Hailing from Singapore, South East Asian rapper and hip-hop artist Yung Raja gained massive popularity when his song Mustafa rose to prominence in 2018. But I discovered the Tanglish (Tamil and English) artist in 2021 when I stumbled upon his single The Dance Song on VH1–the OG platform that brought new music to millennials much before social media and audio streaming apps took over.
The catchy tunes, eye-popping visuals and Raja’s eccentric dance moves in The Dance Song music video coupled with his smooth bilingual delivery of Tamil and English rap caught my attention and persuaded me to explore his music further. That’s when I went on to listen to his other hits like Mami and Mad Blessings.
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Having completed 5 years in the hip-hop industry, Raja was quick to become one of the rappers to reckon with in the Southeast Asian music scene. In such a short stint, the artist has collaborated with big names from Snoop Dogg to 50 Cent. He has gained a niche fan base that has enjoyed watching him perform live on several tours in India–whether it was at Bacardi NH7 Weekender in 2022, his opening act for 50 Cent’s Final Lap Tour in Mumbai or his recent performance at Echoes of Earth – India’s Greenest Music Festival in Bengaluru. Raja is a confident Singaporean Tanglish rapper who proudly shares his identity through his music. But the journey to achieving that came with his own set of experiences. Ahead, Raja shares all about his career, what led him to music, owning his identity and more.
ELLE: What do you look forward to the most at the Echoes of Earth festival?
Yung Raja (YR): I have been waiting to come back to Bangalore, ever since I was there the last time because it’s one of my favourite places in India. The vibrations, the people and the energy are just unmatched. I have made some amazing friends and cannot wait to meet them again and perform at this festival. It’s such an iconic festival, and to be a part of this lineup among some of the biggest names and amazing artists is truly a privilege. I cannot wait to experience that energy. I’m pretty sure it’s going to be one of my core memories in India.
ELLE: What was it like growing up? And what drew you to the music scene?
YR: I grew up in a traditional South Indian household in Singapore. My family moved there from South India. One of the best things about my family is that they didn’t change their ways. They didn’t try to be different from how they lived their lives in India. I was surrounded by people who loved and breathed Tamil culture. So my exposure to the arts, whether it’s movies or music, was always South Indian. My first ever point of reference when it comes to the world of music was Tamil music given the fact that we were always listening to Tamil songs, and that shaped me a lot.
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Growing up in Singapore as a first-generation Singaporean Tamil was very interesting. I have this duality of influence. The South Indian side and then the Singaporean side, which is very globalised and very connected to the Western world. And I think that’s what drew me to the music scene. Music is deeply ingrained in my DNA, considering how music has always been around me from the time I was a small boy. We don’t have any professionally trained singers in the household. But they all sing along to A.R. Rahman’s songs. I guess that’s why I was always drawn to music. And when I was about 10 years old, I discovered hip-hop and it completely changed my worldview. I had no exposure to anything English and it completely broke my perception. I completely fell in love with hip-hop music. It was all I was drawn to from 10 years old up till I decided to pursue hip-hop music full-time at about 21 years old.
ELLE: What made you choose to rap in Tamil and English?
YR: The aspect of bilingualism is built very deeply in my DNA of who I am as a first-generation Singaporean Tamilian. When I was exploring writing my lyrics and doing music full-time, I was experimenting with writing lyrics fully in English and fully in Tamil. But it didn’t feel like it was an authentic representation of who I am as a person. I couldn’t quite understand what the issue was. But there was this one day when I started writing in Tamil and English. And it was a major light bulb moment for me. Because that was the day I realised that my brain thinks in Tamil and English. So, I’m a Tanglish. That deeply ingrained bilingualism that lives within me as a Singaporean, came to light. And I realised that I’m a Tanglish boy. I can’t just choose one thing. That realisation was the one that changed everything for me.
