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Singaporean rapper Yung Raja and Mumbai-based singer-songwriter Mali come together on forever, a collaborative single that explores heartbreak, healing and the emotional aftermath of love through lush pop production and bilingual songwriting. Homegrown looks at the cross-cultural collaboration, the artists behind it, and how the track brings together influences from Singapore, India and Sweden into an intimate reflection on modern relationships.
Singaporean rapper Yung Raja has teamed up with singer-songwriter Mali for their latest collaborative single, 'forever', a track that lingers in the emotional aftermath of a relationship that once felt permanent. The record arrives alongside a music video directed to extend its intimate emotional world, bringing together artists from Singapore, India and Sweden in a collaboration that reflects the increasingly interconnected landscape of contemporary music.
Built around a lush, atmospheric pop production by Swedish duo 2AM, forever traces the emotional residue of a love that once felt permanent. Framed by 2AM’s lush, atmospheric production, the record explores heartbreak, healing, and the gradual acceptance that comes with letting go. Honest, reflective, and deeply human, ‘forever’ captures the tension between holding on to the past and finding the strength to move forward. In the track, Mali asks for “a sign if I’ve been on your mind,” and Yung Raja admits that there “ain’t no forever, I know that you got tired already.” The music video is a laid-back vignette of a Euro summer romance — wandering through sidewalk cafés, golden-hour cityscapes and open-top drives.
Born Rajid Ahamed Yousuf Arafat, Yung Raja has emerged as one of the defining voices in Southeast Asian hip-hop through his seamless fusion of English and Tamil, often referred to as Tanglish. Raised in Singapore by Tamil-Muslim parents, he has built a sound that draws from South Asian cultural heritage and Singapore's urban landscape — a mix of his two identities. His career has steadily expanded beyond the region through collaborations with artists including Jay Park, Yellow Claw and SVDP, performances on international stages, and recognition for bringing bilingual rap into the global mainstream.
With Mumbai-based singer-songwriter Mali, who layers vintage soul and heartfelt melancholy with contemporary indie-pop hooks and electro-pop beats, he found a kinship in telling stories of modern love and the conflicted, bittersweet emotional landscapes it leads us into. “It’s not always that you get to collaborate with someone you’re genuinely a fan of,” shares Mali. “And when it does happen it’s really something. Yung and I got along from the start and that same camaraderie followed us into the studio when we first wrote Forever with William and Petter (2AM) It all came together so naturally and quickly! I can't wait for the world to hear this one and for Raja and i to do this all over again soon.”
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