There’s one thing about Grammy-nominated musician Raja Kumari: she knows how to serve! When I entered her house to interview her, the singer welcomed me with a broad smile, along with her adorable pup, Luv Kumar (sorry Raja, he was the highlight of the interview), ready to answer some fun questions. There’s no denying that Raja has created a niche for herself in an industry where male voices predominate in every aspect.
ELLE India’s Artist Of The Year at the ELLE List 2023 started her journey with a mission to minimise the musical divide between the East and the West while celebrating her multi-cultural roots with one beat at a time. Her discography is decorated with double-platinums, Spotify chart rulers, voicing Bollywood icons like Katrina Kaif, Sushmita Sen, giving us the most pumping theme song with Jawan, and much more. Catch her spilling some beans about her upcoming music, collaborations and more.
ELLE: Describe your personal style in one word.
Raja Kumari (RK): Oh my god, just one word? Kumari, like a royal. No matter what I do, I always try to have some royal element, and I think that comes from my classical dance, because every time we get dressed for classical dance, it takes three hours to put on every piece of jewellery in the costume, and I think I carried that into my stage presence.
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ELLE: Any hidden talent that we don’t know?
RK: I’ve been snowboarding since I was eight years old, and they had to make a small snowboard for me. When I was growing up in California, I would snowboard and rock climb all the time, so I think most people are surprised when they see me on a mountain.
ELLE: Favourite Bollywood movie from the ’90s?
RK: It’s hard to pick. First that came to mind was Hum Aapke Hai Kon, because I think it was so influential in my life. Seeing Madhuri (Dixit Nene) for the first time like that, and I was really young, so it was a film that I would watch religiously, and I think I’ve made every outfit from the film.
ELLE: How was your experience working with SRK?
RK: The thing that I really took away from meeting him, is when he speaks to you, he’s so present, he’s looking you in the eye, he’s listening to you. I’m sure he has a thousand checklists in his head that he has to take care of on a daily basis, but when he’s speaking to you he makes you feel present, something I try to carry in my life.
Happy Birthday @iamsrk ✨🎂
SRK & RK FOREVER!!!!! https://t.co/uVsb3Ee66Y pic.twitter.com/G4g6exlHWV— Raja Kumari (@TheRajaKumari) November 2, 2019
Whenever I’m meeting people and I’m performing or meeting people that have been impacted by my music, I make sure to be present and absorb the nice things they’re saying to me. Because so often we’ll read the negative comments online and let that stick in our heads, and I think it’s important to also remember the really beautiful interactions, and that’s all I can think of when I think of SRK. SRK and RK forever.
ELLE: Who is your musical inspiration growing up?
RK: M. Balamuralikrishna was a huge inspiration as a kid because I just wanted to keep performing and learning the harder ragas, and I think those intricate rhythms and complex influenced my rap today. I have a lot of very fast flows, and I like to switch my flows and I like to mix it up.
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ELLE: What’s your dream collaboration?
RK: Diljit Dosanjh. I didn’t need to take much time for that. I think there’s something so beautiful that’s happened in the last two years watching him grow. It’s like he tapped into this God power, and now he’s just walking in his purpose. Everything he does is just very pure-hearted, and I feel there’s something we can create together that can really bring that energy, and I’m excited to work with him one day. Everybody else I’ve ever manifested in the world, you know, it came to me, and I know that this will come, so we’ll come back and watch this.
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ELLE: Favourite tour memory?
RK: The first time I ever headlined a festival was NH7 in Meghalaya, and before the show started, they were chanting my name, and I had never actually experienced that, and there was such an energy. I just realised this was that moment that I had waited to be the headliner at a festival, and at the end of the show, I was singing City Slums. I had never had the experience of somebody asking for an encore, and the entire crowd chanted “one more time.” I remember I looked over my manager at the time; he said, “Do it again,” so we sang City Slums the second time.
ELLE: What’s next for Raja?
RK: Well, I’ve been on a journey. I think at the beginning of this year I decided I wanted to be embodied, I wanted to understand myself, have intuitive eating, sleep when I feel like it, and say yes to the projects that mean something to me, not just for the sake of the rat race. So what’s next for Raja is new music, new stage shows, more classical dance, just going back to my roots, and a happy Raja.
Also, read a throwback to Raja Kumari’s ELLE cover story.
