Pandemic made me realise I was rushing and not enjoying my wins: Raja Kumari

When American singer Raja Kumari took to the microphone in Pune, everybody knew they were in for a treat. The people who were earlier scattered watching various acts all over the Mahalaxmi Lawns for Day 2 of the Bacardi NH7 Weekender were drawn to her show on the main stage, thanks to her vocal range - singing melodiously at first and busting rhymes later. Everything looked straight out of a music video, the elaborate floral themed backdrop and the artist in a red costume with headgear and gold-beaded braids. As the crowd sang along with her, the performance became almost hypnotic.

While the stage was familiar, personally, it was even more special for the artist because her one dream had finally come true. Having previously performed on different stages at the festival, Raja Kumari in an exclusive chat with Mid-day Online explained, "It was a huge goal for me to be on the main stage. Now that I've done it, I am looking forward to taking on the world with all the love and blessings of the motherland." Her first performance in India was at the 2016 NH7 Weekender with the Mumbai rapper Divine, with whom she later collaborated on the 2017 song 'City Slums'.

In fact, Svetha Yallapragada Rao, more popularly known by her stage name, Raja Kumari, is going to savour the moment till her next performance. It is something the 36-year-old from Claremont, California realised she needed to do during the pandemic, which was not only a time for creating music but also for introspection. "The pandemic made me a better person. I didn't ask for it but it came to all of us. It was the first time I kind of had time to slow down and realise that I was rushing through my career and wasn't enjoying any of my wins. I have committed to myself to enjoy my wins," she adds.

The Grammy-nominated artist, who has made heads turn ever since her first single ‘Mute', has worked with AR Rahman, Shah Rukh Khan, Fall Out Boy, Iggy Azalea and Gwen Stefani over the years. In 2021, she moved back to Mumbai, where she had spent about 10 months before the pandemic.

Performing after the pandemic

The festival, which changed hands from artist and event management company OML to esports company NODWIN Gaming this year, saw a huge crowd gather and groove to her music and unsurprisingly she enjoyed every bit of it. It was different from what she expected after having spent the last two years of the pandemic off the stage. "I thought a lot about how it was going to be to perform after the pandemic. I thought I was going to get up on stage and was probably going to cry. The love I felt on stage (tonight) was insane. The production that I put on tonight is the largest production with the stage artwork, visuals and full band and it just felt so worth it," she added.

The fact that she has performed at the festival and has so many fond memories from the past may also be the reason why the city is her favourite to perform in in India. It has made her include Pune even in her upcoming music. "I live in Mumbai but Pune is really special to me. I opened the set with the song from my upcoming EP called ‘Manifest' and the first line is ‘Pune had the biggest show I ever envisioned' and that was today," she explains excitedly.

Music releases this year

She also used this time to go back to the basics and focus on her music in its rawest form. "A lot of my (upcoming) album was made in the garage. I went back to the basics, went back to my songwriting and focused on my lyricism," she shares.

Going back to the basics also means that there is a lot of music in the pipeline and Kumari doesn't hesitate to share about her upcoming projects. "I have got an EP releasing called HBIC (Head Bitch In Charge) and it is going to be a lot of aggressive records that people know me for." She also has an album called The Bridge, which she is set to release later this year. "It has more of my musicality and more of what you saw on stage today." Both will be under her new independent label called Godmother Records.

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