Raja Kumari

Raja Kumari
Birth name Svetha Yellapragada Rao
Born (1986-01-11) January 11, 1986
Claremont, California, United States
Genres Pop, dance, hip hop
Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter
Years active 2012–present
Labels Epic Records
Associated acts
Website rajakumari.com

Svetha Rao (born January 11, 1986), professionally known as Raja Kumari ('princess' in English), is an Indian American songwriter, rapper and recording artist from Claremont, California.[1][2] Kumari is best known for her collaboration with notable artists including Gwen Stefani, Iggy Azalea, Fifth Harmony,[3] Knife Party, and Fall Out Boy.[4][5] She is also notable for receiving as a songwriter, the BMI Pop Awards in 2016,[6][7] being nominated to a Grammy award in February 2015,[8] and featuring on BBC Asian Network programme Bobby Friction on July 5, 2016.[9]

Life

Kumari holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in religious studies, with an emphasis on South Asian religions. She is an Indian classical dancer who started dancing at the age of 7. While in fifth grade, Kumari discovered hip hop through the Fugees' album The Score. By the age of 14, she was a noticed freestyle MC known as “Indian Princess” (IP) or “Raja Kumari”. During her artist career, she has contributed to several philanthropic activities through her performances including the creation of a hospital in Bangalore and a meditation hall in South India for the Vegesna Foundation, a school for children with physical disabilities. As a result, Kumari has been recognized as a benefactor by the Foundation for Indic Philosophy and Culture (Indic Foundation) and has been honored with the Kohinoor Award for excellence in the Classical Arts by the Governor of Tamil Nadu.[10]

Career

Kumari co-wrote, featured in or performed background vocals in a number of notable songs including Fall Out Boy’s double-platinum single “Centuries”, "Change Your Life" feat. T.I., Vicetone's “Don't You Run”,[11] Brave Enough by Lindsey Stirling, "Set Me Free" for Baz Luhrmann's original Netflix series The Get Down about the birth of Hip Hop and Iggy Azalea's Grammy-nominated album The New Classic. She has also contributed to songs in albums by Gwen Stefani, Fifth Harmony (Reflection), Twin Shadow, and Dirty South. Recently she released her debut solo single "Mute" featuring Elvis Brown and produced by Jules Wolfson at Epic Records.[2][9][12] which premiered on Paper Magazine's website. In May 2016, Kumari was honored at the 2016 BMI Pop Awards for co-writing the song "Centuries" with Fall Out Boy.[6][7][13] In addition, she has a recording contract with Epic Records through L.A. Reid and collaborated with several players in the music industry, including artists Polow Da Don, J.R. Rotem, Timbaland, Rodney Jerkins, Soulshock and Karlin, Tricky Stewart and The-Dream, Justin Tranter and Fernando Garibay.[14] She has also been inspired in her music style by the Indian composer and producer A. R. Rahman.[2] In 2018, she co-wrote and performed the song titled 'Roots' in collaboration with Divine.[15]

Discography

Film

Year Song Film Composer Co-Singer(s) Writer(s) Ref.
2017JugniKaatru VeliyidaiA.R.Rahman
  • A.R.Rahman
  • Tejinder Singh
  • Shikara
Shellee
Freaking LifeMomA.R.Rahman
2018Allah Duhai HaiRace 3JAM8

Songs written

Year Title Artist Album
2013 "Change Your Life" Iggy Azalea Single
2014 "Freefallin'" Dirty South With You
"Boss Mode" Knife Party Abandon Ship
"Centuries" Fall Out Boy Single
2015 "Like Mariah" Fifth Harmony featuring Tyga Reflection
"Sadness" Selah Sue Reason
"Eclipse" Twin Shadow Eclipse
"Spark" Ghost Town Single
"Runnin'" Empire (season 2) Empire: Season 2, Vol. 1 (Original Soundtrack)
"Broken Hearted" Kalin and Myles Single
"Changed My Life" Kalin and Myles Kalin and Myles
2016 "Red Flag" Gwen Stefani This Is What the Truth Feels Like
"Naughty"
"Loveable"
"Obsessed"
"Splash"
"War Paint"
"Mirage" Lindsey Stirling Brave Enough
2017 "Never Give Up" Anirudh Ravichander Vivegam

Mixtapes

  • Curry Sauce Vol. 1 (2016)

EPs

  • The Come Up (2016)

Songs recorded

  • "Mute" (Performer/Writer).[9]
  • Vicetone – "Don't You Run featuring Raja Kumari" (Performer/Writer).[11]

References

  1. ↑ Vivianne Lapointe (May 11, 2016). "While You Were At Coachella: I Escaped to Bali With the People Who Write the Hits". Huffington Post.
  2. 1 2 3 Nadya Agrawal (July 1, 2016). "Rapper Raja Kumari Blends Indian Classical Music With Trap Beats on "Mute"". Paper Magazine.
  3. ↑ Nolan Feeney (March 18, 2016). "Gwen Stefani: How Making My New Album Saved My Life". Time.
  4. ↑ Bill Lamb. "Fall Out Boy – "Centuries"". About.com.
  5. ↑ "Raja Kumari". AllMusic.
  6. 1 2 "BMI Honors Taylor Swift and Legendary Songwriting Duo Mann & Weil at the 64th Annual BMI Pop Awards". BMI. May 2011.
  7. 1 2 "'Just look at us. I love her!' Courteney Cox dons bridal white with lovestruck former fiancé Johnny McDaid at BMI Awards". Daily Mail. May 2011.
  8. ↑ "Bryan-Michael Cox & Sesac Host Annual Pre-Grammys Brunch". The Source (Magazine). February 9, 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 "Raja Kumari – Mute!". BBC Asian Network – Bobby Friction. July 5, 2016.
  10. ↑ Nila Choudhury (May 26, 2011). "Multi-talented starlet Raja Kumari's got a heart". Urban Asia.
  11. 1 2 "Preview: Vicetone ft. Raja Kumari – Don't You Run (Original Mix)". Bangin Beats.
  12. ↑ "Raja Kumari – MUTE Ft. Elvis Brown". LiveFast magazine.
  13. ↑ "Meet L.A. Reid's Latest Protege Raja Kumari". The Knockturnal.
  14. ↑ Nila Choudhury (June 7, 2016). "Raja Kumari brings flavor to the table with 'Curry Sauce'". Urban Asia.
  15. ↑ "For How Much Longer Can We Ignore Caste and Still Call Ourselves Progressive?". The Wire. Retrieved 2018-08-13.
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