Trey Songz and Tyga

As a child growing up within a military family, Trey Songz had zero aspirations to become the musical superstar he is today. A shy boy, it was the encouragement of parents and friends that built his confidence and got him performing in front of live audiences. Songz was discovered at the age of 16 at a talent show by record producer Troy Taylor and was subsequently signed to Atlantic Records.

While recording his first album, “I Gotta Make It”, Trey Songz was concurrently releasing various mix tapes under the name Prince of Virginia. One song, a response to R. Kelly’s “Trapped in the Closet” gained particular attention and earned Songz some notoriety, which bolstered sales of his first album.

While his first two albums received a lot of positive attention from the R&B community, it wasn’t until his third and fourth studio albums – “Ready” and “Passion, Pain & Pleasure”, respectively – that Trey Songz managed to successfully cross over into mainstream appeal. Singles “Say Aah” featuring Fabolous and “Bottoms Up” featuring Nicki Minaj were both top ten singles in the US and are the singer’s most successful singles to date.

A versatile performer, Trey Songz has collaborated with the likes of Ne-Yo, 50 Cent, T.I. and Lil Wayne, amongst many others. Trey Songz has toured alongside Jay Z and Usher where he opened for both artists in 2009 and 2010 respectively. An energetic performer, Trey Songz has also headlined three tours and played many festivals.

In addition to picking up fans from across the US and Europe, Trey Songz has also picked up multiple award nominations over the last ten years, including three Grammy Award nominations.

The name is an acronym for Thank You God Always and with a career like his; one has reason to suspect some divine intervention. However, this is not to say he hasn’t earned the right to be one of the biggest names in mainstream hip hop.

The truth is you don’t get signed to the label of one of the world’s most notorious rappers and work with everyone from Drake to Nicki Minaj to Wiz Khalifa without earning the right to do so. It’s just that it’s happened faster than anyone could have predicted.

I mean, who predicts that the second major label single than an artist is a part of goes up to number 2 on the Billboard charts, as Tyga did with the Young Money collaboration “BedRock”? However, Tyga has never been one to let things happen around him.

They say you make your own luck, and in the music industry that’s more true than anywhere elese. For Tyga it was a chance encounter that he had in a shoe store with Travie McCoy. Tyga rapped for him on the spot and the Gym Class Heroes frontman took his mixtape there and then. They now refer to each other as cousins.

Tyga is a golden example of where a well taken opportunity can get you, and his time at the top has only just begun.