3 weeks ago
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In a powerful affirmation of her impact on global music, Spice has etched her name into history as the first Jamaican woman to receive U.S. sales certification under the newly launched Luminate and A2IM independent music recognition program. Her Grammy-nominated debut album 10 has officially surpassed 140,000 units sold in the U.S., including 21,000 in pure album sales — the highest for any dancehall artist in the last decade, independent or otherwise.
This latest milestone comes as the independent certification initiative, rolled out in June 2025 by Luminate and the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), seeks to spotlight albums that may not hit the towering benchmarks of RIAA’s Gold or Platinum plaques but still achieve significant cultural and commercial impact. The program awards albums with One, Two, or Three Stars based on sales between 50,000 and 300,000 units. With 10 crossing the 100K threshold, Spice joins the inaugural wave of honorees, standing proudly beside acts like Jamie xx, Cavetown, and Gregory Porter. “This certification was created to recognize real achievement on terms that truly reflect how the independent sector operates,” explained A2IM CEO Dr. Richard James Burgess.
10 has not only made history through sales — it’s currently the most streamed and sold dancehall album of the last five years, amassing over 408 million Spotify streams globally. This also marks the highest-performing dancehall album by a female artist in more than two decades, reinforcing Spice’s dominance in a genre long underrepresented by women at the international level.
Her influence is far from limited to charts and streams. 10 earned Spice a groundbreaking Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album, making her the first Jamaican female dancehall artist to be recognized for a solo body of work in the category. “This isn’t just a win for me — it’s a win for every woman in dancehall who was ever told she couldn’t,” Spice said in a previous interview, speaking on the doors her nomination continues to open.
Adding to her accolades, singles from the album have collectively earned five certifications across the UK, France, Canada, and two gold-eligible honors in the U.S. She remains the only Jamaican female dancehall artist to top the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart and holds the record for the most Billboard entries by a woman in Jamaican music history — with over five appearances to date. Spice’s journey, once rooted in raw talent and streetwise hustle, has now transformed into a global blueprint for independent success — and she’s only just getting started.
English (US) ·