Rapper Raja Kumari moves base to Mumbai again: I’ve created a safe space for myself here

Prior to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, rapper Raja Kumari spent about 10 months in Mumbai but eventually had to move back to Los Angeles, USA. Last year, she returned to the city and shares that she’s rather happy to “set up base in India again”.

She tells us, “I always had a dual base. Now, I’m happy to have a home here where I’ve created a safe space for myself where I can make music, work out and cook for myself. It’s a place reasonable enough for me to take care of.”

Quiz her if she’s concerned about the rising Covid-19 numbers back in the US and Kumari says she is not as worried about her family, due to their access to good medical care: “My whole family is in medicines (professionally) and they’ve always been in the frontline. So, I feel secure.”

This year is rather important for the Phire Faqeera (Pagglait; 2021) singer as it’s a prelude to the next five years where she wants to focus on music education and infrastructure in India.

She elaborates, “I want to setup a song writing forum and when we can tour again, I want to take it around the country and host workshops. I want to teach them how to structure a song and what goes into sound engineering and mixing and mastering and why these are important to put us on an international platform.”

Kumari feels the need to bring about a system for musicians in India similar to that in LA. “There was camaraderie, infrastructure and network where you could write with different people. Those songs would then go to publishers who would pitch them for licencing. There was a path available to learn from your peers and get experience in recording art. We’ve the capability to compete and be heard but it requires us to invest in our musicians,” she ends.