Priya Ragu Live at YES – Words and image by Tyrese King
The sound of a guitar cut through the air, as the band play the introduction to ‘Kamali’, the first song of the night. Priya Ragu walks from behind the curtain wearing her own merch. She goes to the front of the stage, bending down to greet the fans smiling and starts to sing.
In Priya’s music she shares a part of herself with her listeners. She’s a product of her culture and incorporates that into her music creating the ‘Raguwavy’ sound.
The melody for 2Pac’s ‘Do for Love’ stirs, and Priya starts to sing the chorus alongside the fans. The kick snare punches, and the crowd claps along. Priya also covers Usher’s ‘You Make Me Wanna’, taking us all the way back to the 90s.
Introducing ‘Good Love 2.0’ as the song that opened up a lot of doors for her the crowd start to scream. With over 3 millions Spotify streams, the song gets the crowd dancing along, as they listen to Priya sing about a rebellious love inspired by her parents.
Announcing to the crowd that it’s going to get deep. The atmosphere changes fans as ‘Forget About’ starts to play and we are invested in the singer’s tale of heartbreak as the singer moons for an old flame.
The feeling is carried with us when ‘Deli’ starts the crowd begins to sway to the music. Priya bends down to shake the hand of a fan, who shouts “I’m never going to wash my hand again.”
“Everyone needs to dance” she says before ‘Lockdown’ plays. The crowd demands an encore, so she comes back out to end with her single ‘Chicken Lemon Rice’.
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