Rapper Raja Kumari makes history as the first Indian-origin musician to win American Music Award

Raja Kumari, the Indian-origin singer-songwriter and rapper has been bestowed an American Music Award (AMA) for her work in Arcane League of Legends: Season 2 at the 51st AMA ceremony held in Los Angeles. She makes history as the first Indian-origin musician to be nominated for an AMA.

Kumari was one of the nominees under the Favourite Soundtrack category for her song Renegade (We Never Run)—a joint effort by Kumari, UK hip-hop artist Stefflon Don and Dominican-Brazilian artist Jarina de Marco. Speaking of her win in a conversation with The Hindustan Times, the 39-year-old expressed that she always felt like an underdog in the industry. “I’ve always had to believe in myself, and this win just confirms that belief and encourages me further. I’m so excited to bring this home for India,” she said.

Even before the win, Kumari was able to witness the escalating success of her work when it reached the Top 10 on the Spotify Viral 50 chart. “I felt it. Honestly, I felt like God told me it was mine. That might sound crazy, but I truly believed I could achieve it. To succeed, I think you first have to visualise yourself winning. I really wanted to see it.” The singer added that she was happy to see the song reach a large audience.

Kumari said in a conversation with PTI that she was approached for the song as the character in the film is Indian. She also expressed that the song was really special to her. "They (Arcane team) had heard about me as being representative of our culture and being able to make aggressive music as a woman.”

She also revealed that she had started thinking one must stick to a single genre. It was at that moment the AMA nomination had come into her career. “And I've always been a global artist, so an AMA award is a great reminder that there’s still much more work for me to do, and still much more for me to impact and grow,” she concluded.