Rajé Shwari (born August 4, 1977) is an American

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

artist, best known for her feature on

Timbaland & Magoo Timbaland & Magoo were an American hip hop duo, composed of Virginia natives Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley (born March 10, 1972) and Melvin "Magoo" Barcliff (July 12, 1973 – August 13, 2023). Formed in 1989, the duo signed with Blackground Re ...

's "Indian Flute". Shwari has also worked with

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air (S ...

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971), also known as Misdemeanor, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She began her musical career as a member of the Contemporary R&B, R&B girl group 4 All the Sistas Arou ...

and

Pharrell Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973), also known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo ...

Early years

Shwari grew up outside

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, in a traditional Indian household. During her school years, she began identifying with hip-hop. She described her parents as "very strict and old fashioned", but said they allowed her the freedom of "buying records and going to rock concerts" as long as she got good grades. Shwari's father continued this reward system by booking studio time whenever she came home with a favorable report card. During her college years, Shwari got her first record deal offer overseas, and dropped her studies to pursue music professionally.

Music career

By 2005, Shwari had been dubbed "Timbaland's Protege" and was featured on his single "Indian Flute". She also worked with Jay-Z on his single "The Bounce", a tribute to the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, later included on the soundtrack for ''

NBA 2K13 ''NBA 2K13'' is a 2012 basketball video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K. It was released in October 2012 for Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii and Xbox 360. A version for the Wii U w ...

'', In 2012, Shwari started her own production company, BollyHood. Smithsonian Beyond Bollywood

In February 2014, Shwari was included in a permanent exhibition in the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

in Washington D.C., entitled "Beyond Bollywood", which presented the contributions of prominent South Asians in the United States. Shwari was included as an example of South Asian hip-hop. In 2015, Shwari was included in '' Anokhi magazines list of the Most Prominent South Asians.

Discography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shwari, Raje 1977 births Living people American hip-hop singers American women singers of Indian descent 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers