September 2, 2026 • 29 mins
In this episode, Gandhi sits down with Rhea Raj to talk about her new music, modeling campaign, breakup, and the one very poor choice MANY Indian girls will make in their lifetime.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Sauce on the side.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
What's up, Diamond? Hey.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
So the Cat's Eye video that we did and the
interview was put on the YouTube channel, which, by the way,
Sauce on the Side on YouTube. You can go watch
the long-form podcast and all kinds of stuff there. That
video is actually doing fairly well.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
It is.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Who knew Cat's Eye?
Speaker 2 (00:25):
I mean, yeah, people are obsessed with those girls. They
have a very K-pop vibe. fandom-type thing happening around them.
Did you watch the Netflix documentary that they were talking about?
I haven't. I started it the other day.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Really? What did you think?
Speaker 2 (00:39):
So much drama. Really? I didn't know a lot about them,
to be honest. Like, I like their music and I
listen to them, but I didn't ever dive into the
history of, like, how were they put together? How did
this all happen? And it was, I mean, essentially a
freaking boot camp for young girls to get involved and
be part of this girl group. So it was, like,
cutthroat and they were competing with each other and there
was a lot of... there was a lot of really
(01:00):
great talent that was out there and these are the
girls that made it through. And I think from that documentary,
people started with a bunch of assumptions and then, you know,
you see one clip of one thing and people just
run with it anymore. So whether they get along or not,
no idea whether they're going to stay together or not,
no idea, but there's a lot, a lot to see
(01:21):
in that Netflix documentary. I think it was called like
Popstar Academy or something.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Yes. I remember when it came out.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
It's like two years ago.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
A lot of people were talking about it. I saw clips,
but I've never really been into like K-pop. And I
felt like that was what they were at least marketing
them as at the time.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Yeah. So I was like, okay, no, I won't watch.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
But now I'm intrigued.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Right.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Well, one of the things that they say in it
is we really want to have a K-pop vibe minus
the K. We just want it to be universal. And
they went to different countries. I mean, it was wild.
I think they said at one point in one country
they had 140,000 applicants.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Really?
Speaker 2 (01:57):
In a country.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Yeah. Imagine just sifting through that. I don't know.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
But I'm talking about a lot of stuff to get
to what we're doing today because there's sort of a
connection here.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
We had, like I said, the girls from Cat's Eye on,
one of them, Lara, Lara Raj. She has a sister
named Rhea. Rhea Raj, also doing all kinds of stuff,
just signed a modeling contract to do some stuff with makeup.
And she is a fashion designer and a singer and
a jewelry designer.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
She has a lot going on.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
So we caught her in the hallway and said, hey,
come in here and talk to us. Basically, that's how
it went.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
And yeah, I guess this is it.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
I am here with Ria Raj.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Hello. Hello.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
I'm so excited to have you. Tell me what you're
doing right now. I have all the information, but I
want to hear from you.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Why you're here, why you're talking to me, and what's
going on in your life.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Oh, my God. I'm so excited because I'm in the
most creative, exciting workflow right now, finishing up music. I
was just in the studio two days ago where Michael
Jackson recorded Thriller, finishing up vocals for my next project,
which was like surreal experience.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Well, I hear you're incredibly creative in multiple ways that
there's obviously the music. You're doing a little bit of modeling.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
You want to tell me about that?
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Well, yeah, I just was the face of the new
Mac Kajal campaign.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Kajal, if you don't know what that is, it is
Indian eyeliner.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Yes, which was like such a dream for me because
I grew up a Mac girl. That was like my
intro to the makeup world. My mom took me to
the store to buy like my first eyeliner and blush
and everything. And I was like, one day I want
to be a Mac girl. I hope it's a moment
for all my other like brown girls to be like, wow,
look at, look at where we can be, what we
can do.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
You know, I think about that a lot. Cause I too,
I'm a brown girl. We are the same brand of brown.
I love you for that.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
And I say all the time, you know, I didn't
get to see me really growing up. I never got
to see people who looked like me or had the same,
you know, background as me, but it's really cool to
be that big brown girl for all the little brown
girls out there who want to see somebody that looks
like them. And Mac having a casual campaign is wild work.
