Tyga

Born in Compton and partly raised in Gardena, California, Micheal Ray Stevenson, known as Tyga, follows the West Coast rap tradition with direct writing, rhythm-focused tracks and an aesthetic that blends West Coast hip-hop, pop rap and club production. Of Jamaican and Vietnamese descent, Tyga emerged in the late 2000s after several mixtapes, including Young On Probation, and released No Introduction in 2008, initially supported by Travie McCoy. That same year Tyga joined the Young Money circle, which positioned him within mainstream American rap while he also collaborated extensively with Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Drake and YG. With Careless World: Rise of the Last King (2012), Tyga adopted a more distinctly Californian sound characterized by dry bass, simple hooks and a short, efficiency-minded flow. He went on to release Hotel California (2013), The Gold Album: 18th Dynasty (2015), BitchImTheShit2 (2017), Kyoto (2018), Legendary (2019) and NSFW (2025). Over his career Tyga alternates between solo albums, collaborative projects such as Fan of a Fan: The Album with Chris Brown (2015), and tracks aimed at Los Angeles’ rap and party scenes.