Missy, St. Lunatics Lead Platinum Charge

Recent albums by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott and the St. Lunatics reached both gold and platinum levels in their first accountings by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Elliott's Elektra release "Miss E ... So Addictive" and "Free City," the Universal set from Nelly's "St. Lunatics" were each certified for U.S. shipments of 500,000 (gold) and 1 million (platinum) copies.

Nelly's former No. 1 Universal set "Country Grammar" reached a new platinum plateau as it was certified for shipments of 7 million copies. As previously reported, the album netted the St. Louis, Mo.-based rapper three 2001 Source Awards nominations (new artist, album of the year, and single of the year for the title track). The artist, who will perform during the Aug. 28 UPN telecast of the awards ceremony, recently hit the road with Destiny's Child, Jessica Simpson, Eve, and others on MTV's TRL tour.

Other titles reaching new platinum levels in the latest round of certifications were Creed's Wind-Up album "Human Clay" (10 million), and Dido's Arista collection "No Angel" (4 million). Three albums -- Papa Roach's "Infest" (DreamWorks), Sade's "Lover's Rock" (Epic), and Savage Garden's "Affirmation" (Columbia) -- were each certified for U.S. shipments of 3 million copies, while Incubus' Epic album "Make Yourself" hit the 2 million mark.

Albums earning gold sales awards from the RIAA this time around were self-titled sets from Sugar Ray (Lava/Atlantic) and Mandy Moore (Epic), the soundtrack to "The Fast & the Furious" (Murder, Inc.), and Jaheim's "Ghetto Love" (Warner Bros.).

For the full list of the RIAA's latest certifications, click here.