Nivea (singer)

Nivea
Birth name Nivea B. Hamilton
Born March 24, 1982
Origin Savannah, Georgia, United States
Genres R&B[1]
Occupation(s) singer
Years active 2000–present
Labels Jive, Zomba, Formula
Associated acts Rasheeda, The-Dream, Lil Wayne, Jagged Edge, R. Kelly, Mystikal

Nivea B. Nash (née Hamilton; born March 24, 1982),[1] who performs under the mononym Nivea, is an American singer whose recordings reached the Billboard charts during the early 2000s. Nivea is known most for her singles "Don't Mess With My Man" and "Laundromat".

Early life

Nash was born in Savannah, Georgia, the youngest of three sisters. She sang in a church choir and admired the music of Mariah Carey.[2]

Music career

2000–2003: Music beginnings and debut album

She appeared on Mystikal's 2000 single "Danger" (Been So Long)".[2] Her debut solo single, "Don't Mess with the Radio", followed in 2001. In 2002, she released her second single in the U.S., "Don't Mess With My Man" featuring Brian and Brandon Casey: (of R&B group Jagged Edge), which peaked at number eight on U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 2002. Another single, "Runaway" (featuring Pusha T) was released in Japan that year.

Nivea's self-titled debut album was released on December 10, 2002. The album reached the Top 100 of the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart. In 2003, "Don't Mess with My Man" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.[1] Nivea's third U.S. single "Laundromat" featured singer R. Kelly.

2004–2005: Complicated

In 2004, she released the Lil Jon-produced single "Okay". The music video for Okay featured the artist YoungbloodZ and Lil Jon who were also featured on the song. In May 2005 she released her second album Complicated. A second single, "Parking Lot" was released shortly before she got pregnant with her first child. Jive Records subsequently dropped promotion for the project, although she appeared on Soul Train the following year and performed "Complicated" which was originally planned to be the 3rd single. Jive gave up on the project and decided to focus on other new artists at the time.

2006–2009: Animalistic

In 2006, Nivea signed a new contract with Formula Records and released her third album Animalistic on November 15, 2006 in Japan. The album was primarily produced by her then-husband, The-Dream. The album's first & only single off the album was "Watch It." Originally, Nivea was planning release it in the US in 2007 but no label picked up on the project. Nivea was "in talks" to sign with Capitol Records but nothing came about. Nivea then proceeded to release various songs on Myspace such as "I Might", "Look Back" and "Zodiac" which had fans believing they were getting a new album, although nothing came of it.

2010–present: Nivea-Undercover, and Nivea Revealed

In 2010, she released a buzz single titled "Love Hurts." Also that year, she appeared on a few mixtapes including Sir Will ("It Only Hurts Forever") and Rasheeda ("Surprise" "Say Something Remix"). Additionally, she released another video for her remake of the Sade hit, "Stronger Than Pride."

In September 2011, she released her first EP "Nivea: Undercover" which featured a set of acoustic covers.

Her fourth studio album, "Purple Heart" was set for a May 2012 release, however nothing was released and no info on the album had been released since summer 2011. Amazon's website has it listed but no release date.

Nivea announced on Twitter that she will be dropping a new single titled "Loud Blunt". It was confirmed that her fourth studio album will now be titled "Nivea Revealed".

Legal issues

In June 2011, she was arrested for a DUI following a car crash in Atlanta, Georgia, while coming home from a wedding reception for Toya Carter.[3] She later spoke to Sister2Sister magazine,[4] saying the DUI arrest claims were false, and that she nearly lost her life:

"The tree went through my windshield and almost went through me", Nivea revealed. As she related to us, had she not moved to check on her child, a branch from the tree would have gone straight through her forehead.

