Svetha Yallapragada Rao (born January 11, 1986), professionally known as Raja Kumari, is an American rapper, songwriter and singer from Claremont, California. Kumari is best known for her collaborations with notable artists including Gwen Stefani, Iggy Azalea, Fifth Harmony, Sidhu Moosewala, Knife Party, and Fall Out Boy. She is also notable for receiving as a songwriter, the BMI Pop Awards in 2016, and featuring on BBC Asian Network programme Bobby Friction on July 5, 2016.
Early life Raja Kumari was born as Svetha Yallapragada Rao into a Telugu family in Claremont, California. Her family hails from Andhra Pradesh, India. Kumari holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in religious studies, with an emphasis on South Asian religions.
Her parents played an important role in developing her Indian character and trained her to become an Indian classical dancer who started performing at the age of 5. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Raja Kumari said that she found it tough and lonely as a South Indian girl growing up in Los Angeles.
While in fifth grade, Kumari discovered hip hop through the Fugees' album The Score. By the age of 14, she was a noticed freestyle MC known as "Indian Princess" (IP) or "Raja Kumari". She is a trained dancer in Kuchipudi, Kathak, and Bharatanatyam and had given many live performances in Ravindra Bharathi in Hyderabad.
During her artist career, she has contributed to several philanthropic activities through her performances including the creation of a hospital in Bangalore and a meditation hall in Hyderabad for the Vegesna Foundation, a school for children with physical disabilities. As a result, Kumari has been recognized as a benefactor by the Foundation for Indic Philosophy and Culture (Indic Foundation) and has been honored with the Kohinoor Award for excellence in the Classical Arts by the Governor of Tamil Nadu.
Career
2013-2016: Career beginnings as a songwriter and debut EP The Come Up Kumari co-wrote, featured in or performed background vocals in a number of notable songs including Fall Out Boy's double-platinum single "Centuries", Iggy Azalea's "Change Your Life" feat. T.I., Vicetone's "Don't You Run", "Mirage" by Lindsey Stirling and "Set Me Free" for Baz Luhrmann's Netflix series The Get Down about the birth of hip-hop. She has also contributed as a songwriter to the songs "Like Mariah" by Fifth Harmony, "Eclipse" by Twin Shadow, and "Freefallin'" by Dirty South.
In March 2016, she worked as a songwriter on six songs from Gwen Stefani's third studio album This Is What the Truth Feels Like. In May 2016, Kumari was honored at the 2016 BMI Pop Awards for co-writing the song "Centuries". She released a mixtape on SoundCloud, titled Curry Sauce Vol. 1, in 2016. On July 1, 2016, she released her debut solo single "Mute" featuring Elvis Brown and produced by Jules Wolfson at Epic Records, which premiered on Paper Magazine's website. Her next single was "Believe in You", which released in October, accompanied by a music video. Both songs were later included in her debut EP, The Come Up, which released on November 17, 2016.
In addition, she had a recording contract with Epic Records that she signed in 2015, through L.A. Reid and collaborated with several players in the music industry, including artists Polow Da Don, J.R. Rotem, Timbaland, Rodney Jerkins, Soulshock and Karlin, Tricky Stewart and The-Dream, Justin Tranter and Fernando Garibay. She has also been inspired in her music style by the Indian composer and producer A. R. Rahman.
2017-2020: BLOODLINE and further successes in India In 2017, she made her debut in Hindi film soundtracks, with the song "Freaking Life" from the film Mom. In 2018, she co-wrote and released the songs, "Roots" and "City Slums" in collaboration with Indian rapper Divine. She starred in the Bollywood film Gully Boy as a judge, in a cameo appearance. In 2019, she finally made her debut in mother tongue Telugu by featuring in "Attention Everybody", a single produced by SouthBay (subsidiary of Ramanaidu Studios). The music was composed by Kone Kone and the Telugu lyrics were penned by Pranav Chaganty, which was a tribute to Telugu actor Venkatesh Daggubati released on his birthday.
Kumari was nominated for an MTV European Music Awards three times for Best India Act. She released her second EP Bloodline, in February 2019. She hosted the American Music Awards of 2019 Pre-Show telecast, alongside Lauren Jaregui. Kumari was also announced as the face of MAC Cosmetics' holiday campaign: #MACStarringYou, in which she appears in adverts and marketing materials around the globe. In September 2019, she collaborated with rapper Shah Rule on the track "Kaun Hai Tu". She was a judge on the first season of MTV Hustle, an Indian rap reality show. In 2021, she collaborated with rapper Sidhu Moose Wala on the song "US", from the latter's album, Moosetape.
