E-40, the legendary rapper and ambassador of the Bay Area, has achieved a new milestone in his illustrious career. His 2006 hyphy anthem ‘Tell Me When To Go’, featuring Keak Da Sneak, has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) as of Friday, February 2, 20241.
The track, which was produced by Lil Jon and sampled from UGK’s ‘Front, Back & Side to Side’, was originally released on February 7, 2006, as the lead single from E-40’s 10th studio album, My Ghetto Report Card1. The song peaked at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 8 on the Hot Rap Songs charts, becoming E-40’s highest-charting single at the time2.
The song also became a cultural phenomenon, introducing the hyphy movement and its associated slang, dance, and style to the mainstream audience. The music video, directed by Bernard Gourley, featured cameo appearances from fellow Bay Area artists such as Too Short, Mistah F.A.B., Turf Talk, The Federation, and The Team, as well as Lil Jon himself3.
‘Tell Me When To Go’ initially went gold in 2016, a decade after its original release, and has now finally reached the platinum status, which signifies one million units sold, nearly two decades later1. E-40 celebrated the achievement on his Instagram account, where he posted a screenshot of the RIAA certification and thanked his fans for their support.
“Thank you to all my fans for making this possible,” he wrote. "This song is a classic and will never die. Hyphy forever!"4
E-40, who is now 56 years old, has not slowed down his musical output, as he recently formed a supergroup called Mount Westmore with fellow West Coast legends Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, and Too Short. The group is expected to release their debut album later this year.
1: E-40’s Hyphy Anthem Finally Goes Platinum After 18 Years | HipHopDX 2: [E-40 Chart History | Billboard] 3: [E-40 - Tell Me When To Go (Main Version w/ Intro) - YouTube] 4: [E-40 on Instagram: “Thank you to all my fans for making this possible. This song is a classic and will never die. Hyphy forever!”] : [Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Too Short, and E-40 Join Forces for New Supergroup Mt. Westmore | Complex]
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