Background and career
Micheal Ray Stevenson (born November 19, 1989), known professionally as Tyga (; a backronym for Thank You God Always), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He first signed with Decaydence Records to release his debut studio album No Introduction (2008), but came to mainstream recognition after signing with Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment, an imprint of Cash Money Records and Republic Records in 2008. His second album and major label debut, Careless World: Rise of the Last King (2012), peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 and received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top ten single "Rack City", as well as the top 40 single "Faded" (featuring Lil Wayne). His third album, Hotel California (2013), debuted in the top ten of the Billboard 200, along with his the collaborative album with singer Chris Brown, Fan of a Fan: The Album (2015). Due to disagreements with Young Money, Tyga's fourth album, The Gold Album: 18th Dynasty (2015), was self-released and witnessed a steep critical and commercial decline, along with his fifth and sixth albums, BitchImTheShit2 (2017) and Kyoto (2018). He experienced a resurgence with his 2018 single, "Taste" (featuring Offset), which peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified diamond by the RIAA, serving as the lead single for his seventh album, Legendary (2019). His following albums, NSFW (2025) and Starface (2026), both failed to chart and were poorly received; the latter was heavily criticized for its use of artificial intelligence.
Micheal Ray Stevenson was born on November 19, 1989, in Compton, California, and raised there until he "was about 11, 12", before moving to adjacent Gardena. He was born to Jamaican and Vietnamese parents. His mother, Pasionaye Nicole Nguyen (September 11, 1971 – January 18, 2025), was born in Vietnam and had the maiden name Nguyen. He grew up listening to Fabolous, Lil Wayne, Cam'ron, and Eminem, among others. 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. 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 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."
Tyga's career began with him releasing a multitude of demo tapes and mixtapes. His 2007 debut mixtape, Young On Probation, garnered the attention of rapper and Gym Class Heroes frontman, Travie McCoy. Seeing talent in the artist, McCoy led him to sign a recording contract with Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz's independent label Decaydence Records. Tyga ended up performing on Fall Out Boy's "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" remix with McCoy and Lil' Wayne at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. He also performed at gigs with Gym Class Heroes and received mentoring from McCoy. McCoy stated that he "had [Tyga] sending me verses every other day. We started doing interviews, and he was like, 'This my big cousin Trav.' So a lot of people had the misunderstanding we were blood-related". On June 10, 2008, Tyga released his debut studio album, No Introduction McCoy's imprint, BatSquad Records. It was preceded by the single "Coconut Juice," featuring McCoy, which became his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100. In addition to McCoy, the music video featured appearances by Pete Wentz and Lil' Wayne. The album peaked at number 112 on the Billboard 200 and received mixed reviews. A song from the album, "Diamond Life" was used in the video games Need for Speed: Undercover and Madden NFL 2009, as well as in the 2009 film Fighting. Around this time, Tyga formed the record label G.E.D. Inc. (Grinding every day, Getting every dollar, or Getting educated daily) around the time, the same imprint that helped launch the career of fellow West Coast rapper Schoolboy Q, with whom he has worked with early in his career. Tyga also has a G.E.D. Inc tattoo above his right eyebrow.
In late 2008, Tyga signed a new record deal with Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment, which was a subsidiary of Cash Money Records at the time. He appeared on the label's posse cut hit single "Bedrock" shortly after his signing. He later released the mixtape Fan of a Fan with singer Chris Brown and producers DJ Ill Will and DJ Rockstar. It featured other artists such as Bow Wow, Lil Wayne, and Kevin McCall featured in several tracks. Four tracks — "Holla at Me", "G Shit", "No Bullshit" and "Deuces" — were accompanied with music videos. The track "Deuces" was released as the lead single for the mixtape and reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs; it was also nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 53rd Grammy Awards. Tyga told MTV in an interview that the mixtape's production took just short of a week. "Deuces" was eventually included on Brown's fourth studio album, F.A.M.E. (2011).
Careless World: Rise of the Last King was his second studio album. The album was released on February 21, 2012, on Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, and Universal Republic Records. It was a shift from the poppy dance sound exemplified on his previous effort, No Introduction, and geared towards the gangsta rap style first heard in his collaborative album with Young Money, We Are Young Money (2009). Tyga stated that the album shows he has grown up but still relates to the kids. In preparation for the album, Tyga released the mixtape #BitchImTheShit in December 2011. The album was preceded by four singles. Its first, "Far Away" (featuring Chris Richardson), was released on May 17, 2011, and peaked at 86 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its second, "Still Got It" (featuring labelmate Drake), was released on October 4, 2011, and peaked at 89 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its third single, "Rack City", was released on December 6, 2011. It first appeared on Tyga's Well Done 2 mixtape, and was later listed to the album following its commercial success. It debuted at number 94 on the Billboard Hot 100, and peaked at number eight. Its fourth single, "Faded" (featuring label boss Lil Wayne), was released on January 13, 2012. It peaked at number 33 on the chart. For the remainder of that year, Tyga made several guest appearances on other singles, most notably on the Billboard Hot 100 entries "Snitches Ain't…" by YG, "Ayy Ladies" by Travis Porter, and "Get Low" by Waka Flocka Flame. In August, he released the mixtape Well Done 3, which spawned by the single "Do My Dance" (featuring 2 Chainz). The song peaked at number 79 on the Billboard Hot 100. Also that year, Tyga also produced and co-directed (with Justice Young) a multi-AVN Award-nominated crossover adult film, Rack City: The XXX Movie, which starred Skin Diamond, Jada Fire, Ice La Fox, Sophie Dee, Lexington Steele, Kristina Rose, London Keyes and Daisy Marie. He also signed the soundtrack, which includes the hits "Rack City" and "Faded" together with several original songs, and he appeared in the film in a non-sex role.
Tyga's third studio album, Hotel California, was released on April 9, 2013. The first single, "Dope", was released on December 25. The sported a feature from rapper Rick Ross. Before the single dropped Tyga released a nine-track mixtape under the name 187. 187 the mixtape was released on November 30, 2012. It features remixes to songs such as 2 Chainz's "I'm Different", Meek Mill's "Young & Gettin' It" and GOOD Music's "Clique", among others and new material. On episode three of Tyga's tour vlog Tyga confirmed four features on the upcoming album, including Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown, and Wiz Khalifa. Tyga performed at Harvard University's Yardfest in the Spring of 2013, despite opposition from critics who've signed a petition seeking to keep him away over what they call his "violently misogynistic lyrics". At this time, Tyga collaborated with singer Sabi on her song "Cali Love". Hotel California was released on April 9, 2013. The album featured guest appearances from Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Rick Ross, 2 Chainz, Game, Wiz Khalifa, Future and Jadakiss. Along with production by Cool & Dre, D. A. Doman, DJ Mustard, Detail, Mars of 1500 or Nothin', The Olympicks, and SAP among others. The album was supported by three official singles — "Dope" which features Rick Ross, "For the Road" featuring Chris Brown, and "Show You" featuring Future, along with the promotional single "Molly". The album was met with generally mixed reviews from music critics. It also was less successful than his debut album commercially, debuting at number seven on the U.S. Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 54,000 copies in the United States.
