Trina gave her first check from Atlantic Records to her mother.
The rapper, born Katrina Laverne Taylor, signed to the label in the late ‘90s after making her first appearance on Trick Daddy’s song “Nann N–ga” in 1998. Trina was able to launch her music career as her presence on the track caught the attention of Ted Lucas, the founder of Slip-N-Slide Records to which Trick Daddy had been signed.
“This is what they want to do. This is the deal. They going to merge with Slip-N-Slide. This is the deal coming through this Trick and Trina record… and it was a great deal, and we just I did it and immediately this was in ’98,” Trina said during an interview on the “R&B Money Podcast” hosted by Tank and J Valentine.
Despite receiving her first check, Trina was more focused on finishing her debut album than making a major purchase. So, she gave it to her mother who used the check to invest in real estate.
“I gave the check to my mom actually and… I had introduced my mom into like buying properties, buying stuff flipping it, and you know buying, selling, whatever,” Trina mentioned during the podcast. “So, when I first got the check, it was like I was already working, and I was good. I was making money so I didn’t really need the check. So I just gave it to her.”
Trina’s debut album “Da Baddest B–ch” was released on March 21, 2000, Complex reports. She then toured the album and worked on her follow-up album, “Diamond Princess,” which released on August 27, 2002, according to Genius. During this period, Trina shared that her mother not only returned the money from her first check but also doubled it.
“My album came out the first year. We working on the album. I’m doing videos. I’m traveling, tour and whatever,” Trina said on the podcast. “The second year came, I’m still in the road, I’m working but I’m creating my second album at the same time, and by time the second album had dropped… I want to say like right after like I had like an album release party or something, and then my mom gave me the check back, but it was double the money. She just doubled it like whatever she was flipping. So I had like a double check… I kind of had everything. I had three cars. I had a house. I had everything I wanted. I was just young traveling the world doing what I want to do. I didn’t really need nothing like that except but just live life, wake up, and get the album done.”
