Of Joy, Yung Raja’s technicolour sonic world and new single, ‘Mami’ - Bubblegum Club

Of Joy, Yung Raja’s technicolour sonic world and new single, ‘Mami’

Mami wearing saari not a skirt
She just want that thaali she a freak for sure
Got the type of hips that make my vision blur
Mami lookin’ like she sweeter than dessert

Raps Yung Raja on the chorus leading us into his new single “Mami” — head and shoulder bop inducing trap beat to boot. The single which dropped today, announces itself from the onset as a Yung Raja classic; it’s oozing with play, it’s packed with creative lyrical and wordplay fluency, and it’s firmly rooted in a personal and cultural specificity that colours the first generation Singaporean rapper with his own distinct artistic hues. “Mami” marks the young Def Jam Southeast Asia rapper’s first release of 2021 following his previous release from 2020, “The Dance Song” — a track he described as a celebration of owning one’s identity in an interview with The Hindu stating: 

That is the most important message. I think people don’t understand how much identity is valued in today’s world. Being a part of the hip hop community, I have the unique privilege of being able to speak the truth through my art.

There’s something about the production to Yung Raja’s music and songs that falls onto my listening ear in quite cinematic ways. Perhaps, this is because the closest sonic references I have to hold onto for some of the production elements is rooted in Bollywood cinema and my few and far between encounters with it. In today’s social media saturated world defined by clout and performativity — it’s becoming increasingly rare to come across artists creating and moving from a space of sincerity. However, sincerity is one of the first words that comes to mind specifically when I think of Yung Raja, and I think it takes a certain kind of self-knowing for that spirit to radiate so profoundly. More than clever word play and an ill flow too  — influenced significantly by his Tamil — Yung Raja also weaves together snapshots of moments through his music which also makes him a skilful sonic storyteller. Like on “Mami’s” first verse when he raps: 

Thanni on my mind cause she got thirst
Imma pull up with some fresh jilebi just for her
She keep tryna find out what I got under my shirt
Just to see her coming first

I caught up with Yung Raja ahead of his “Mami” single and music video release today — meeting each other from a far through words — to talk about his music, Joy and “spitting Tamil raps to chicks who speak Italian” amongst other things. 

I remember coming across your music on Instagram in 2019 and the first song I listened to and video I watched was “Mad Blessings”. A few things stuck out to me immediately but one of them was the sound/production of the track — like nothing I had ever encountered in the space of hip hop before but still familiar in some sense — I’d say maybe this is from my encounter with Bollywood movies on national broadcasting stations in South Africa while growing up. The fusing through sonics of these two spaces and the cultures and H/histories carried in them was really exciting and interesting to me. It felt completely new. As young Rajid Ahamed, a first-generation Singaporean son of parents who emigrated from India, what are your earliest memories/encounters with hip hop and how (if at all) did they help shape the artist you are today?

Yung Raja: Some of the earliest encounters of hip-hop were truly accidental – I had brought my sister’s Walkman to school and the first time I pressed play… I heard “will the real slim shady, please stand up”. I felt chills.. and my adrenaline rushed immediately because of how explicit and bold it was. I heard all the bad words I was taught not to say… but I loved it. That was my first accidental brush with hip hop which turned out to be something that moved me. For a boy that listened to predominantly South Indian Tamil songs, hearing something from the opposite spectrum… something so hard-hitting, raw and expressive made me a fan almost immediately. Ever since, the only genre of music I ever truly loved and consumed has been hip-hop.

And when I decided to give rapping a shot, the experimental mixture of my passion for hip-hop, with my foundation of South Indian music/culture gave birth to the musician Yung Raja. 

The abundance of Brown boy Joy in the video was another thing that stood out to me, and I think that this is something that can be deeply felt in most of your songs and music videos. Is Joy something you try to actively centre in your music, or does that feeling just come from your passion and who you are as a person?

Yung Raja: It’s because of who I am as a person, and my passion for what I do that allows me to translate the visceral joy in me through my arts. I’ve always been a happy-go-lucky, smiley positive person. I find the utmost fulfilment from inspiring joy in the people around me… and one of my biggest goals is to positively impact as many people as I can through my passions. I truly feel that’s my biggest calling and I wouldn’t ever want to take this blessed fortunate position of being a spreader of joy [for granted]. 

“I’m spitting Tamil raps to chicks that speak Italian” from Friday Freestyle and “everybody knows me / that’s a whole nation / I’m for all races / doesn’t matter where you from / and you’ll know me when you hear me” from “Mustafa”. Along with all the very culturally specific references you make and the beautifully abundant use of Tamil in your lyrics remind me of a quote from one of my favourite authors that goes “When I write, I don’t translate for white readers…. Dostoevsky wrote for a Russian audience, but we’re able to read him. If I’m specific, and I don’t over explain, then anyone can overhear me”. Why the decision to root your sonic craft in your own culture and identity?

Yung Raja: It’s what comes the most natural to me. I am heavily rooted in my culture and family values. Being a super-fan of hip-hop, I’ve always wanted to respectfully uphold the artistic values of my craft. As a rapper, I understand how important it is to share my truths and also the unique aspects of my life experience that makes me, me. Hip-hop has always stood for celebrating and embracing ones identity and I’m just really grateful I get to share my flavour with the world through my raps. 

Historically hip hop and rap music have been painted and spoken about in negative and distorted ways. In the same way that the narratives of people and cultures that fall outside of western hegemony are often portrayed in reductive or stereotypical ways. One of the things I find powerful and cool about your artistic presence is how it disrupts both those things. Your wholesome, carefree and even tender content disrupting ideas of hip hop being a super aggressive “masculine” space. And the way you have crafted your artistic and aesthetic identity providing diverse representations of young Singaporean people. Do you ever think of your music and accompanying visuals as a sort of archive in-the-making and is it important for you to re-claim representations of your identity through your music?

Yung Raja: Being a first generation Tamil-speaking Indian born and raised in Singapore, I’ve always wanted to see people from my community breaking boundaries locally/internationally. I’ve always been driven to achieve great things and not having many people from my community pushing the envelope made it difficult to know my way around or understand my place in this space. As a south Asian operating within the culture of hip-hop, which is a borrowed culture, one of my biggest responsibilities is to not only create dope music I love, but to break the common stereotypes surrounding hip-hop culture at the time. People aren’t as informed on the positive aspects of hip-hop here as in the west and I take it upon me to make sure people understand why hip-hop is one of the greatest genres to have ever existed. 

Your new single “Mami” drops this Friday, can you tell me about it?

Mami” is a cheeky, fun song… I had the time of my life making this a few years back and I’ve been waiting to share it with the world. It’s definitely one of those room-quacking, club-shaking, speaker-breaking type of record that I love listening to as a fan of hip-hop. I’m so excited for people to watch the music video! Hope you love it too!

Check out the just dropped video for “Mami” below!

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