American hip hop artist Raja Kumari is getting closer to Indian music with every collaboration. After singing the title track for Shahrukh Khan youngNow he has sung in Punjabi for the first time with Guru Randhawa’s recently released track in love,
“It is very exciting because with Punjabi music, it has been a very personal journey,” says Kumari, who collaborated on a track with late Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala in 2021. We, The Punjabi song had an English rap piece written by Moosewala and sung by Kumari.
“I had a very unique relationship with Sidhu where he really inspired me. We were going to do another song and he said to me, ‘Oh, I’d love to hear you sing in Punjabi.’ He thought my voice would sound great in Punjabi,” says Kumari, “and when he passed away, I didn’t know when I would get a chance to sing in Punjabi.” Moosewala was killed by unknown assailants in May 2022. Was shot dead.
Kumari, who comes from a Telugu family and grew up in America, is completely fascinated by the language and is extremely happy that she finally got the opportunity to sing in Punjabi. Her latest track with Randhawa titled In Love talks about a man loving a powerful woman, which Kumari says resonates with her.
“My perspective and experience comes from the fact that most of the songs I have done before have been about wins, anthems and bad bitch vibe tracks. But, this love song really gave me the space to be myself and find my femininity within myself,” says the hip-hop artist, who has worked with international stars like Gwen Stefani and John Legend.
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Comparing it with hip-hop as a genre, Kumari emphasized the emphasis on Punjabi music, saying, “It enables men to express their deep love towards their women, which is lacking in hip hop. On these collaborations, this is the part I really enjoy experiencing. I felt very connected to the song. I had a lot of fun writing and then singing it with Guru.”
Kumari is grateful that Guru gave her full scope and space not only to learn the language but also to experiment with it. “He’s like a machine; Everything that comes out of her mouth is perfectly crafted and a lot of fun. His writing style is very good. I told him that I wanted to do something new that would give me an opportunity to push myself. I loved how he was able to capture my personality in the Punjabi songs. They gave me really upbeat songs and this song is exactly where I’m at. I want to celebrate, I want to have fun with my femininity,” she concludes.