Tyga

Micheal Ray Stevenson^[1] (born November 19, 1989), known professionally as Tyga (backronym for Thank You God Always),^[2] is an American rapper from Gardena, California. After a number of independent releases, he signed a recording contract with Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment, an imprint of Cash Money Records and Republic Records in 2008.

His major label debut, Careless World: Rise of the Last King (2012) peaked at number four on the Billboard 200, received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and saw generally positive critical reception. It spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top 40 singles "Rack City" and "Faded" (featuring Lil Wayne). His third album, Hotel California (2013) was met with trailing critical and commercial response, along with his collaborative album, Fan of a Fan: The Album (2015) with singer Chris Brown.

Early life

Micheal Ray Stevenson was born on November 19, 1989, in Compton, California,^[3] and raised there until he "was about 11, 12", before moving to adjacent Gardena.^[4] He was born to Jamaican and Vietnamese parents.^[5] His mother was born in Vietnam and has the maiden name Nguyen.^[6] He grew up listening to Fabolous, Lil Wayne, Cam'ron and Eminem, among others.^[7]

On December 3, 2012, debate arose concerning Tyga's upbringing. Tyga claimed to have been brought up in the low socioeconomic area of Compton, but in leaked footage from the unaired television show Bustas, he claimed he grew up in a "well-to-do" home in The Valley, where his parents drove a Range Rover. He also claimed that he attained his nickname from his mother calling him Tiger Woods.^[8] There has been speculation that his claims on the show were satirical and not to be taken seriously. Tyga responded to the video's leak on X/Twitter: "When u 14 an ambitious u don't give a fuk about anything. Scripted tv isn't that what we all live for. Hahahaha".^[9]

Discography

Studio albums

• No Introduction (2008)
• Careless World: Rise of the Last King (2012)
• Hotel California (2013)
• The Gold Album: 18th Dynasty (2015)
• BitchImTheShit2 (2017)
• Kyoto (2018)
• Legendary (2019)

Collaborative albums

• Fan of a Fan: The Album (with Chris Brown) (2015)
• Hit Me When U Leave the Klub: The Playlist (with YG) (2023)

Collaborations

• "Juicy (Remix)" - Hot Pink (2019)
• "Birthday" - Pretty Bitch Music (2021)
• "Birthday" (with Doja Cat) (Unreleased) (2021)
• "Freaky Deaky" (with Doja Cat) (2022)

References