Cardi B has officially added another Diamond milestone to her historic résumé alongside Megan Thee Stallion. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, “WAP” received a new certification on August 3, 2026, confirming that the blockbuster collaboration has reached Diamond status in the United States.
A new 💎 for @iamcardib! WAP featuring @theestallion is officially RIAA-certified Diamond! 🩷 @AtlanticRecords pic.twitter.com/DjkiREh9TA
— Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) (@RIAA) August 3, 2026
The RIAA Gold and Platinum program awards Diamond certification to singles that reach 10 million certified units through eligible sales and streaming activity.
The timing makes the accomplishment even sweeter. Cardi B released “WAP” featuring Megan Thee Stallion through Atlantic Records on August 7, 2020, meaning the WAP Diamond certification arrived just four days before the song’s sixth anniversary. The collaboration was first announced days before its release, setting off immediate anticipation around the first musical pairing between two of rap’s biggest women.
That anticipation quickly turned into record breaking demand. “WAP” earned 93 million United States streams during its opening week and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. At the time, that total represented the largest opening streaming week ever recorded for a song. Cardi and Megan surpassed the previous first week streaming record held by Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings.”
The success was historic for both artists. “WAP” became the first collaboration between women rappers to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained at the top for four weeks. The song gave Cardi another massive commercial victory while strengthening Megan’s rise as one of the defining rap artists of her generation.
Still, the numbers were only part of the story. The song’s explicit celebration of women’s sexuality triggered a wave of criticism from conservative commentators and political figures who treated the track like a national emergency. According to the Los Angeles Times, Republican congressional candidate James P. Bradley wrote, “Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion are what happens when children are raised without God and without a strong father figure.”
The outrage only grew as the song became more successful. Then, there was Ben Shapiro’s widely mocked attempt to recite and analyze the lyrics. Cardi responded to the criticism by pointing out that conservatives kept discussing the record while its numbers continued climbing. The people determined to condemn “WAP” were also helping keep it at the center of the cultural conversation.
Cardi later admitted that she never expected the record to become such a major political debate. While reflecting on the song during Billboard’s 2020 Women in Music event, she told People, “It pissed off a whole bunch of Republicans for no reason. It was just weird.” Cardi also said the track became a conversation that she never imagined would grow so large.
That quote feels even more fitting six years later. The WAP Diamond milestone proves that the backlash did not discourage listeners from streaming, purchasing, quoting and revisiting the song. Instead, the controversy helped turn a hit record into a defining cultural event. Cardi and Megan released a sexually confident rap anthem, and conservative critics responded by giving it free publicity across television, podcasts, social media and political commentary.
Megan also recognized the irony of critics spending so much time promoting a song they claimed to dislike. During an appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” she explained, “I know the Republicans have been having a bad year and they probably needed to take their frustration out somewhere.” She later added, “Them people crazy.”
The criticism also exposed a familiar double standard in music. Cardi argued that listeners had heard explicit lyrics throughout rap history but reacted differently when two women controlled the language and presented their own desires. She made clear that the record was created for adults, not children, despite critics repeatedly framing it as a threat to younger audiences.
“WAP” also earned strong critical recognition beyond its commercial performance. Time ranked it as the second best song of 2020, praising the chemistry, humor and momentum Cardi and Megan brought to the collaboration. Pitchfork included it among the best rap songs of the year and highlighted how the record captured a moment when women were leading both the statistics and the cultural direction of rap.
The song’s visual presentation was equally memorable. The music video generated more than 26 million views during its first 24 hours and placed Cardi and Megan inside a colorful mansion filled with elaborate rooms, animals and celebrity appearances. The visual turned the song into a complete pop culture spectacle while keeping the women at the center of every scene.
That creative control remains essential to the song’s legacy. Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion were not simply performing explicit lyrics for shock value. They were reversing a long standing dynamic in which women were often described as objects in rap while men controlled the fantasy. “WAP” allowed two Black women to become the narrators, owners and decision makers in a conversation about pleasure, power and sexuality.
The WAP Diamond certification now gives the song a permanent commercial marker that matches its cultural influence. Six years after conservatives tried to shame Cardi and Megan for saying exactly what they wanted to say, the record has reached one of the music industry’s highest certification levels.
The critics brought the outrage. Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion walked away with the Diamond plaque.
