A heavy hitter in the making, Raja Kumari (born as Svetha Rao) has been making big movements in the music game. Raja Kumari, an Indian American song writer and philanthropist emerging from LA, has taken the stage as a Hip-Hop artist with her recent EP, ‘The Come Up’.

Raja Kumari’s career as a song writer resulted in working with the likes of Fall Out Boy, Fifth Harmony, Gwen Stefani, Iggy Azalea and Timbaland. Her song writing talents also saw herself on the breakout hit, ‘Set Me Free’ for the hugely successful Netflix original, ‘The Get Down’.

raja-kumari-visualSource: https://soundcloud.com/therajakumari

The recent interview between Raja Kumari and UPROXX provides a greater insight into her life but also the mentality she put forward into making this new EP. The overarching topic in the interview revolved around the question:

“Can you make it in America without erasing your cultural identity?”

The question in itself can perhaps be seen as quite cliché and obnoxious, as in this day and age, diversity and cultural identity can be expressed in various ways in the US. But the idea to “make it” solely in the music industry and in the performing arts in general, do show signs of under-representation. The question in hand is answered successfully through the way Raja Kumari has crafted her tracks with Indian rhythmic elements infused with Hip-Hop/Pop in her EP, ‘The Come Up’.

The EP opens up with the track ‘Tribe’ with an intro that carries an eerie Indian vibe which later builds up with a solid tempo and a catchy chorus relying on a smooth melody. The singing in this track also reveals the range she has in her vocals which is impressive. The use of the Tabla (Indian drums) notes through her singing adds a unique vocal layer to the track. During the UPROXX interview she had stated:

“I really feel like melody is king”

“You know, you see people that speak different languages, but they’re all singing along to”

The use of melody is clearly shown in majority of the tracks, which is one of the great qualities of this EP.

Next on the track list is ‘Mute’ which was released before the EP that shows off her calibre as a Hip-Hop artist. ‘Mute’ is most definitely the track that stands out as a Hip-Hop track as the rest of the EP gives off a Pop/RnB vibe. ‘Mute’ which features Elvis Brown, shows off her grit and swagger, whilst calling out her critics.

The ‘Come Up’ is much slower in tempo, which pulls the listeners back to something more chill and relaxed in contrast to the two previous tracks. The lyrics are once again money orientated, where she loosely equates, achieving her dreams and getting money. A slight superficial track overall, however, near enough every Hip-Hop artist is guilty of showing off the end result from their hard work. The chill tempo continues with ‘Believe In You’ which provokes a sense of empowerment through the chant like chorus.

The fifth track, ‘Meera’ has a very distinctive beat, which incorporates a high frequency sound that feels as if you are eating popping candy whilst you are listening. The mention of the third eye in her lyrics is also a reoccurring reference throughout her music, indicating a spiritual mentality in few of her tracks. ‘Meera’ is one of the tracks that gives strength to the EP, as Raja Kumari successfully and cleverly infuses her Indian culture, this time at the forefront. Kumari uses Anuradha Paudwal’s (a famous Indian playback singer in Bollywood) song ‘Pag Ghunghroo Baandh Meera Nachi Re’ from the soundtrack of the 1976 Bollywood film, Meera Shyam. This shows immense creativity of combining a traditional Indian song with a Pop/RnB track to the point where it’s seamless. ‘Meera’ also acts as a message to show the world what Raja Kumari stands for i.e. “Daughter of the King”.

The last track to sum up the EP is ‘The City’, a song that is chill and simple, mainly focussing on her vocals. Lyrically, the themes that are put forward is of being surrounded by her “real ones” and her pursuit of “paper” and the love she has for LA.

Raja Kumari’s EP, ‘The Come Up’ is definitely unique and well executed, infusing Indian rhythms, sounds, and Bollywood references with Hip-Hop, Pop and RnB. However, dubbing herself as a Hip-Hop artist could be questioned from the EP alone. Although with the track ‘Mute’ and her previous work i.e. her mixtape, ‘Curry Sauce Vol. 1’ shows that she does have a strong rapping flow and lyrics to match. Here’s to hoping that she makes more up-tempo tracks that can give her a platform to fully deliver her Hip-Hop/rapping talents. In regards to whether you have to erase your cultural identity to make it in America, it is safe to say that the answer is that you don’t, as shown through ‘The Come Up’. All we can do now is wait till we see her next step hoping that she becomes a household name and to represent her culture and inspire future generations.

Also check out Raja Kumari’s interview with UPROXX: