Rvssian earns new RIAA certifications
Producer gearing up to release new music in dancehall, Latin and Italian markets
Music producer Tarik “Rvssian” Johnston says his latest certifications by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) are a testament to the hard work and dedication that he has been putting in over the years.
On Friday January 24, the RIAA issued an 18x platinum (Latin) certification for the song Nostalgico by Rvssian, Rauw Alejandro and Chris Brown.
This means, the song has sold more than 1.08 million units in sales and streaming equivalent.
In an interview with the Jamaica Observer on Friday, Rvssian commented: “It’s a great feeling because this shows that the songs continue to grow.”
Nostalgico, released in September 2021 via Sony Latin, was a commercial success, making the top 5 in Puerto Rico and Spain; top 10 in Dominican Republic, Peru, and Panama; while charting at #6 on Billboard’s Latin Rhythm Airplay, #2 on Latin Pop Airplay, #9 on Latin Airplay, and #11 on Hot Latin Songs charts.
The song was previously certified 4x platinum in Spain (240,000), 2x platinum in Mexico (280,000), and gold in Brazil (20,000).
Also on Friday, the RIAA issued a 13x platinum (Latin) certification for Santa, a 2024 release by Rvssian featuring Ayra Starr and Rauw Alejandro.
Said Rvssian: “This really means a lot, it’s just another form of accreditation towards our achievements.”
Santa’s certification commemorates 780,000 units sold. It was previously certified in Spain for 3x platinum (180,000 units).
Santa, too, was a commercial success taking the #1 spot in Bolivia, Peru and Spain. Over in Ecuador, the song rose to #2, #7 in Chile, #2 in Colombia, and #11 in Argentina.
In the United States, Santa made the Billboard Global 200 chart at #20, #25 on Latin Airplay, #7 on Hot Latin Songs, and #7 on Latin Rhythm Airplay.
Rvssian made his mark on the dancehall music scene locally when he produced hits for the likes of Konshens and Vybz Kartel among several others in the late 2000s into the mid-2010s.
He made the move into the lucrative Latin market and has worked with several of the genre’s biggest names.
Last year he scored big with the Dutty Money and Payment Plan rhythms, which spawned hits by the likes of Kraff Gad, Nigy Boy, RajahWild, Moyann, Valiant, among others.
The producer told the Observer that he has new music coming from dancehall, Latin, and Italian recording artistes.
He said: “I’m working on a lot of new projects in the Latin space, dancehall, and Italian markets. I have a lot of stuff coming for 2025. This year will be one of the years that I release a lot of new music.”
