Nivea (singer)

Nivea
Birth name	Nivea B. Hamilton
Born	March 24, 1982 (1982-03-24) (age 29)
Origin	Savannah, Georgia, United States
Genres	R&B, soul, hip hop
Years active	2000–present
Labels	Jive, Zomba, Formula
Associated acts	Lil Wayne, Akon

Nivea B. Nash (née Hamilton, born March 24, 1982)^[1] who performs under the mononym Nivea, is an American recording artist 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

Hamilton 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.

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."

2010-present: Nivea: Undercover and Purple Heart

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" is set for a 2012 release.

Personal life

Nivea married R&B singer and producer Terius "The-Dream" Nash in 2004. Their daughter Navy Talia was born on May 10, 2005,^[3] and couple also has twin boys.^{[citation needed]} 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".^[4] Nivea was engaged to her on-again, off-again boyfriend, rapper Lil Wayne, and on November 30, 2009, gave birth to their son, Neal Carter.

In June 2011, she was arrested for a DUI following a car crash in Atlanta, GA while coming home from a wedding reception for Toya Carter.^[5] She later spoke to Sister2Sister magazine,^[6] 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.

Discography

Main article: Nivea discography

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Wilson, MacKenzi (2005). "Nivea > Biography". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p465428/biography. Retrieved 2009-09-22. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Rashaun, Hall (2001-08-18). "Nivea Jumps From Danger". Billboard 113 (33): p. 21. http://books.google.com/books?id=7RMEAAAAMBAJ. 
3. ^ http://celebrity-babies.com/2005/06/17/first_pic_of_ni/ Nivea and Terius' Daughter Navy
4. ^ Osorio, Kim (2009-04-03). "The Dream Talks About His Relationship". Black Entertainment Television. http://www.bet.com/Music/News/thedreamtalksabouthisrelationship_MUSICNEWS_4.3.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-09. 
5. ^ http://www.bet.com/news/music/2011/06/21/nivea-crashes-car-with-child-in-tow-arrested-for-dui.html
6. ^ http://www.s2smagazine.com/stories/2011/06/nivea-speaks-weekend-arrest

Persondata
Name	Nivea
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Date of birth	March 24, 1982
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