Rajid Ahamed Yousuf Arafat[1] (born 14 December 1995[2]), known by his stage nameYung Raja, is a Singaporean-Tamil rapper and songwriter.[3] He is known for his use of Tanglish, a mix of Tamil and English, in his raps.[4]
Early life
Rajid Ahamed was born in 1995, in Singapore, to Tamil-Muslim parents from ThanjavurTamil Nadu. Ahamed has three elder sisters, which led to him being given the nickname "chinna thambi" (Tamil meaning: younger brother), and subsequently inspiring the first half of his stage name. The second half of his stage name, Raja, pays tribute to the Indian composer, Ilaiyaraaja.[5]
Rajid Ahamed attended Ngee Ann Polytechnic and graduated with a diploma in mass communications.
Career
Before becoming a singer-songwriter, Ahamed was a child actor acting in local dramas and having cameos in films including Ah Boys to Men 3: Frogmen and Joker Game.
Released in early 2018, Yung Raja's debut single was a remix of "Gucci Gang" by Lil Pump, titled "Poori Gang".[6] Yung Raja came to prominence after being featured in an episode of the Malaysia hip hop web-series, 16 Baris, in 2018.[7] The same year, he rose to prominence with the single "Mustafa", which was followed by "Mad Blessings". A sequel to "Mad Blessings", titled "The Dance Song", was released in October 2020.[8]
In 2019, Ahamed hosted the Asian reboot of YO! MTV Raps alongside Kim Lee.[9] Yung Raja was one of six inaugural signees of Def Jam Southeast Asia (alongside Joe Flizzow, Daboyway, Fariz Jabba and A.Nayaka) in September 2019.[10] After becoming the first Asian artist signed to Alamo Records,[11] he released the single "Mami" in March 2021.[12] Yung Raja gained international attention after "Mami" was featured in a TheTonight Show segment when Jimmy Fallon roasted the song's repetitive hook.[13][14]
