RIAA Gold award for Us3 album Hand On The Torch, which was released on May 22, 1992. It was certified Gold by the RIAA on June 29, 1995 for 500,000 copies sold, which this award celebrates.

This debut album by the British jazz-rap group blended jazz and rap and made extensive use of classic Blue Note (a label best known for its' jazz releases) recordings. The most successful example was the group's hit "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" which sampled Herbie Hancock's "Cantaloupe Island". The track peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and helped push the album to #31 on the Top 200 Albums  chart. By 1999 the album was certified Platinum by the RIAA.

Item Highlights:

• RIAA "R hologram" Gold album award with gold cassette and CD
• In VG to Excellent condition
• First presentation award from 1995
• Presented to record industry executive
• All original, has been rebacked
• Award measures approx. 13" x 17"
• Great collectors item for any Us3 fan

Detailed Item Description: This is a first presentation RIAA Gold album award that would have been manufactured in 1995, making it approx. 26 years old. This award is presented to Jonathan Lev, a promotions and marketing executive who worked with rock, pop and alternative artists including Us3, Luscious Jackson, Sevendust, Coldplay, Blur, Green Day, Nirvana, U2, Pearl Jam, Coldplay, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and many more.

This award is all original and in VG to Excellent condition. Award has been re-backed but otherwise is all original.

Notes on the condition of all vintage RIAA awards: Please do not buy this item if you want a brand new piece of memorabilia. These are historical artifacts from the year they were produced. As a result they may show signs of wear. Frankly, if you see a 20 to 50-year-old award purported to be in 100% perfect condition, it might be too good to be true. After all, an antique should have "good' wear. If not, you might want to question the piece.

As to where they came from, they could have been displayed in record label offices, recording studios, artist manager's offices, radio stations, private collector's homes and yes, of course, possibly the artist's or songwriter's home. Typically, we don't know all the places they may have been over the years other than what we've stated in the description.