Lunch With Sumiko

Look at him dance

Yung Raja's uniquely Singaporean English-Tamil hip-hop is inspired by his own experience as the son of immigrant parents, he tells Executive Editor Sumiko Tan

Rapper Yung Raja's The Dance Song was released last year and sparked a dance craze on TikTok dubbed #TheWigglyChallenge, named after his moves in the video. The 25-year-old Singaporean believes the South-east Asian rap scene is having a "supernova" m
Rapper Yung Raja's The Dance Song was released last year and sparked a dance craze on TikTok dubbed #TheWigglyChallenge, named after his moves in the video. The 25-year-old Singaporean believes the South-east Asian rap scene is having a "supernova" moment right now. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
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Yung Raja arrives for lunch with manicured nails. Pink, green, yellow, purple - they run the range of candy pop colours.

"I've always been thick-skinned and confident in myself," the rapper says when I ask him why he paints his nails.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on January 31, 2021, with the headline Look at him dance. Subscribe