Creepy Nuts — the duo of three-time national rap battle champion R-Shitei and world champion DJ DJ Matsunaga — have become the first Japanese artists to receive RIAA Gold certifications for two Japanese-language songs.
Their tracks ‘Bling-Bang-Bang-Born’ and ‘Otonoke’ have each surpassed 500,000 units in the U.S., earning official Gold status from the Recording Industry Association of America. The achievement marks a rare breakthrough for non-English-language hip-hop in the American market.
Founded in 1952, the RIAA awards Gold and Platinum certifications based on U.S. sales and streaming performance — long regarded as one of the global music industry’s most closely watched benchmarks.
According to the RIAA’s official database, ‘Bling-Bang-Bang-Born’ received its Gold certification in February 2025, followed by ‘Otonoke’ in August 2025. The staggered timeline highlights sustained audience engagement rather than a single viral spike.
‘Bling-Bang-Bang-Born’ has since surpassed 900 million global streams and reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Global 200, while ‘Otonoke’ was named the most-streamed Japanese song overseas in 2025, based on year-end data from Billboard Japan and Spotify.
In another rare feat, Creepy Nuts simultaneously occupied the Top 3 positions on Billboard’s Global Japan Songs Excl. Japan chart with ‘Bling-Bang-Bang-Born,’ ‘Otonoke,’ and ‘Mirage’ — underscoring both the scale and consistency of their overseas listenership.
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