I love it. When you were little and you were
(04:15):
getting it, did you get it from Mac or did
you get it from the Indian grocery store?
Speaker 1 (04:18):
I both, but I was, I really was a Mac
girl because I, it was one of the first, like
I loves the experience of going into the mall and
being able to go like try on all the different
like shades and blushes and eyeliners and everything. And for me,
I just grew up loving pop culture. I love seeing
myself and people that look like me working with big
(04:41):
brands on big stages, having those big pop culture moments. Also,
because MAC is such a pop-girly brand. I saw Rihanna
and Ariana Grande and Gaga, my favorite pop stars, working
with them. So I was like, one day it'll be me.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
So how long ago did you say, one day it'll
be me, and now it is you? How long are
we talking?
Speaker 1 (05:02):
This was probably like 10, 15 years ago. Yeah, like
baby Rhea. I started wearing makeup when I was like six, seven.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Your Indian parents allowed this?
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Yeah. I grew up doing Bharat Natyam dance. And my
mom was a dance teacher. So you already know, like
I started dancing at four and I had the big,
big eyeliner. So my mom was just like, you know what?
Go have fun experimenting with makeup. And I'm so grateful
for that because my parents really nurtured my love for
(05:30):
performance dance music but also just art like I loved
painting I loved I my face was the canvas I
love painting on other things and that was like uh
such a creative environment to grow up in and I'm so.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Grateful you didn't have the typical Indian parents who are
saying you must be a doctor no lawyer or an
engineer of some sort you had parents who said you
want to do art Yes. Pursue art.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Yes. That's incredible.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
And they're outside right now. I can see that.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Yes, they are.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Oh, my gosh.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
Yay. I love Mama Raj. Shout out to Mama Raj
and Papa Raj because, yeah, when me and my sister
were like, yeah, we love art. This is what we
want to do. They were like, do it. But and,
you know, the traditional Indian philosophy of like, if you're
going to do something like do it with all of
your heart. Yes. Thousand percent. Put everything into it. But
(06:20):
we were like, yeah, of course, like we love it.
So we will wake up every day at 6 a.m.,
go to dance rehearsal all day, whatever, like record, produce,
learn all the things. They were always like, I think
they grew up on their own loving pop music and
like art. So that was really cool.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Where were you born?
Speaker 1 (06:37):
In Connecticut.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
In Connecticut. So you are initially from or originally from
the East Coast.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
And then you moved out to L.A.? Yes.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Well, my parents worked in New York, so I was
in the city all the time growing up. And then
I moved to Texas for seven, eight years. And I
lived in Dallas. A lot of Indian people in Dallas.
There is, yeah. I lived in all the hubs. I
was in Jersey as well for a little bit. A
lot of Indian people in Jersey. Yeah. I was in
Manhattan and then now Los Angeles. Okay.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
But I heard from a little birdie that I should
talk to you about your love of fashion.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
And how you want to be designing things. Yes. that
have a little bit of an indian flair to them
yes yeah tell me.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Why i love i love whoever told you that it
was your sister yes we'll get to your sister in
a minute she yes well i you know like i've
been wearing these like bindi eyebrow thing i've been doing
like either the full bindi brow or like this half
one because of also doing barth notiam dance grew up
with such a deep connection to my roots in the
(07:39):
music and the in the dance but also in the
fashion and my potty my grandmother she passed a few
years ago but she was like my best friend And
she was such a diva in her house in Chennai.
She had a whole closet room that she built out
with like racks and racks of the most beautiful, colorful saris, jewelry.
(08:00):
And like, because of that, I think I just grew
up loving, like looking at like the South Indian style
saris and fabrics and patterns. I love my Aum necklace.
I've been designing Aum.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Jeans, um, I have that tattoo.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Oh, you do? I do. Wait, my parents have it too.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
They have the tattoo?
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Yeah, they have the Om tattoo.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Must be a very common Indian thing.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Wait, actually, I have one on my hand as well.
Do you too? Yeah. Nice.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
And I saw your sister had that same necklace on,
but in gold. Did you design that?
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Yes, I did. I designed a few different ones. So
I made the gold one for her. I designed this one.
