Katrina Laverne Taylor is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, TV personality, record producer, model, and actress. She first gained recognition and fame as a rapper when she appeared in the 1998 single “Nann Nigga” by Trick Daddy. She is professionally known as Trina.
In March 2020, her debut studio album ‘Da Baddest Bitch’ celebrated its 20th anniversary. Her last studio album The One released in 2019 and ran into some trouble. She resolved it and the album was successful. All this is proof that Trina is still one of the top female rappers in the US, even after over 20 years in the industry.
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Early Life and Education
Katrina was born on December 3, 1974 in Miami, Florida, US. Her mother is native of the Bahamas while her father is a Dominican Republic native. They separated when Trina was a kid.
Taylor attended Miami Northwestern Senior High and graduated in 1992. In 1998, she started studying to became a licensed real estate agent.
Career
Miami rapper Trick Daddy happened to come across Taylor in 1998 and asked her to be a part of the song ‘Nann Nigga’, a lead single from his 2nd studio album. The song was a hit; it peaked at number 3 in Rap charts and at number 62 in the US Billboard Hot 100. This exposure helped Trina start her rap career. She soon signed a contract with Slip-n-Slide Records, with Atlantic Records as a distributor.
Trina’s debut studio album ‘Da Baddest Bitch’ released on March 21, 2000. It debuted at number 11 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and at number 33 on the US Billboard 200. It remained for 49 successive weeks on the Hip-Hop/R&B album chart and for 39 weeks on the Billboard 200. By November 2000, it was certified Gold by the RIAA.
While working on her second studio album, Katrina launched her own record label named imprint, Diva Enterprises. The second album ‘Diamond Princess’ released in August 2002, and was a bigger hit than her first album.
By 2010, Trina had released 3 more studio albums Glamorest Life in 2005, Still da Baddest in 2008, and Amazin’ in 2010. All of them were commercial successes. Following her 5th album, Taylor took a break for 9 years before released her sixth studio album ‘The One’ in 2019.
The One had guest appearances from stars like Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Rico Love, Kelly Price, and others. The album was however pulled from all streaming services two months after its launch due to legal issues with a former partner. She later regained control of it and released a deluxe edition with some new tracks in April 2020.
She has acted in the 2003 film ‘A Miami Tail’ and in the 2011 movie ‘The Cookout 2’.
As of December 2020, Taylor co-hosts the Trick & Trina Morning Show that airs on Miami’s 99 Jamz radio station. She also manages her clothing and the accessory line ‘Fashion Girl Boutique’ and the ‘Rockstarr Music Group’.
Personal life and Trivia
- Trina and Lil Wayne were in an on-off relationship between 2005 and 2007. They were even engaged to be married. She even got pregnant, but had a miscarriage. The couple had tattoos of each other’s names; Lil Wayne had ‘Trina’ on his ring finger, while Trina had ‘Wayne’ tattooed on her wrist.
- She was in a relationship with basketball player Kenyon Martin from 2007 to 2010 and with rapper French Montana from 2012 to 14. She began dating Raymond Taylor in 2017 and he is still her partner.
- Trina has stated that she is bisexual and has had relations with both women and men.
- She is 5 ft 2 in tall. Katrina Taylor’s net worth is around $6 million.
- She runs the non-profit organization Diamond Doll Foundation which offers help to young girls struggling with their lives.
- Taylor has won 1 Billboard Music Award, 2 ASCAP Awards, 1 EME Award, 2 BMI Awards, and 1 All Star Music Award.