Tyga
Biography
Micheal Ray Stevenson, known professionally as Tyga, was born on November 19, 1989, in Compton, California. Of Vietnamese and Jamaican descent, he was raised in Compton until around age 11 or 12, after which he moved to Gardena. His stage name is a backronym for Thank You God Always. Early musical influences for Tyga included Fabolous, Lil Wayne, Eminem, and Cam'ron.
Career Beginnings
Tyga's career began with the release of several mixtapes. His 2007 debut mixtape, "Young On Probation," caught the attention of Travie McCoy, the lead vocalist of Gym Class Heroes. This connection led to a record deal with McCoy's independent label, DCD2 Records. In 2008, Tyga released his independent debut album, "No Introduction," which featured the single "Coconut Juice" with Travie McCoy. A remix of "Coconut Juice" included a guest verse from Lil Wayne, which led to Tyga signing with Wayne's Young Money Entertainment, an imprint of Cash Money Records and Republic Records, in 2008.
Rise to Fame
While at Young Money, Tyga continued to release mixtapes to build his profile. A major breakthrough came in 2010 with his collaboration with Chris Brown on the song "Deuces," which peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. His major-label debut album, "Careless World: Rise of the Last King," was released in 2012 and was a commercial success. It peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 and included hit singles like "Rack City," "Faded" featuring Lil Wayne, and "Far Away" featuring Chris Richardson. "Rack City" became a top 10 hit.
Subsequent Releases
Tyga continued his success with the 2013 album "Hotel California," which featured artists like Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, and Chris Brown. In 2015, he released a collaborative album with Chris Brown titled "Fan of a Fan: The Album." However, his next album, "The Gold Album: 18th Dynasty" (2015), had poor sales. After a period of lesser commercial success, Tyga made a significant comeback in 2018 with the single "Taste," featuring Offset, which climbed to number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. This led to his seventh studio album, "Legendary" (2019), which also performed well.
Personal Life
Tyga was briefly married to Jordan Craig in 2010. He later had a high-profile relationship with model Blac Chyna, whom he met in 2011. They became engaged in 2011 and have a son together, King Cairo Stevenson, born in October 2012. The couple split in 2014. From 2014 to 2017, Tyga was in an on-again, off-again relationship with reality television personality Kylie Jenner. He has also been publicly linked with Camaryn Swanson and singer Avril Lavigne.