Personal life

In February 2002, Nivea started dating rapper Lil Wayne. On December 11, 2002, They became engaged.[5] In her July 2003 interview with Sister to Sister magazine, Nivea spoke about her engagement and how Wayne proposed.[5] "Wayne said, 'I got your Christmas present with me and you're gonna love it. It's gonna make you smile. He got down on his knee and he was like, 'I know I'm young, but I've been through enough relationships to know and understand the meaning of what love is.' He was just perfect. He told me that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me and he loved me. It was snot and tears at the same time." She also spoke on her wishes to have a son with the rapper. "I want a little boy very much right now. Wayne's daughter is just wonderful. She's a beautiful little girl."[5] Nivea credited Wayne as being her first love. She said that if they didn't get married, that she would die a single woman. In August 2003, Lil Wayne called off his engagement to Nivea and became engaged to his daughter's mother, Antonia Wright.

Nivea married R&B singer and producer Terius "The-Dream" Nash in December, 2004.[6] Their daughter Navy Talia Nash was born on May 10, 2005,[7] and their twin sons London Nash and Christian Nash in April 2006.[8] The couple divorced in 2007. Nash stated in an interview, "I decided to end it because I didn't want to take this person [Nivea] and treat them a certain way based on what I was changing into, based on being bitter". However, Nivea says The-Dream wanted the divorce not her.[9] "I'm lying, it's not. We're supposed to say that, but it's not true. It wasn't no mutual agreement, he wanted to do it, I didn't, but it's done. I'm dealing with it."

After her divorce in 2007, Nivea reconciled with her ex-fiance, rapper Lil Wayne. Nivea stayed with Lil Wayne after he had a son with his ex-girlfriend in 2008. On June 9, 2009 it was rumored that Nivea and Lil Wayne were engaged and expecting a child together. At the same time Lil Wayne was also expecting a child with Actress Lauren London. On October 14, 2009, Lil Wayne confirmed that he and Nivea were expecting a son.[10] Nivea gave birth to their son, Neal Carter on November 30, 2009.[11] In June 2010, Nivea and Lil Wayne broke off their engagement for the second time. Nivea claimed that Lil Wayne's artist Shanell Woodgett was the reason behind the split. She wrote on her Myspace, "Mood: betrayed Wanting everyone to know that Shanell (the background slut that sings with Lil Wayne) is a piece of trash and not to be respected!"[12]

Discography

Main article: Nivea discography

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Wilson, MacKenzi (2005). "Nivea > Biography". allmusic. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Rashaun, Hall (2001-08-18). "Nivea Jumps From Danger". Billboard 113 (33). p. 21.
  3. ↑ Nivea Arrested for DUI After Car Accident | News. BET. Retrieved on 2012-03-17.
  4. ↑ Nivea speaks on weekend arrest | Welcome to. S2smagazine.com (2011-06-20). Retrieved on 2012-03-17.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Nivea | Nivea Reveals Wedding Plans. Contactmusic.com (2003-07-08). Retrieved on 2012-12-20.
  6. ↑ http://www.whudat.com/interview/pages/nivea.html
  7. ↑ Nivea and Terius' Daughter Navy. Celebrity-babies.com (2011-06-28). Retrieved on 2012-03-17.
  8. ↑ I had our twins 11months after Navy. Ballerstatus.com. Retrieved on 2012-03-17.
  9. ↑ Gamble, Ronnie. (2009-03-05) Nivea Opens Up About The-Dream, Says Their Divorce Was Not Mutual. BallerStatus.com. Retrieved on 2012-12-20.
  10. ↑ Rodriguez, Jayson. (2009-10-14) Lil Wayne Confirms He And Nivea Are Expecting A Son - Music, Celebrity, Artist News. MTV.com. Retrieved on 2012-12-20.
  11. ↑ NIVEA AND LIL WAYNE WELCOME A BABY BOY - Black Celebrity Kids. Blackcelebkids.com. Retrieved on 2012-12-20.
  12. ↑ Nivea’s Not Happy About Wayne’s Other Woman?. Lilwaynehq.com. Retrieved on 2012-12-20.