When Jimmy Fallon played Yung Raja’s airhorn-blasting single “Mami” on his show, not everyone was happy. Clips from the 2021 episode show the late-night host bouncing up and down to the sizzling trap song, while the Singaporean-Tamil rapper repeats the hook: “Mami, mami, mami, mami, mami, mami...” Fans accused Fallon of trying to make Raja look like a “lazy songwriter” by deliberately omitting the intricate and playful lyrics in each verse, which serve as nods to his culture. “She the type to choose her nalli's pattu over furs,” he raps. “Thanni on my mind cause she got thirst/ Imma pull up with some fresh jilebi just for her.”
The 26-year-old has no such qualms about Fallon. “This guy just introduced me as the ‘Singaporean rapper Yung Raja’,” he exclaims. “You have no idea how big of a win that is. Not just for me but for my whole country.”
