Michael Ray Nguyen-Stevenson, better known by his stage name Tyga, is an American rapper. Born to Vietnamese-Jamaican parents, Taiga was influenced by low socioeconomic status and street life. His cousin introduced him to rap music, which had a huge impact on his life and pushed him to pursue music as a profession.
There are different stories about the origin of his nickname Taiga. He made his name thanks to the music albums and mixtapes made in collaboration with other famous people in the world of rap. His music videos are known for explicit scenes and deep lyrics. He has also produced and acted in several adult films. His career has had its ups and downs with a Grammy nomination and a Much Music Video Award on the one hand and a few legal issues on the other.
His personal life was also turbulent, with a number of girlfriends and a son born out of wedlock. After three successful albums, his fourth album had release problems. He has a number of friends in the rap circle and social media fans who wish him well. An interesting character, so let's take a closer look at him.
Childhood and youth
Michael was born on November 19, 1989 in Compton, California, where he lived with his Vietnamese-Jamaican parents until the age of 11, after which they moved to Gardena, California.
He is said to have received the nickname Taiga from his mother, who calls him Tiger Woods. It is also short for Thank You God Always. He claims to have been raised in Compton's low socioeconomic neighborhood, although there is some footage of his parents driving expensive cars and living a luxurious lifestyle. Taiga is satirical about her upbringing.
His cousin, Travis McCoy, was a member of the Gym Class Heroes, which introduced the artist to music and rap in particular. He was influenced by Fabolous, Eminem, Cam'ron and other rappers who encouraged him to enter local rap competitions with his high school friends. They also posted the songs they made on online chat rooms and became popular.
Rapper career Tyga
Following the success of his 2007 debut mixtape Young On Probation, Tyga signed a recording deal with Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment. The track "Deuces", which he performed with Chris Brown and Kevin McCall, was released as his debut single, which peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs list. The single also won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Collaboration.
With permission from his cousin McCoy, he toured with Gym Class Heroes and released his first independent album, No Introduction, released by Decaydance in 2008. His song "Diamond Life" was featured in the movie Fighting as well as in the video games Need for Speed: Undercover and Madden NFL 2009.
Before he made his first studio album Thank God Always, he made several mixtapes and singles, which only fueled the public's interest in him. By then he had established himself and recorded for Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Republic Records.
After his initial success with Money Entertainment, he collaborated with big names like Rick Ross, Chris Brown, Bow Wow and more to create a sensation in the music scene. He signed with Keny West's Good Music to start a new chapter in his music career.
Release of the debut album Tyga
Taig's style changed with the release of his debut Young Money album Careless World: Rise of the Last King in 2012. It contained a snippet of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech that had to be removed before the album. But still, despite this, the album reached number 4 on the US Billboard Top 200 and included such guest artists as T-Pain, Pharrell, Nas, Robin Thicke and J Cole.
In April 2013, he released his third album Hotel California. The album received mixed reviews and was called "The most creative major album in recent years". This was not the best period for Tyga, as his 18th Dynasty Gold Album and duet with Justin Bieber had to be put on hold after he fell out with Young Money.
In September 2016, Kanye West announced that the rapper had signed up with Good Music under the auspices of Def Jam Recording. Some felt that this was Taiga's only opportunity to redeem herself in the world of music.
In 2017, he released a series of high-profile collaborative singles, including "Feel Me" with Kanye West, "Act Ghetto" with Lil Wayne, and "100's" with Chief Keef and AE. His fifth official album, BitchI'mTheShit2 (the sequel to the 2011 mixtape), was released in July and featured singles featuring West and Keef, as well as additional features from Vince Staples, Young Thug, Pusha T and more.
Tyga's prolific work continued a few months later with the Bugatti Raww mixtape, followed by his sixth album Kyoto in early 2018. While the album failed to make a splash, it won a hit that summer with the standalone single "Taste" featuring Offset Migos. The track reached the top 100, one of his highest numbers to date.
Main works and awards
His major label debut Careless World: Rise of the Last King (2012) includes the singles "Rack City", "Faded", "Far Away", "Still Got It" and "Make It Nasty". His other albums are ''No Introduction'', 'Hotel California' and 'Fan of a Fan' with Chris Brown.
Tyga won the Much Music Video Award for many 2012 hip hop videos with Drake and Lil Wayne. It also received a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Collaboration in 2011.
His other nominations are BET Award, MTV European Music Award, American Music Award and World Music Award.
Artist Tyga's Personal Life and Legacy
Taiga has had many relationships. His first relationship was with Keely Williams in 2006, followed by a brief stint with Chanel Iman in 2009.
The rapper has a son, King Cairo Stevenson, with Blac Chyna, who appeared in his "Rack City" video. Cairo was born in October 2012, after which the couple got engaged and moved into a mansion in Calabasas, California. However, the relationship ended in 2014 and both went their separate ways.
It didn't take long for him to start dating reality star Kylie Jenner, the youngest heiress of the Kardashian dynasty, in 2014. Their relationship between them soured and ended in 2017 due to the significant age difference between them. Kylie was only 16 years old when they started dating, and he was well into his twenties.
He also has a reputation for lashing out at people when he is angry and has been known to be very aggressive at times. He showed this trait when he lashed out at Young Money Entertainment on social media for his album. Recently, in an interview, he called Nicki Minaj a fake and did not hide that he did not love her.
Interesting Facts
Taiga was stripped of his gold chain with diamonds. It was said that Glocc did it, however Taiga himself said that Glocc was not involved in the robbery and they remain friends.
In 2012, he was sued by two women who starred in his "Make It Nasty" video for sexual assault, exposing them without their consent. He was once sued by a jeweler for not paying for a gold chain in 2013.
He was also served with a court order to pay rent for an apartment he rented in Calabasas and was listed for tax evasion.
