Tyga

Background

Micheal Ray Nguyen-Stevenson was born in Compton, California, on November 19, 1989, where he lived for 12 years before moving to adjacent Gardena. He was born to Jamaican and Vietnamese parents. His mother was born in Vietnam and has the maiden name ‘Nguyen.’ He grew up listening to Fabolous, Lil Wayne, Cam’ron, and Eminem.

On December 3, 2012, a 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.

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 fellow California rapper and Gym Class Heroes lead vocalist, Travie McCoy. Seeing talent in the young artist, McCoy offered him a record deal with the independent label DCD2 Records. Tyga also formed the record label G.E.D. Inc. around the time — the same imprint that helped launch the career of fellow West Coast rapper Schoolboy Q, with whom Tyga worked early in his career. On June 10, 2008, Tyga released his debut independent album, “No Introduction,” on Decaydance Records. The album was preceded by the single ‘Coconut Juice,’ featuring McCoy. One of the songs from this album, ‘Diamond Life,’ was used in the video games “Need for Speed: Undercover” and “Madden N.F.L. 2009,” as well as in the 2009 movie “Fighting.” 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. Tyga met Wayne at the 2008 VMA’s, performing the remix of Fall Out Boy’s ‘This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race.’

He was first featured on the song ‘Bedrock’ by Young Money soon after signing to the label. He later released the mixtape “Fan of a Fan” with singer Chris Brown and producers D.J. Ill Will and D.J. Rockstar. It features other artists such as Bow Wow, Lil Wayne, and Kevin McCall. The track ‘Deuces’ was released as the mixtape’s lead single, reaching number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs on August 26, 2010. The track has also been nominated for Best Rap/Song Collaboration at the 53rd Grammy Awards. This song, among others, was on the track list of Chris Brown’s fourth studio album, “F.A.M.E.” Tyga commented in an M.T.V. interview that the mixtape’s production took just short of a week.