[3] She admitted to being shy in a 2019 interview with BET, saying "I never wanted anyone to hear me sing... my parents would turn down the radio [and I would automatically stop].

"[4] In 2000, Nivea appeared on Jive Records labelmate, rapper Mystikal's hit single "Danger (Been So Long)" which garnered her some buzz.

[citation needed] Her label then decided to release her self-titled debut album internationally, due to high demand in the domestic area.

[6] On June 3, 2002, she released her second U.S. single, "Don't Mess with My Man" featuring brothers Brian and Brandon Casey (of R&B group Jagged Edge).

[5] The following year, "Don't Mess with My Man" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

[citation needed] After meeting her future husband, Terius "The-Dream" Nash, they began dating and he soon handled the primary production on her forthcoming album.

Jive Records subsequently dropped promotion for the project, although she appeared on Soul Train the following year and performed "Complicated", which was originally planned as the album's third single.

[citation needed] After her departure from Jive, she gave birth to her twins in April, a month after her severity from the imprint.

[citation needed] Primarily produced by her then-husband, The-Dream, her third album Animalistic was released on November 15, 2006, exclusively in Japan, led by the single, "Watch It", which garnered some airplay.

[13] She later announced that she would release an acoustic EP titled Nivea: Undercover and premiered the set's first single, a cover of the Sade song "Love Is Stronger Than Pride" in early 2011.

[15] In 2012, she announced work on her fourth studio album, tentatively titled Purple Heart, which was set for a May release.

The following year, she renamed the album to Nivea Revealed and announced a new single "Loud Blunt", which was released in November 2013 on digital services.

According to the singer, Randy Watson will explore a love story between herself and two men, and is influenced by neo soul and pop.

[28][29] In 2021, Nivea appeared on the reality show BET Presents: The Encore alongside former girl group members Shamari Devoe (of Blaque), 702 sisters Irish & LeMisha Grinstead, Cherish twins Fallon & Felisha King, Pamela Long (of Total), Aubrey O'Day (of Danity Kane), and Kiely Williams (of 3LW & The Cheetah Girls).

Ken Hamm of Soulbounce.com reviewed "Virginia" stating, "Nivea’s plight shows us that maybe love just isn’t enough.

However, this love thang is a situation ship, not a relationship; she’s wifey, but not the wife"[31] while Amethyst Music News Magazine wrote "R&B veteran/singer/songwriter Nivea is back with a new single entitled, 'Virginia.'

[33] In 2023, she appeared on the first season of the Peacock dating reality series, Queens Court, alongside Evelyn Lozada and Tamar Braxton.

[41] He credited her with inspiring more sincerity in his songwriting, "to open up that other side of it that connects with the everyday woman", as he told SOHH.

[44] In June 2010, with Lil Wayne incarcerated on a weapons charge, the pair broke off their engagement for the second time.

They would later reunite in 2018 to record "Dope New Gospel" for Wayne's long-awaited album, Tha Carter V, and had since remained on good terms.