UMBIR:
Rajid Ahamed, better known by his stage name Yung Raja, a Singaporean-Tamil rapper and composer, stood out as the main attraction on the second day of Hills Festival, at Umbir, on Saturday.
Speaking to The Meghalayan, the ecstatic Raja said that Shillong was on his bucket list since he had heard amazing thing about the place from his friend Shantanu, who hails from the city.
Giving an insight on his works, Raja said that he considers himself extremely fortunate to have been with the right team and individuals. He added that he began working with directors and producers in Singapore, from day 1.
“It was a really experimental phase when I released Mustafa because I wanted to express personal elements in the songs,” Raja said.
Speaking about his acting career, he mentioned that before becoming a rapper, he was an actor as he began acting at five years of age. Raja shared that Rajnikant has always been his favourite actor.
Recollecting times when he started his career, Raja fondly remembered when his mother asked him to audition for a Singaporean television programme. “800 people came for the auditions, of which only 10 were selected, and to my surprise, I was one among the ones selected,” Raja recollects.
Speaking about his rapping career and how it started, Raja said that his love for the genre started when he was 10 years old, and his iPod had most of the numbers.
“For the next eight years, I solely practised rap music in my room. I had a friend, Faresh Java, who was the first person to know about my interest in Rap. He motivated me to take up it as a career, and there was no looking back.”
Although he is a part of the hip-hop industry, Raja considers AR Rehman as his main musical inspiration. Born and raised in a Tamil household, Raja grew up listening to Rehman.
He assured that he will have a fantastic time amidst the music lovers in Shillong – the Rock capital of India.