Yung Raja

Last updated

Yung Raja
Yung Raja SXSW Sydney 2024.jpg
Yung Raja at SXSW Sydney, October 2024.
Born
Rajid Ahamed Yousuf Arafat

(1995-12-14) 14 December 1995 (age 29)
Singapore
NationalitySingaporean
Education Ngee Ann Polytechnic
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • songwriter
Years active2018–present
Musical career
OriginSingapore
Genres Hip hop
InstrumentVocals
Labels

Rajid Ahamed Yousuf Arafat [1] (born 14 December 1995 [2] ), known by his stage name Yung Raja, is a Singaporean-Tamil rapper and songwriter. [3] He is known for his use of Tanglish, a mix of Tamil and English, in his raps. [4]

Contents

Early life

Rajid Ahamed was born in 1995, in Singapore, to Tamil-Muslim parents from Thanjavur Tamil Nadu. Ahamed has three elder sisters, which led to him being given the nickname "chinna thambi" (Tamil meaning: younger brother), and subsequently inspiring the first half of his stage name. The second half of his stage name, Raja, pays tribute to the Indian composer, Ilaiyaraaja. [5]

Rajid Ahamed attended Ngee Ann Polytechnic and graduated with a diploma in mass communications.

Career

Before becoming a singer-songwriter, Ahamed was a child actor acting in local dramas and having cameos in films including Ah Boys to Men 3: Frogmen and Joker Game .

Released in early 2018, Yung Raja's debut single was a remix of "Gucci Gang" by Lil Pump, titled "Poori Gang". [6] Yung Raja came to prominence after being featured in an episode of the Malaysia hip hop web-series, 16 Baris, in 2018. [7] The same year, he rose to prominence with the single "Mustafa", which was followed by "Mad Blessings". A sequel to "Mad Blessings", titled "The Dance Song", was released in October 2020. [8]

In 2019, Ahamed hosted the Asian reboot of YO! MTV Raps alongside Kim Lee. [9] Yung Raja was one of six inaugural signees of Def Jam Southeast Asia (alongside Joe Flizzow, Daboyway, Fariz Jabba and A.Nayaka) in September 2019. [10] After becoming the first Asian artist signed to Alamo Records, [11] he released the single "Mami" in March 2021. [12] Yung Raja gained international attention after "Mami" was featured in a TheTonight Show segment when Jimmy Fallon roasted the song's repetitive hook. [13] [14]

Influences

Yung Raja was influenced by musicians including A.R. Rahman, [15] FlightSch, Alyph, Sid Sriram, and Drake. [16]

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

List of singles as lead artist, showing year released and album name
TitleYearAlbum
"Poori Gang"2018Non-album singles
"Mustafa"
"Mad Blessings"2019
"Amazing" (with ALYPH and Trifect)2020
"The Dance Song"
"Muneru Valiba"One 65
"Mami"2021Non-album singles
"Spice Boy"
"Mike"Mike
"And Then" (with Fariz Jabba)Non-album single
List of singles as lead artist, showing year released and album name
TitleYearAlbum
"PrettyGirlBop"
(SYA featuring Yuna Raja)		2020Non-album single
"No Shade"
(Kayan featuring Yuna Raja)		2022Non-album single

Guest appearances

List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name
TitleYearOther artist(s)Album
"Qualified"2021 Snoop Dogg, Larry June, October London Snoop Dogg Presents Algorithm (Global Edition)

References

  1. ↑ "BOMBAE". ASCAP. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  2. ↑ "thank u for ur birthday wishes my kanmanis / chellakutties ❤️" . Instagram . 14 December 2020. Archived from the original on 26 December 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  3. ↑ Raguraman, Anjali (2 January 2021). "Worth Watching in 2021: Local hip-hop artist Yung Raja takes crack at American market". The Straits Times . Closed Access logo transparent.svg
  4. ↑ "Yung Raja is Bringing His Brand of "Tanglish" Rap to America".
  5. ↑ Kannadasan, Akila (21 February 2019). "Meet Yung Raja, one of Singapore's promising rappers". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  6. ↑ Subaramaniam, P. Bala (6 May 2019). "Singaporean rapper Yung Raja infuses Indian culture into hip hop". The New Paper .
  7. ↑ "Fariz Jabba and Yung Raja drop fire freestyles on 16 Baris – watch". Fariz Jabba and Yung Raja drop fire freestyles on 16 Baris – watch | Bandwagon | Music media championing and spotlighting music in Asia. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  8. ↑ Gwee, Karen (5 October 2020). "Yung Raja: Singaporean hip-hop star sparks joy with dizzying Tamil and English raps". NME .
  9. ↑ Hadi, Eddino Abdul (10 April 2019). "YO! MTV Raps celebrates the diversity of hip-hop in Asia". The Straits Times. ISSN   0585-3923 . Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  10. ↑ Aswad, Jem (17 September 2019). "Def Jam, Astralwerks Launch Label Divisions in South East Asia". Variety. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  11. ↑ Chandran, Nyshka (4 December 2020). "The rap stars breaking out of South East Asia". BBC .
  12. ↑ Idris, A. Azim (29 March 2021). "Watch Yung Raja's video for dancey new single 'Mami'". NME .
  13. ↑ "Jimmy Fallon roasts Yung Raja's single 'Mami' on 'The Tonight Show'". NME. 13 July 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  14. ↑ "Jimmy Fallon praises Yung Raja's song 'Mami': "We loved that jam!"". NME. 14 July 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  15. ↑ Wadehra, Jashima (2 April 2021). "ingaporean Artist Yung Raja Takes his Music Global With Bilingual Hip-Hop". Brown Girl Magazine.
  16. ↑ Khalid, Cam (2 April 2021). "Meet Yung Raja: the Singaporean rapper breaks into the global market with new song Mami". Time Out .
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