Tyga is an American rapper born on November 19, 1989. He started his career with independent releases and later signed with Lil Wayne’s Young Money Entertainment which is part of Cash Money Records and Republic Records in 2008. His first major album “Careless World: Rise of the Last King” came out in 2012 and reached number four on the Billboard 200 chart. It earned platinum certification from the RIAA and was well-received by critics. The album included hits like “Rack City” and “Faded” featuring Lil Wayne.
His third album “Hotel California” was released in 2013 and a collaborative album with Chris Brown called “Fan of a Fan: The Album” in 2015 received mixed reviews and had modest commercial success.
Due to disagreements with Young Money, he released his fourth album “The Gold Album: 18th Dynasty” independently in June 2015. Despite being executive-produced by Kanye West it sold only 5000 units in its first week making it his lowest-selling album at the time.
His next albums “BitchImTheShit2” in 2017 and “Kyoto” in 2018 faced similar commercial challenges. However, in May 2018, he is single “Taste” featuring Offset brought him back into the spotlight reaching number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. This marked his first top-40 hit since “Ayo” with Chris Brown in 2015. “Taste” led up to his seventh album “Legendary” released in 2019.
| Full Name | Tyga |
| Date of Birth | November 19, 1989 |
| Place of Birth | Compton, California, USA |
| Occupation | Rapper, Singer, Songwriter, Actor |
| Height | 5’8″ (173 cm) |
| Partners | Jordan Craig Blac Chyna Kylie Jenner Camaryn Swanson |
| Children | King Cairo Stevenson |
| Net Worth | $8 million |
Tyga’s Early Life
Micheal Ray Stevenson known as Tyga was born on November 19, 1989, in Compton California. He spent his early years there until he was around 11 or 12 years old after which his family moved to nearby Gardena. He comes from a mixed background with a Jamaican father and a Vietnamese mother who was born in Vietnam and goes by the last name Nguyen.
During his upbringing, Tyga was influenced by artists like Fabolous Lil Wayne Cam’ron and Eminem.
In December 2012, questions surfaced about Tyga’s upbringing. He had previously claimed to have grown up in the economically disadvantaged area of Compton. However, leaked footage from an unreleased TV show called Bustas suggested otherwise.
In the video, Tyga stated that he grew up in a wealthy home in the Valley where his parents drove a Range Rover. He also mentioned that his nickname Tyga came from his mother calling him Tiger Woods.
After the video leaked he responded on Twitter saying “When you’re 14 and ambitious you don’t care about anything. Scripted TV isn’t that what we all live for? Hahahaha.”
Career
Tyga started his career by releasing many demo tapes and mixtapes. His first major break came in 2007 with his mixtape “Young On Probation” which caught the attention of Travie McCoy a rapper from California and the frontman of Gym Class Heroes.
Travie McCoy recalled meeting Tyga for the first time in Los Angeles where Tyga handed him a mixtape while McCoy was out shopping on Melrose Avenue. McCoy often received demo tapes while on tour and he joked with his drummer about starting a record label called Roadside Records where they would toss tapes out the bus window. Despite this McCoy listened to Tyga’s mixtape and recognized his potential and energy so he decided to mentor him.
Recognizing Tyga’s talent McCoy helped him sign a recording contract with Decaydance Records (later known as DCD2 Records). He also founded his record label G.E.D. Inc. which helped launch Schoolboy Q’s career. His debut studio album “No Introduction” was released in 2008 under Decaydance Records and McCoy’s BatSquad Records featuring the single “Coconut Juice” with McCoy.
Later in 2008, He signed with Lil Wayne’s Young Money Entertainment. His mixtape with Chris Brown “Fan of a Fan” gained attention, especially the single “Deuces.” Tyga’s second studio album “Careless World: Rise of the Last King” was released in 2012 showing a shift in his musical style towards rap. It included singles like “Far Away” “Still Got It” and the popular “Rack City.”
Tyga continued his career with more singles and mixtapes including “#BitchImTheShit” and “Well Done 3.” He also ventured into directing and producing notably with the adult film “Rack City: The XXX Movie.” His third studio album “Hotel California” dropped in 2013 featuring collaborations with artists like Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, and Rick Ross.
In August 2013, He released a new song called “Throw It Up” with DJ Mustard. He also mentioned he was working on two new mixtapes Black Thought 3 and Well Done 4 along with an album titled The Gold Album. Later that year on October 21 he debuted a track called “Wait for a Minute” featuring Justin Bieber which hit iTunes shortly after. He announced plans for an album in early 2014 promising it would be less mainstream and more focused on rap compared to his previous album Hotel California.