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ELLE: Being a Singaporean bilingual artist who raps in English and Tamil, it can sometimes restrict your audience to those who only know the language. But in your case, you’ve got a fanbase from beyond the South Indian community. How does that feel and how do you connect with them?
YR: When I first started my career, everything that I did, I came from an experimental standpoint because I didn’t know if people would accept or like what I was doing. I remember when we were working on Poori Gang, we were afraid before uploading it to YouTube. I thought it wouldn’t be accepted by Tamils or just people in general because it felt so new and I didn’t have any reference points. We just wanted to try something that we thought was cool, original, fresh, and had a new vibe. Little did I know that what started as an experiment would resonate with so many Tamilians born and raised outside of South India or India.
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I didn’t realise that there were so many people just like me, born into immigrant families who moved out of India and settled down in Canada, America, or anywhere in the world. And then they’re born in a family, in a household where they’re challenged to understand their identities even more because there is that difference between the moment you leave the house versus when you’re in the house. I feel truly blessed to realise that I’m connected to such a large group of audience and demographic of people who share a similar DNA as me. It feels amazing and is one of the greatest blessings. I will never take that for granted.
So how do I connect with them? I love to perform at different venues. I love to travel, meet and talk to people that come to my shows. I value and cherish that. I don’t ever finish a show and then just go back to the hotel. I always stay at the venue and spend as much time as possible to get to know how they came to know about me, and what made them like my music and me. It is so interesting for me because it’s been four to five years so far and to this day, it is very surreal to me how big of a turn my life has taken. Sometimes when I look around, when I’m performing somewhere or travelling, or I’m on set shooting something, I realise that this is the reality that I’ve always been dreaming of from the time I was a little boy. And it’s a super surreal moment for me.
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ELLE: You’ve always been vocal about owning your identity. Can you tell us a bit more about that and how you portray it through your music and music videos?
YR: I try my best to talk about identity because I struggled with that a lot growing up. Learning about my culture and roots was a little challenging. I’ve always felt a certain disconnect with family members who identified as South Indians and Tamilians because I always identified as a Singaporean first. For me to learn more about my DNA as an Indian person, as a Tamilian came much later. As I became older, I visited my motherland Tamil Nadu with my family and talked to my relatives, and it became clearer. I became more aware of who I am and where my ancestors came from.
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My parents are immigrants who came from Tamil Nadu. So my connection to the roots is a lot closer. I was able to make sense of it a lot quicker. Whereas my friends were way more displaced culturally. It made me think this is something that seems to be a norm here–Tamil people not speaking in Tamil. I see my Tamil friends not being proud of their roots and who they are and what they are. And I could never really relate to that. I realised that maybe it boils down to their identity. Maybe it’s their environment or just the way circumstances have been for them growing up in a place like Singapore where there is a mix of cultures and ethnicities. Maybe things get lost in the mix. And I realised that I am so blessed to have had an environment where I was able to understand and learn more about who I am in some sense.
Becoming a hip-hop artist was another major turning point for me because it demands a level of authenticity. That’s something that I’ve always loved about the genre. Every hip-hop artist that I love and look up to always talks about themselves, their lives, the kind of background they come from, their realities and what they saw growing up. And I’ve always loved that real, raw, gritty, authentic representation of oneself. It made me go even deeper down the rabbit hole of wanting to understand and share my views, sentiments, roots and identity. I’m turning 28 and I’ve never had a clearer understanding of my identity. Through my music and music videos, I am just doing my part in showcasing the things that I am extremely proud of. I do it in my way with the hopes that someone who shares a similar DNA and life experience as me, is inspired to understand more about themselves in some ways.
ELLE: Take us through your upcoming projects.
YR: It’s going to be a very exciting 2024 with a lot of songs and collaborations. There are a couple of projects that we’re working on right now and we’re very excited to share more soon. I’ve never spent this much time in a studio and I can’t wait to share more when the time’s right, but follow us on our socials because some updates are on the way.
