CAREER FILE: ARTISTE YUNG RMA

IN THE FIVE YEARS THAT HE HAS BEEN IN THE HI-HOP BUSINESS YUNG RAJA (REAL NAME: RAJID AHAMED) HAS BEEN NOTHING SHORT OF SLAY-BUT HE'S JUST GETTING STARTED SAYS THE 27-YEAR-OLD. TOGETHER WITH RIMOWA, FEMALE KITS HIM OUT WITH THE PERSONAL THE GERMAN LUXURY LUGGAGE MAKER'S GROOVED CROSSBODY BAG THA AS SLICK AND ONE-OF-A-KEND AS THE RAPPER HIMSELF AND FINDS OUT MORE ABOUT HIS PERSONAL DEFINITION OR AND JOURN Y TOWARDS SUCCESS.

- NOELLE LOH

Yung Raja cannot believe what he has achieved in the short half a decade that he has been in the music business. Besides a steady string of infectious raps in his trademark Tanglish – a mix of Tamil and English – he has had buzzy gigs in Malaysia and India; got a shout‑out from Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show; earned a billing at this year’s Rolling Loud festival in Pattaya, Thailand (where the headliners included Travis Scott and Cardi B); launched his own streetwear label Peace Oeuvre and then his own Indian‑Mexican restaurant, The Maha Co; which might all explain how he landed on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list last year. (Oh yes, and he has performed at the National Day Parade, or NDP, here a cool four times.)

“Typically, people have to grind for a long time – they put out albums and mixtapes, and work hard for a record deal. My team (comprising producers as well as fellow musicians such as Fariz Jabba and Flightsch) and I, on the other hand, have been so blessed to have had some of the most amazing opportunities just line up for us,” he says. “I count myself mad fortunate, but it has also got all of us thinking, what next?

“There’s no reference because how many rappers do we have in Singapore? I’m at a stage where I have to figure out certain things and, without saying too much, my team and I have been preparing for our next couple of moves that will be very important in laying down the foundation to the next chapter of our careers. Very soon, you’ll see what I’m talking about.”

TELL US THE TRUTH, RAJA: JUST HOW HARD IS IT TO MAKE IT AS A MUSICIAN IN SINGAPORE?