Moving forward to April 2014, Tyga dropped a song called “Hookah” featuring Young Thug. He hinted at an upcoming album titled The Gold Album through a tweet in May 2014 mentioning Kanye West and his team’s involvement. Tyga was also featured on Chris Brown’s hit “Loyal” and released another track called “Real Deal” in May 2014.
In September 2014, he revealed a new single titled “40 Mill” produced by Kanye West, Mike Dean, Dupri, and his producer Jess Jackson. Tyga announced his album would include collaborations with Justin Bieber, Young Thug, Kanye West, Chris Brown, and Drake. In October 2014 Tyga criticized Drake in an interview and expressed displeasure with Nicki Minaj.
By October 2014, Tyga clashed with his record label Young Money Entertainment over his album’s release suggesting he might leak it himself. In December 2014 he confirmed he would independently release The Gold Album: 18th Dynasty due to issues with Cash Money Records.
In February 2015, he teamed up with Chris Brown for a joint album called “Fan of a Fan: The Album” featuring several guest artists. Despite these ventures, his solo album The Gold Album struggled in sales upon its release in June 2015.
Tyga’s reality show Kingin’ with he premiered in July 2015 on MTV2. In September 2016, he signed with Kanye West’s GOOD Music label. He continued his career with projects like appearing on VH1’s Scream and releasing his fifth studio album BitchImTheShit2 in July 2017.
In early 2018, he released his sixth album Kyoto which received mixed reviews and low sales. However, he bounced back later in the year with the hit single “Taste” featuring Offset marking a significant return to the music scene. This success continued with other singles like “Swish” and “Dip”.
In 2019, He released his seventh album “Legendary” and collaborated with YG on the single “Go Loko”. He expanded into business ventures like Tyga Bites a virtual kitchen brand launched in July 2020 and appeared on The Masked Singer in 2021 as “Dalmatian”.
Net Worth
Tyga has an estimated net worth of $8 Million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. The main source of Tyga’s net worth comes from his career in music, including album sales, concerts, and endorsements.
Personal life
On September 6, 2010, Tyga got married to Jordan Craig but filed for divorce just a month later and it was finalized in 2011.
Tyga met model Blac Chyna on October 5, 2011, at a party in Miami. They got engaged on November 9, 2011, and even appeared on the cover of Urban Ink magazine in March 2012. Their son King Cairo was born on October 16, 2012, and around the same time, Tyga bought a mansion in California for $6.5 million. They both got tattoos of their son’s name but split up in 2014.
In August 2015, He confirmed his relationship with reality star Kylie Jenner which stirred controversy due to their age gap and rumors that they had started dating when Jenner was 16 the legal age of consent in California is 18. Pictures of them holding hands in Mexico went viral shortly after Jenner’s 18th birthday. They broke up in April 2017.
Tyga briefly dated British model Demi Rose in 2016 and was in a relationship with Camaryn Swanson in 2021. In 2023, he dated Canadian singer Avril Lavigne.
In June 2008, He was robbed of his jewelry by unknown people. Some of his stolen items including diamond chains ended up with local rapper 40 Glocc who showcased them in an online video. He later acknowledged the robbery but stated that 40 Glocc was not directly involved explaining that others stole from him and then bragged about it online.
Legal issues
In late 2012, Tyga faced lawsuits from two women who appeared in his “Make It Nasty” music video. Each woman sought $10 million claiming Tyga exposed their nipples without permission. They were promised the video would be edited to hide this but Tyga released an unedited version anyway.
Later in September 2013, another woman from the same video sued Tyga for sexual battery fraud invasion of privacy, and emotional distress. She like the others said she was convinced to dance topless with assurances her breasts would be edited out.
On September 4, 2013, news emerged that he was sued by jeweler Jason Arasheben from Beverly Hills. Arasheben claimed Tyga owed roughly $91000 for jewelry. This included a $28275 diamond watch he agreed to buy in August 2012 and a $63000 diamond chain borrowed in December 2012 but never returned.
Arasheben sought $185306.50 in damages due to late fees and double the original cost. He fell ill before questioning about this debt delaying proceedings and initially failed to bring the required documents. However, he eventually paid $100000 of the owed $200000.
In June 2015, a judge ordered Tyga to pay an $80000 settlement to a former landlord in Calabasas California where Tyga rented a home. This followed a previous ruling in May 2015 where he was supposed to pay $90000 but didn’t. In September 2015 California placed a tax lien on Tyga for $19000 in unpaid taxes. Additionally on his birthday in 2016, Tyga was served with a lawsuit. In October 2021, Tyga was arrested by police on charges related to domestic abuse.