2022-present: Independent label In 2022, she started her own independent label, Godmother Records. Her first release under the label was her third EP, HBIC, which featured guest appearances from Indian rappers KRSNA and Shah Rule. The EP's release was preceded by the lead single "MADE IN INDIA", a remix of the song "Made in India" by Alisha Chinai, which was accompanied by a music video, featuring veteran Indian actress Madhuri Dixit. She was nominated for the MTV Europe Music Award for Best India Act at the 2022 MTV Europe Music Awards.
In April 2023, Kumari released her debut studio album, The Bridge, featuring no guest appearances. In the same year in December, she worked with KSHMR on the track "All Fall Down", alongside Indian rappers Yashraj and Riar Saab, which was included on KSHMR's fourth studio album Karam.All Fall Down (feat. Yashraj, Riar Saab, Raja Kumari) She also wrote and sung the title track from the soundtrack of the film Jawan. She released the single "Sherni Aayi" for the promotion of the web-series Aarya.
In 2024, she worked with Stefflon Don on the track "Renegade" for Arcane League of Legends: Season 2 and in 2025, won an American Music Award for the track, being the first person of Indian descent to ever do so.
In February 2025, she released her sophomore studio album, Kashi to Kailash, a devotional and spiritual project that blended traditional Sanskrit chants with modern hip-hop and electronica beats, under her independent label Godmother Records. In July 2025, KALKI Fashion collaborated with Kumari to launch a bold and inclusive ethnic wear collection. In the same year, she was featured on the song "Durga Trance" alongside Kanika Kapoor and Siroyi, from the album, Sounds of Kumbha, by Grammy-nominated producer Siddhant Bhatia. The album went on to be nominated at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards in the category for Best Global Music Album. In September 2025, she was featured on two songs from the soundtrack of the web-series The Ba***ds of Bollywood.
In 2026, she was signed to the talent management agency, Cornerstone Music. In the same year, she composed the soundtrack for the Telugu film Impure. She further released her debut Punjabi-language single, "Gyaara", a tribute to Sidhu Moose Wala, which was initially planned as a collaboration between the two, before the latter was assasinated in 2022. The song is the lead single from her upcoming sixth studio album, Zindabad: The Dekade.
Discography Film songs Year Song Work Composer Co-Singer(s) Writer(s) Language Notes 2017 "Jugni" Kaatru VeliyidaiA. R. Rahman Shellee Tamil "Freaking Life" Mom Hindi"Never Give Up"VivegamAnirudh RavichanderRaja KumariTamil2018 "Allah Duhai Hai" Race 3 JAM8 Hindi"Husn Parcham"ZeroAjay–Atul Irshad Kamil2019"The Wakhra Song" Judgementall Hai Kya Tanishk Bagchi Navv Inder & Lisa MishraTanishk Bagchi, Raja Kumari2020"Afreeda" Dil Bechara A.R. Rahman Sana Musa Amitabh Bhattacharya2021"Phire Faqeera"PagglaitArijit Singh Amrita Singh, Arijit SinghNeelesh Misra"Pagal"Amrita Singh 2023"Jawan Title Track"JawanAnirudh RavichanderRaja KumariAlso Tamil and Telugu dubbed versions2024"Baby John - Beast Mode"Baby JohnThaman S2025"Dhop (Hindi)"Game ChangerRaqueeb AlamTelugu"Firestorm"They Call Him OGThaman S • Deepak Blue • SilambarasanVishwa, Srinivasa Mouli, Raja Kumari (English), Adviteeya Vojjala (Japanese)Telugu"Firestorm"They Call Him OG - (D)Thaman S • Deepak Blue • Silambarasan • Nazeeruddin • Bharathraj RRaqueeb Alam, Adviteeya VojjalaHindi"Everybody Knows"The Ba***ds of Bollywood Ujwal Gupta – Dev SinghHindi"Revolver"Shashwat Sachdev Vishal Dadlani, Piyush Kapoor and Shashwat Sachdev Aryan Khan, Raja Kumari2026"Kismat Ki Chaabi"Rahu KetuAbhinav ShekharRaja Kumari, Abhinav ShekharHindi"Woh Ikka Hai"IkkaMithoonVishal Dadlani (Hindi)Sayeed Qadri (Hindi), Raja Kumari (English)Hindi, EnglishNetflix film
