Yung Raja

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

Yung Raja
Born
Rajid Ahamed

(1995-12-14) 14 December 1995
Singapore
NationalitySingaporean
EducationNgee Ann Polytechnic
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • songwriter
Years active2018–present
Musical career
OriginSingapore
GenresHip hop
Instrument(s)Vocals
Labels

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.[4]

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".[5] Yung Raja came to prominence after being featured in an episode of the Malaysia hip hop web-series, 16 Baris, in 2018.[6] 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.[7]

In 2019, Ahamed hosted the Asian reboot of YO! MTV Raps alongside Kim Lee.[8] 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.[9] After becoming the first Asian artist signed to Alamo Records,[10] he released the single "Mami" in March 2021.[11] Yung Raja gained international attention after "Mami" was featured in a The Tonight Show segment when Jimmy Fallon roasted the song's repetitive hook.[12][13]

Influences

Yung Raja was influenced by musicians including A.R. Rahman,[14] FlightSch, Alyph, Sid Sriram, and Drake.[15]

Discography

Extended plays
  • One 65 (2021)
  • Mike (2021)

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

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

References
  1. "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.
  2. 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
  3. "Yung Raja is Bringing His Brand of "Tanglish" Rap to America".
  4. Kannadasan, Akila (21 February 2019). "Meet Yung Raja, one of Singapore's promising rappers". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  5. Subaramaniam, P. Bala (6 May 2019). "Singaporean rapper Yung Raja infuses Indian culture into hip hop". The New Paper.
  6. "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.
  7. Gwee, Karen (5 October 2020). "Yung Raja: Singaporean hip-hop star sparks joy with dizzying Tamil and English raps". NME.
  8. 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.
  9. Aswad, Jem (17 September 2019). "Def Jam, Astralwerks Launch Label Divisions in South East Asia". Variety. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  10. Chandran, Nyshka (4 December 2020). "The rap stars breaking out of South East Asia". BBC.
  11. Idris, A. Azim (29 March 2021). "Watch Yung Raja's video for dancey new single 'Mami'". NME.
  12. "Jimmy Fallon roasts Yung Raja's single 'Mami' on 'The Tonight Show'". NME. 13 July 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  13. "Jimmy Fallon praises Yung Raja's song 'Mami': "We loved that jam!"". NME. 14 July 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  14. Wadehra, Jashima (2 April 2021). "ingaporean Artist Yung Raja Takes his Music Global With Bilingual Hip-Hop". Brown Girl Magazine.
  15. 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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