Raja Kumari facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Raja Kumari
Kumari at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards in Los Angeles California
Background information
Birth name	Svetha Yallapragada Rao
Born	(1986-01-11) January 11, 1986 (age 39) Claremont, California, United States
Genres	Hip hop Pop
Occupation(s)	Rapper, singer, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, keyboards, guitar
Years active	2012–present
Labels	Godmother Records Previously: Epic Records, Mass Appeal Records
Associated acts	Divine, Iggy Azalea, Fifth Harmony, Fall Out Boy, Gwen Stefani, Knife Party, Sean Garrett, Shannon K, Deep Jandu, Sidhu Moosewala

Svetha Yallapragada Rao (born January 11, 1986), known professionally as Raja Kumari, is an American rapper, songwriter, and singer. She grew up in Claremont, California. Raja Kumari is famous for working with many well-known artists like Gwen Stefani, Iggy Azalea, Fifth Harmony, and Fall Out Boy. She also won a BMI Pop Award in 2016 for her songwriting.

Early Life and Beginnings

Raja Kumari, whose birth name is Svetha Yallapragada Rao, was born into a Telugu family in Claremont, California. Her family originally comes from Andhra Pradesh, India. She studied religious studies in college, focusing on religions from South Asia.

Her parents helped her connect with her Indian heritage. They trained her to be an Indian classical dancer from a young age. She started performing when she was just five years old. Growing up in Los Angeles as a South Indian girl was sometimes hard and lonely for her.

When she was in fifth grade, Raja Kumari discovered hip hop music. She loved the album The Score by the Fugees. By age 14, she was known as a talented freestyle MC (rapper) called "Indian Princess" (IP) or "Raja Kumari." She is also a skilled dancer in traditional Indian styles like Kuchipudi, Kathak, and Bharatanatyam. She performed many times in Hyderabad, India.

Raja Kumari has used her music to help others. She has supported building a hospital in Bangalore and a meditation hall in Hyderabad. These projects were for the Vegesna Foundation, which also runs a school for children with physical disabilities. Because of her good deeds, she has been honored with the Kohinoor Award for her work in classical arts.

Music Career

Raja Kumari has written songs, sung, or provided background vocals for many popular artists. She helped write Fall Out Boy's hit song "Centuries" and "Change Your Life" for Iggy Azalea. She also worked on songs for Gwen Stefani and Fifth Harmony.

In 2016, she released her first solo song, "Mute." Later that year, she won a BMI Pop Award for co-writing "Centuries." She has worked with famous music producers like Timbaland and Rodney Jerkins. She also gets inspiration from Indian composer A. R. Rahman.

In 2018, she worked with Indian rapper Divine on the songs "Roots" and "City Slums." She even made a short appearance as a judge in the Bollywood movie Gully Boy. In 2019, she sang in her mother tongue, Telugu, for the song 'Attention Everybody.'

Raja Kumari has been nominated three times for an MTV European Music Award for Best India Act. She also hosted the American Music Awards Pre-Show. MAC Cosmetics chose her as the face of their holiday campaign, showing her in ads worldwide. She was a judge on MTV Hustle, a rap battle TV show in India.

In 2022, Raja Kumari started her own music label called Godmother Records. She continues to collaborate with other artists, like Kshmr in 2023 and Stefflon Don in 2024 for the TV series Arcane.

Film Songs

Raja Kumari has sung for several movies. Here are some of her film songs:

Television Appearances

Raja Kumari has also appeared on television shows: