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Raja Kumari Is Bringing Her Desi Hip-Hop Crown to Rolling Loud India 2026
From writing hits for Fall Out Boy and Gwen Stefani to Sanskrit-chant rap, a Telugu-American MC with a global résumé.
Before she was Raja Kumari the rapper, she was the songwriter behind a pop-rock anthem. Now the Californian-born MC of Telugu heritage is heading to Mumbai for Rolling Loud India, and she is one of the few acts on the bill whose career runs through Hollywood, Bollywood and Indian hip-hop all at once.
Who she is
Born Svetha Yallapragada Rao in Claremont, California, with family roots in Andhra Pradesh, she trained in Kuchipudi, Kathak and Bharatanatyam while also falling for hip-hop and freestyling as a teen, per Wikipedia. That mix of classical Indian dance and MC culture is the whole brand.
The résumé
- She co-wrote Fall Out Boy's "Centuries," which earned a 2016 BMI Pop Award, and six songs on Gwen Stefani's This Is What the Truth Feels Like (2016).
- She signed to Epic Records in 2015 through L.A. Reid, then released the Curry Sauce Vol. 1 mixtape and The Come Up EP in 2016.
- She founded her own label, Godmother Records, in 2022.
Songs and projects to know
Start with "Mute," her 2016 debut solo single. Then go to India: "Freaking Life" from the Hindi film Mom (2017), a cameo in Gully Boy, and "Made in India" (2022), a remix of Alisha Chinai's classic with a video featuring Madhuri Dixit. She has also collaborated with Sidhu Moose Wala, Divine, KSHMR ("All Fall Down") and Shah Rule ("Kaun Hai Tu?"), and has judged the Indian rap competition MTV Hustle.
Her albums: The Bridge (2023) and Kashi to Kailash (February 2025), a devotional project that blends Sanskrit chants with hip-hop and electronica.
Why catch her set
Rolling Loud India's second day pairs Karan Aujla and Skepta with Seedhe Maut and ScHoolboy Q. Raja Kumari is the bridge: an artist who has spent a decade translating Indian identity into rap on a global stage, now doing it in front of a home-soil crowd. Expect a performer's set, with movement, language and bars all in the mix.
Festival info
Raja Kumari plays Sunday, December 13, 2026, in Mumbai. Tickets start at ₹5,500 on the District app (the venue in Mumbai is still to be announced, and gates open around 3 PM per the District listing). More at District.