Nas has signed one of India’s biggest stars Raja Kumari to his Mass Appeal India label.
“When I first met Raja, I knew she was someone the world needs to hear,” Nas said in a press release. “Her presence exudes confidence and individuality — a true artist with global appeal. We’re thrilled to have her on the team as the first lady of Mass Appeal India.”
Kumari was born in California to Indian parents who migrated to United States in the 1970’s. According to the label’s announcement, Kumari’s “mission is to create art that blends her Indian roots with her American upbringing with music that fuses the rhythms she absorbed as a trained classical Indian dancer with her love for hip hop.”
Kumari has written hits for Fifth Harmony, Iggy Azalea, Gwen Stefani and Fall Out Boy. The Grammy-nominated artist is also a judge and mentor on India’s first rap reality television show, “MTV Hustle.”
Last year, she released Raja Kumari: So Far, a documentary about her life and the challenges that she faced being an Indian-American songwriter in Los Angeles, California.
“I’m so excited to be joining Mass Appeal family,” she said. “Ever since I fell in love with hip hop, it has been a dream of mine to work with Nas. Their vision of bringing Indian hip hop to the international market is inspiring and I look forward to working together to achieve that goal.”
“NRI” will be Kumari’s first single release through Mass Appeal. The single is set to drop in April and a release of a full-length EP will follow. On Sunday (Mar. 15), Kumari will drop “Goddess,” which is a collaboration with Krewella and NERVO to celebrate Women’s History Month.
Kumari is set to guest-host the premiere of REVOLT TV’s “Internationally Known” which is a show that highlights music videos from around the world. The show premieres tomorrow (Mar. 11) at 9 pm ET.
Congratulations to Raja Kumari on her new deal with Mass Appeal India.