s achievement was won primarily off of the strength of song streams.
D.R.A.M.’s achievement is yet another paradigm shifting moment, and a death knell to the traditional life cycle of a song (read: the radio). The RIAA’s February inclusion of song streams into their tallies opened the door for a song like “Broccoli” to attain a certification with little radio support. D.R.A.M. is currently signed to Atlantic records, but the tracks success piggybacks off of the rise of Mac Miller and Macklemore to show upcoming rhymers that there is a chance to compete while in D.I.Y mode.
It may take some unique marketing and an intense grind but it’s no longer a virtual impossibility. Roll up some broccoli to that.