Albums, EPs and mixtapes +YearEP / MixtapeTrackArtist(s)2016Curry Sauce Vol. 1New LevelRaja KumariMemoMF Bawse2018The Come UpTribeRaja KumariMuteThe Come UpBelieve in YouMeeraThe City2019BloodlineSHOOKRaja KumariKARMAROBIN HOODSTILL CAREBORN HUSTLARaja Kumari ft. Janine The Machine2022HBICMANIFESTRaja KumariMADE IN INDIAHBICONRaja Kumari ft. KR$NATHE DONRaja Kumari ft. Shah Rule2023The BridgeBORN TO WINRaja KumariNO NAZARBABYLONJUICECOLORSLOVESICKLA INDIAGODSFEARLESS2025Kashi to KailashKASHI TO KAILASHTHE DESTROYER (Shiv Tandav Strotam)I DARE THEM (Mrithunjay Mantra)I WORSHIP YOU (Lingashtakam)SHAMBO (808 Kirtan)
Singles and collaborations +YearTrackArtist(s)Note(s)2016Don't You RunVicetone ft. Raja KumariFrom the Aurora EP by VicetoneMirageLindsey Stirling ft. Raja KumariFrom the album Brave Enough by Lindsey StirlingMedicineFerras ft. Raja Kumari2017Drips GoldEden xo ft. Raja KumariCity SlumsRaja Kumari ft. DIVINE2018VamosBadal ft. Dr Zeus & Raja KumariFrom the Puro Puro EP by BadalI Did ItRaja KumariRootsDIVINE ft. Raja Kumari2019Kaun Hai Tu?Shah Rule & Raja KumariSab Theek AeDeep Jandu ft. Raja KumariFrom the album Down to Earth by Deep Jandu2020Bindis and BanglesRaja KumariI Am A RebelPromotional track for boAtN.R.I.GoddessKrewella, NERVO ft. Raja KumariPEACERaja KumariOne Love (in support of UNICEF)The Amplified Project, Bob Marley & Skip Marley ft. Various ArtistsCover of Bob Marley's song "One Love", in support of UNICEF's COVID-19 responseSHANTI (PEACE - Hindi Version)Raja Kumari2021Hello WorldRita Wilson, Claudia Leitte & Raja KumariUSSidhu Moose Wala ft. Raja KumariFrom the album Moosetape by Sidhu Moose WalaRani CypherRaja Kumari ft. Dee MC, SIRI & Meba OfiliaFirestarterRaja KumariGet It InRaja Kumari2022CleopatraTHEMXXNLIGHT ft. Raja KumariFrom the album Skypearl by THEMXXNLIGHTSahi Ja Nahi? (Good Or Not?)F1rstman ft. Raja KumariFrom the album The Blend by F1rstmanMADE IN INDIARaja KumariLead single from her HBIC EPOut of LoveRaashi Sood & Raja KumariLifeKing Sunny, Raja Kumari & Deep Jandu2023RUN IT UPRaja KumariSherni AayiPromotional single for the web-series Aarya2024JUICERaja KumariLead single from her debut album The BridgeIn LoveGuru Randhawa, Raja Kumari, JSL SinghBorn SuperstarRaja KumariIn collaboration with NEXA Music2025Bombay AcidIndo Warehouse, Raja Kumari, Kunal MerchantThug LifeDJ Five Venoms, Raja Kumari, Harman Batra
Songwriting credits Year Track Artist(s) Album / EP 2013 Change Your Life Iggy Azalea The New Classic 2014 Freefallin' Dirty South With You Boss Mode Knife Party Abandon Ship Centuries Fall Out Boy style="text-align:center;" 2015 Like Mariah Fifth Harmony ft. Tyga Reflection Sadness Selah Sue Reason Eclipse Twin Shadow Eclipse Spark Ghost Town style="text-align:center;" Runnin' Yazz, Jamila Velazquez, Raquel Castro and Yani Marin Empire: Original Soundtrack Season 2, Volume 1 Broken Hearted Kalin and Myles style="text-align:center;" Changed My Life Kalin and Myles Kalin and Myles 2016 Red Flag Gwen Stefani This Is What the Truth Feels Like Naughty Loveable Obsessed Splash War PaintMirageLindsey StirlingBrave Enough2017Never Give UpAnirudh RavichanderVivegam2019Attention EverybodyKone Kone and Pranav Chaganty