Desi Hip Hop exclusively interviewed a very phenomenal artist who gained immense popularity in no time. This multi-talented woman leaves everyone flabbergasted with her rapping, dancing, singing and song writing skills. She is none other than Raja Kumari!

She recently rapped in a Bollywood number ‘Husn Parcham’ for the movie Zero, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif. SRK approached Kumari over the phone telling her that he admires her work and would love to have her rap on the banger. SRK even helped her write the lyrics for the track and Katrina Kaif is seen dancing to the tunes in the movie. This song crossed over 11 million views on YouTube already!

We interviewed Kumari for the release of her latest single “Shook” and her upcoming album ‘BloodLine’. This is how it went down!

What inspires you to come up with such unique concepts and style?

I’m just inspired to keep pushing myself to keep reinventing myself and doing new things and challenging myself. So ‘Shook’ and ‘BloodLine’ the album is really about me, taking a step forward and really bring it up there.

You have worked with so many artists, whom did you enjoy working the most with?

I had a lot of fun working with is Kailash Kher for ‘Lockdown’ in Dharmshala. That music video is one of my favourite video I have ever created.

Check the video out here!

Tell us about your upcoming tracks?

‘Shook’ was just released, that is the first track of the album ‘BloodLine’. The rest of the tracks are very aggressive and very exciting, I’m just looking forward to you guys hearing the whole album.

Watch ‘Shook’ here!

What are your thoughts about the Hip-Hop culture in India?

Hip-Hop in India is growing immensely and I’m very proud of the music that India is producing. Specifically artists like Divine, Nucleya and Ritviz are creating music that can be exported to the whole world. Having the Desi playlist on Spotify is super exciting and I’m happy to be a part of that.

There are not many female rappers from India who made it as far as you, do you think you would have reached this height if you were born and brought up in India instead of US?

If I was brought up in India I would always ask myself that question, but I know that I’m destined to be an artist. I think I would have a different perspective, but I’m thankful for my upbringing and opportunities in America. I got to work with some incredible producers and I don’t know if I would have that opportunity from India but I want to make sure that I create that opportunity for more Indian artists and help make the bridge between the East and the West so we as a community can grow.

Your track ‘Shook’ has vibes like Missy Eliott’s music, do you look up to her?

Of course! Shook actually is very inspired by Missy Eliott even the music video. What we did in it is an ode to Missy Eliott because she is such a strong female artist, producer, rapper and singer. If she could do it I knew there was a possibility for me.

Name a few female rappers you dig and what exactly you like about them!

Obviously Missy Eliott! Lauren Hill, Cardi, Nicki.. I don’t know why they beef I love them both. Though there are many other female rappers coming up I love these artists more.

Also Read – Raja Kumari gets a call from Shah Rukh Khan, Husn Parcham

Is there any particular track of yours which is close to you and why?

‘Meera’ is my favourite track that I have ever written. I had to fight really hard to make sure it was included in the album because it had Hindi on it there were a lot of people in the US who thought that maybe this song would go over their heads. Ibrahim “Ebro” Darden who is an American media executive and radio presenter, told me this is one of his favourite songs and played it on Beats radio. It was such an important moment for me to hear Hindi on American radio, so ‘Meera’ will always be one of my favourite songs.

Listen to Raja Kumari’s track Meera here –

When you’re not working on songs, what do you choose to do?

Ans: I live my life, my music is inspired by life so I try to visit holy places, go amidst nature. I just try to watch the people around and just really be inspired by different things so my lyrics can be universal.

Lastly, any message for your fans and upcoming artists?

I’m really excited about my new album and I hope you guys enjoy it. I’m excited about what’s going on in the Indian music scene, I just hope more female artists come up and make more quality music.