Raja Kumari

Los Angeles-based songwriter and rapper Raja Kumari merges classical Indian traditions with hip-hop, forging a sound she labels "BollyHood." On her 2018 debut album The Come Up she positioned herself as a role model for Asian-Americans while introducing Indian culture to wider audiences through imagery grounded in cultural authenticity.

Born Sveta Rao in Claremont, California, the Grammy-nominated musician trained in Indian classical music and dance from childhood and developed an early passion for hip-hop acts including the Fugees. After completing a college degree in South Asian religious studies she committed to a professional music career.

Songwriting supplied her initial breakthrough. She co-wrote Fall Out Boy’s hit single “Centuries,” which earned her a BMI Pop Award for songwriting in 2016, and contributed to Iggy Azalea’s “Change Your Life” featuring T.I. Her catalog also encompasses material for Fifth Harmony, Twin Shadow, Knife Party, and Gwen Stefani, whose 2016 solo album This Is What the Truth Feels Like contains five tracks written by Rao.

After signing with Epic Records she began recording her debut album in Atlanta. The project followed the three-song EP Curry Sauce, Vol. 1 and featured production by the-Dream, Timbaland, Mike WiLL Made It, and RedOne. Its lead single “Mute,” featuring Elvis Brown, drew inspiration from Future and the Atlanta trap sound. The EP was reissued in 2018 with the additional single “City Slums” featuring Mumbai-based rapper Divine. Following a year of audience-building efforts in India and the U.S., she released the EP Bloodline in early 2019, which included the singles “Shook” and “Karma.”