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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. After several 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 second album and major label debut, (2012), peaked at number four on the Billboard 200, received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and was met with critical praise. 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), was met with trailing critical and commercial response, along with his collaborative album with singer Chris Brown, (2015).
Due to disagreements with Young Money, Tyga's fourth album, (2015), was released independently. Executive-produced by his then-common law relative Kanye West, it became his lowest-selling album to that point with estimated sales of 5,000 album equivalent units in its first week. His fifth and sixth albums, BitchImTheShit2 (2017) and Kyoto (2018), were both met with continued stagnation. His May 2018 single, "Taste" (featuring Offset), marked a brief period of commercial resurgence; it became his first top 40 single since 2015's "Ayo" (with Chris Brown)—peaking at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100—and received diamond certification by the RIAA. It served as lead single and preceded the release of his seventh album, Legendary (2019).
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."
On June 10, 2008, Tyga released his debut studio album, No Introduction McCoy's imprint, BatSquad Records.(April 7, 2008). Tyga: No Introduction Album Cover Art ProHipHop. Accessed May 9, 2008. 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 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. 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).
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 Awards-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.Steve Javors, "Adult Who's Who: Tyga's Tail", AVN Magazine, Vol. 28/No. 9, Issue 357, September 2012, pp.38-40. 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.
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 criticism. 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.
On May 1, 2014, Tyga made a tweet referring to Kanye West, Mike Dean, and his own producer Jess Jackson with a hash-tag The Gold Album. Kanye West served as the executive producer for the album, which was slated for release on November 18, 2014. Tyga was also featured on Chris Brown's single "Loyal", he was featured on the video version, the song since then peaked at number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100. On May 28, 2014, Tyga released a new song entitled " Real Deal" via SoundCloud. "Real Deal" was later released on iTunes on August 1, 2014. Real Deal - Single. iTunes. On September 12, 2014, Tyga announced via his instagram that his new single titled "40 Mill" would be produced by Kanye West, Mike Dean, Dupri and his own producer Jess Jackson, artwork, The release date was not revealed though.Goddard, Kevin. Tyga Unveils Artwork For Kanye West-Produced Single "40 Mill". Hot New Hip Hop. September 12, 2014. The album was set to have features from Justin Bieber, Young Thug, Kanye West, Chris Brown, and Drake. Tyga criticized Drake in an October 2014 interview, calling Drake "fake" and said that he did not like Nicki Minaj.
On October 21, 2014, Tyga lashed out on his record label Young Money Entertainment, reporting that his album was completed, but that his music was being "held hostage" by the label, who would not allow him to release it, and stated that he was considering leaking the album. On December 4, 2014, Tyga made a tweet declaring his project, would be released independently due to not being on good terms with label Cash Money Records. In February 2015, Tyga released a collaborative album with Chris Brown, titled . Supported by the No. 21 peaking Billboard single "Ayo", the album peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 200 and featured guest appearances from 50 Cent, T.I., Pusha T, Wale, Ty Dolla Sign, Schoolboy Q, Boosie Badazz, and Fat Trel. On June 23, 2015, Tyga released The Gold Album for streaming exclusively on Spotify then later on Apple Music. The album became his worst selling album to date, selling roughly 2,000 units on its opening week.
His reality show Kingin' with Tyga premiered on July 24, 2015, on MTV2.
On July 17, 2017, it was announced that Tyga will join as a series regular in the third season of the VH1 slasher television series Scream. He starred in the role of Jamal Elliot. The season premiered on July 8, 2019.
On July 21, 2017, Tyga released his fifth studio album, BitchImTheShit2, the sequel to his 2011 mixtape #BitchImTheShit.
On May 16, 2018, Tyga released the single "Taste" featuring Offset of Migos. The song was a hit, becoming one of the biggest songs of summer 2018 and peaking at number 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It marked Tyga's first entry on the Hot 100 in three years, since 2015's "Ride Out", and is certified 9× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The song is considered the catalyst for Tyga's return to the mainstream music spotlight after almost 5 years of poor sales and negative reviews, being considered his "comeback" record.
Following the success of "Taste", Tyga released a number of other singles throughout the latter of 2018, beginning with "Swish", which was certified gold, and later released "Dip" featuring Nicki Minaj, which was certified platinum. He was also featured on Iggy Azalea's platinum single, "Kream" in 2018, and "Sip It" in 2021. Tyga's seventh album Legendary was released in June 2019.
In 2019, YG released the single "Go Loko", which featured Tyga. He stated, "We wanted to do something different to kinda try to bring all Latins together" and "Even YG could tell you, he grew up around all Mexicans, so we really wanted to do something to give back to the culture."
In July 2020, Tyga partnered with businessman Robert Earl to launch a virtual kitchen brand called Tyga Bites, which uses existing restaurants' kitchens to produce branded menu items such as boneless chicken wings for delivery service only.
In 2021, Tyga competed on the sixth season of The Masked Singer as "Dalmatian". He was the first of Group B to be eliminated.
In 2024, Tyga announced his eighth studio album, titled NSFW (short for "Not Safe for Work"). It was released on February 7, 2025.
In May 2025, Tyga arrived in Russia and performed at the CSKA Arena in Moscow.
In 2025, Tyga featured on the Ciara single "Dance with Me", appearing on the latter's eighth studio album, CiCi, which was released on August 22, 2025.
Tyga met model Blac Chyna on October 5, 2011, at The F.A.M.E Tour After Party with Chris Brown at King of Diamonds in Miami. Blac Chyna was cast as Tyga's leading lady in his "Rack City" music video. They became engaged on November 9, 2011, and posed for the cover of Urban Ink magazine in March 2012. On October 16, 2012, their son, named King Cairo, was born, and Tyga purchased a $6.5 million mansion in Calabasas, California that same month. Both parents have tattoos of their son's name. The couple split in 2014.
After months of speculation, Tyga confirmed his relationship with reality star Kylie Jenner in August 2015. However, this relationship sparked controversy due to the age disparity, and the fact that they were reportedly dating since Jenner was 16. The legal age of consent in the state of California is 18. Photos of him and Jenner first seen holding hands in Mexico went viral a few days after her 18th birthday. The couple split in April 2017.
Tyga dated British social model Demi Rose for a short time in 2016.
On February 21, 2025, Tyga announced that his mother, Pasionaye Nicole Nguyen, had died at age 53 a month earlier on January 18.
On September 4, 2013, it was reported Tyga had been sued by Beverly Hills-based jeweler Jason Arasheben for allegedly not paying for roughly $91,000 worth of jewelry. Arasheben claims that Tyga agreed to pay $28,275 for the jeweler's diamond pantheon watch in August 2012 and that he borrowed a $63,000 diamond Cuban link chain in December 2012 and never returned the item, so he sued Tyga for the cost of both pieces, plus late fees, which totaled up to $185,306.50 in damages, double the original total cost. Tyga fell ill before the interrogation of this debt and was considered not able to proceed. He also did not bring the documents he was supposed to, however, he paid $100,000 of the $200,000 owed to his client.
In June 2015, a judge ordered Tyga to pay an $80,000 settlement to a former landlord, who rented a home to the rapper in the city of Calabasas, California. It was the second ruling in the case, following a judgment in May 2015, in which he was ordered to pay $90,000, though the debt was never paid. In September 2015, the state of California placed a tax lien on Tyga for $19,000 in unpaid taxes. On his birthday, he was given a lawsuit in 2016.
In October 2021, Tyga was arrested by police over domestic abuse charges.
Collaborative albums
| + Film | |||
| 2012 | Mac & Devin Go to High School | Student | |
| 2015 | Dope | De'Andre | |
| 2016 | Yummy | ||
| Boo! A Madea Halloween | Himself | ||
| 2017 | Once Upon a Time in Venice | Salvatore | |
| Welcome to My Life | Himself |
| + Television | |||
| 2019 | Jamal "Jay" Elliot | Main role (season 3) | |
| 2019 | All That | Himself | Musical guest; Episode 1113 |
| 2021 | The Masked Singer | Dalmatian | season 6 contestant |
| 2011 | Grammy Awards | Best Rap/Sung Collaboration | "Deuces" | rowspan="6" |
| BET Awards | Best Collaboration | |||
| 2012 | BET Awards | Best Collaboration | "The Motto" | |
| Coca-Cola Viewers' Choice | ||||
| BET Hip Hop Awards | Reese's Perfect Combo Award | |||
| Best Club Banger | ||||
| MuchMusic Video Awards | MuchVIBE Hip-Hop Video of the Year | |||
| MTV Europe Music Awards | Best US Act | Himself | rowspan="12" | |
| American Music Awards | Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist | |||
| 2014 | World Music Awards | World's Best Male Artist | ||
| World's Best Live Act | ||||
| World's Best Entertainer of the Year | ||||
| World's Best Song | "Bubble Butt" | |||
| World's Best Video | ||||
| World's Best Song | "Wait for a Minute" | |||
| World's Best Video | ||||
| World's Best Album | Hotel California | |||
| World's Best Song | "Loyal" | |||
| World's Best Video |
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