Fifteen years after its release, Kanye West’s “Through the Wire” has finally reached platinum status.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) officially certified the song platinum (for 1 million copies sold) on Nov. 20. The song initially went gold (500,000 copies sold) in March 2014.

Released in September 2003, the self-produced track was the first single from Kanye’s debut album, The College Dropout. The song was recorded in October 2002, following his near-fatal car accident in California. The title was inspired by the fact that Ye rapped his lyrics through his wired jaw after fracturing it in three places during the crash.

On the song, which samples Chaka Khan’s 1985 ballad “Through the Wire,” Kanye details his horrific car accident and his painful recovery in the hospital.

In one of his classic lines, ’Ye raps, "Tryin' to be a millionaire, how I used two lifelines/In the same hospital where Biggie Smalls died/The doctor said I had blood clots, but I ain't Jamaican, man/Story on MTV and I ain't tryin to make a band/I swear, this right here, history in the makin', man."

The Coodie and Chike-directed video offers a visual portrait of Kanye in Chi-City. The clip also features Polaroid snapshots of ’Ye in the studio as well as his bloated and bruised face following his car accident.

The College Dropout would earn Kanye 10 nominations for the 2005 Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. The veteran producer eventually took home the Best Rap Album trophy and Best Rap Song honor for "Jesus Walks."

Watch Kanye West's "Through the Wire" video below.

Kanye Through the Wire RIAA
RIAA
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