Featured Artist: Raja Kumari

This April is Diversity month, so I started thinking about all the diverse artists I look up to. Raja Kumari is another singer-songwriter I really admire. She is Indian-American, and I loved learning about her cross-cultural upbringing and how it molded her.

I love this quote about her in the Hindustani Times: 

"...torn between her love for all things American as well as Indian, Raja slowly found herself battling an identity crisis. "My love for Lauryn Hill was no less than my love for Madhuri Dixit. I was born in America and was very much an American kid..."

This sounds like so many biracial and third culture kids. I look up to Raja Kumari because she fused two very different cultural identities and created something so unique. Her way of making music really inspires me as well. I don't think anyone would have thought you could mix Indian musical styles with American rap, but she did it, which is so amazing to me. 

She was never comfortable with fitting herself into cultural boxes. She sees the cultural differences between the east and west, and it moves her to speak her mind through her music. 

I think I understand what she means. Being between two worlds allowed me to create my own hybrid culture. I love my cultural identity crisis. It's this in-betweenness that makes me who I am and inspires my music. The differences are beautiful, and uniting them is my muse. 

Unity in diversity is the way of the future for music. I hope you enjoy her brand of global music as much as I do.