Raja Kumari

Svetha Yallapragada Rao (born January 11, 1986), professionally known as Raja Kumari, is an American rapper, songwriter and singer from Claremont, California.^[1][2] Kumari is best known for her collaborations with notable artists including Gwen Stefani, Iggy Azalea, Fifth Harmony, Sidhu Moosewala,^[3] Knife Party, Fall Out Boy.^[4] She is also notable for receiving as a songwriter, the BMI Pop Awards in 2016,^[5] and featuring on BBC Asian Network programme Bobby Friction on July 5, 2016.^[6]

Raja Kumari was born as Svetha Yallapragada Rao into a Telugu family in Claremont, California. Her family hails from Andhra Pradesh, India.^{[7][8][9][10]} Kumari holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in religious studies, with an emphasis on South Asian religions.

Her parents played an important role in developing her Indian character and trained her to become an Indian classical dancer who started performing at the age of 5.^[11] In an interview with Rolling Stone, Raja Kumari said that she found it tough and lonely as a South Indian girl growing up in Los Angeles.^[12]

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". She is a trained dancer in Kuchipudi, Kathak, and Bharatanatyam and had given many live performances in Ravindra Bharathi in Hyderabad.^[7]

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 Hyderabad 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.^[13]

Kumari^[14] co-wrote, featured in or performed background vocals in a number of notable songs including Fall Out Boy's double-platinum single "Centuries", Iggy Azalea's "Change Your Life" feat. T.I., Vicetone's "Don't You Run",^[15] "Mirage" by Lindsey Stirling and "Set Me Free" for Baz Luhrmann's Netflix series The Get Down about the birth of hip-hop. She has also contributed to songs in albums by Gwen Stefani, Fifth Harmony (Reflection), Twin Shadow, and Dirty South. In May 2016, Kumari was honored at the 2016 BMI Pop Awards for co-writing the song "Centuries".^[5][16]

On July 1, 2016, she released her debut solo single "Mute" featuring Elvis Brown and produced by Jules Wolfson at Epic Records,^[2][6][17] which premiered on Paper Magazine's website. Her next single was "Believe in You", which released in October, accompanied by a music video. Both songs were later included in her debut EP, The Come Up, which released on November 17, 2016.^[18][19][20]

In addition, she had a recording contract with Epic Records that she signed in 2015,^[21] 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. 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 released the songs, "Roots" and "City Slums" in collaboration with Indian rapper Divine.^[22] She has starred in the Bollywood film Gully Boy as a judge, in a cameo appearance. In 2019, she finally made her debut in mother tongue Telugu by featuring in 'Attention Everybody', a single produced by SouthBay (subsidiary of Ramanaidu Studios). The music was composed by Kone Kone and the Telugu lyrics were penned by Pranav Chaganty, which was a tribute to Telugu actor Venkatesh Daggubati released on his birthday.

Kumari was nominated for an MTV European Music Awards three times for Best India Act. She released her second EP BLOODLINE, in February 2019.^[23] She hosted the American Music Awards of 2019 Pre-Show telecast, alongside Lauren Jaregui.^[24] Kumari was also announced as the face of MAC Cosmetics' holiday campaign: #MACStarringYou, in which she appears in adverts and marketing materials around the globe. She was a judge on the first season of MTV Hustle, an Indian rap battle competition show.^[25]

In 2022, she started her own independent label, Godmother Records.^[26] Her first release under the label was her third EP, HBIC, which featured guest appearances from Indian rappers KRSNA and Shah Rule. The EP's release was preceded by the lead single "MADE IN INDIA", a remix of "Made in India" by Alisha Chinai, which was accompanied by a music video featuring veteran Indian actress Madhuri Dixit.^[27][28] She was nominated for the MTV Europe Music Award for Best India Act at the 2022 MTV Europe Music Awards.^[29]

In April 2023, Kumari released her debut studio album, THE BRIDGE,^[30] featuring no guest appearances.^[31][32] In the same year in December, she worked with KSHMR on the track "All Fall Down", alongside Indian rappers Yashraj and Riar Saab, which was included on KSHMR's fourth studio album KARAM.^[33]

In 2024, she worked with Stefflon Don on the track "Renegade" for Arcane League of Legends: Season 2 and in 2025, won an American Music Award for the track, being the first person of Indian descent to ever do so.^[34][35][36]

In February 2025, she released her sophomore studio album, KASHI TO KAILASH, a devotional and spiritual project that blended traditional Sanskrit chants with modern hip-hop and electronica beats, under her independent label Godmother Records.^[37] In July 2025, KALKI Fashion collaborated with Kumari to launch a bold and inclusive ethnic wear collection.^[38] In the same year, she was featured on the song "Durga Trance", from the album, Sounds of Kumbha, by Grammy-nominated producer Siddhant Bhatia alongside Kanika Kapoor and Siroyi.^[39] The album went on to be nominated at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards in the category for Best Global Music Album.^[40][41][42]

• Official website