No other Jamaican has more Recording Industry Association (RIAA) Latin Gold and Platinum music certifications in the U.S. than Rvssian. His Urban Latin song ‘Privado,’ recently surpassed 100 million streams on Spotify.
It’s the music impresario’s 4th song as lead and 7th overall to reach the milestone. The song which features Nicky Jam, Farruko, Archangel and Konshens is certified 3x Platinum in the U.S. by the RIAA and is among a slew of Latin hits by the Rich Immigrants founder.
Rvssian does not sing on all of his songs, but like DJ Khaled and P.Diddy he can be seen in the videos making an impression in whatever signature designer outfit his stylist choses that day.
Over all he has 2,260,975,634 on Spotify as of September 28, 2023. His top seven songs on the platform include “Nostálgico” at No. 1 featuring Chris Brown and Rauw Alejandro with 451,309,793 streams which is also certified 5x Latin Platinum in the US (300,0000.
“Kruppy Kush (feat. Travis Scott & Rvssian) – Travis Scott Remix” – 248,692,982 streams, “Ponle” – 214,246,066 streams, “B11 (feat. Myke Towers)” – 147,163,738 streams, “Ring Ring (with Rvssian feat. Clever)” – 146,524,163 streams and “Writing on the Wall with French Montana (feat. Post Malone & Cardi B)” – 133,844,644 streams and is certified Latin Gold for selling 50,000 units in the U.S.
With Si Tu Lo Dejas (feat. Nicky Jam, Farruko, Arcangel & Konshens) also 6x Latin Platinum for 360,000 streams and sales equivalent units, the producer Born Tarik Johnston, is up for a Latin Grammy award for his production on Ron Cola on Rauw Alejandro’s Latin Platinum album Saturno with Subelo NEO which is nominated for Best Urban Music Album.
He told the Jamaica Observer that the transition from Dancehall music to Latin was easy for him, “I always listened to Latin music since I was 12 years old while living in Jamaica. I had my ears tuned in to a lot of different genres and not only dancehall and reggaeton. And I wanted to expand my brand and figured Spanish is the most spoken language after Chinese. And, they love reggae and dancehall. So, it was a perfect fit.”
In the first half of 2023, Latin music revenue in the United States surged to an all-time high of $627 million marking a remarkable 15% increase, as reported by the RIAA’s mid-year Latin music report released on September 27.
“U.S. Latin music revenues reached an all-time high in 2022, and the growth has continued mid-year into 2023. This has been driven by both the vitality of classic hits and chart- topping new releases that have influenced broader culture and society. This sustained passion for Latin music was at the heart of this year’s RIAA Honors, which celebrated Icon Gloria Estefan and Artist of the Year Sebastián Yatra, alongside policymakers and executives who came together to tell an All-American story about the power of diversity and new voices in music, politics and communities across the country.”
— Rafael Fernandez, SVP, Public Policy & Industry Relations, RIAA
This achievement follows the genre’s record-breaking performance last year when it crossed the $1 billion threshold with a 24% growth rate, surpassing the overall music market.
Streaming remained the dominant driver of this growth, contributing a staggering 98% of the revenue. Latin music’s share of the total U.S. recorded music revenue also climbed from 7.1% in the first half of 2022 to a new peak of 7.5% in the first half of 2023.
The mid-year report by the RIAA highlights that ad-supported on-demand music streaming revenue (from platforms like YouTube, free Spotify, and social media) accounted for 23% of Latin music revenue, exceeding the 10% share in the overall U.S. recorded music market.
Additionally, revenue from digital and customized radio services (such as Pandora, SiriusXM, and internet radio) grew by 13% to $36 million, rebounding from a 5% decline in 2022, making up 6% of the total Latin music revenue. However, physical formats contributed less than 1% of revenue at $4.7 million, representing a 37% decline from the first half of 2022.
This impressive growth is attributed not only to the success of artists like Bad Bunny, who Russian made several songs including a remix of Krippy Kush with 800 million views on YouTube.
Bunny dominated streaming in 2022, but also to trailblazers like Columbian superstar Karol G, who made history with “Mañana Será Bonito,” becoming the first all-Spanish language album by a Latin female artist to top the Billboard 200 and has two dancehall inspired tracks.