And then I made a Navarathnam style Om necklace as well,
which I adore. It's a gold one with all the different,
you know, like, gems on it so it's super colorful
beautiful uh that's something i'm i'm working on really fun
designs right now.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
So if i wanted to buy one of these necklaces
is it possible i can i can make you one
girl yeah design you one yes i'm gonna keep this
audio because that is what i want yes um this
necklace that i have on right now this elephant the
gold elephant.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Oh my god that's Oh, that's so cute.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Thank you so much. So this is, I make art
as well. And I have an art company. My boyfriend
and I do it together. And the main focus of
a lot of our pieces is an elephant.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Indians, you know, he's not Indian, but he loves the elephant.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
When I, okay, I'm going to, I'll get you the
home and I want the elephant. Done. I will give
you the elephant.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
You want silver or you want gold? Oh, I think
I'm wearing silver.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
I'm wearing silver right now, but I'm going to say gold.
Gold girl. Yeah. Cause I'm like, I used to be
like platinum blonde. And I think that's when I was
wearing a lot of silver. Now that I'm back to my, like,
Natural hair, dark hair. I'm wearing a lot more gold. Okay.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Can we talk about the absolute rite of passage that
is Indian girls dying their hair blonde and why we
do it?
Speaker 1 (09:44):
I did it too.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
It was probably one of the lower points of my life.
Like I had fun. And at the time when I
looked at the pictures and looked at myself, I was like, yeah,
this looks good. Now I look at it and think,
oh my God, who let me do this?
Speaker 1 (09:55):
Well, yeah. I mean, my hair fell off. So that was, yeah.
So that was like a. a I tried to keep
it going for too long, and everybody was like, just
wear wigs. And I was like, no, I have to
wake up every day and be a real blonde.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
So you were going all in on it. You bleached
your hair.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
I bleached my hair for over a year, over and over.
The amount of time I spent at the hair salon
was ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Insanity.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
It's horrible, but it was really cute. I will say,
everybody sees it and they're like, yeah, it was a moment.
But now I feel like a black cat, and I
love my hair.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
When I went back to the black from the blonde,
and I tried a bunch of different colors. I did red.
I did pink.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
Same.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
I looked stupid, honestly, in all of them. At the time,
I didn't think I did.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
I have to see photos. I'll show you. I'm going
to be like, girl, why?
Speaker 2 (10:44):
When I went back to black, I was like, there
she is. That's what we need. And it was a
little bit more of like the diva witch black cat. Like,
this is my power is in my black hair. Let's
never do that again. So high five to... recovering yes
we recovered how long did it take your hair to come.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Back like over a year it's been over a year
I do dye my hair extra black once a month
yeah because I love like a really deep like purpley
blue black okay so I like make it extra like
jet black but it's been over a year back with.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
My I love it. And I see the hair flip.
You're feeling good. You're feeling confident. Feeling healthy, yes. So
of all the things that you're pursuing right now, whether
it's modeling, singing, making clothing and jewelry, is there one
that has more of your heart than the others?
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Music always, yeah. I love writing. I produce all my
music as well.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Oh, wow.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
I've just been in the studio so much in the
last six months and like writing a So that'll always
be my first love.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
I love to see the Indians in the arts. There
are so many of us. So it's kind of funny
that we don't see it as much as I think
we should be seeing it, especially here in the US.
I laugh about this all the time. Remember when they
were casting for the live action version of Aladdin?
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Oh my God, yes.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
And they just kept saying, we just can't find someone
who looks like Jasmine. And I thought, Are you without eyes?
Speaker 1 (12:03):
We have over a billion people. All you have.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
To do is look at Bollywood and you'll find a
ton of them. Look in the streets and you will
find a ton of us who at some point in
your life guarantee somebody has called you Princess Jasmine.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Without a doubt. It happens all the time. So I'm
glad to see more mainstream.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
It's exciting. And I love what you are up to.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Thank you. You have.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Musical family yes your sister was just here yes your
sister is lara from cat's eye tell me how this
is working out.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
For you i mean it's uh the most surreal crazy
exciting experience we're best friends and like literally from the
day she was a five years old and she started
singing it was like we knew superstardom yeah are you
guys planning to do anything together We will. She wrote
a song on my project that came out last year.
(12:56):
She wrote it with me and helped me with the production.
It's called Now That You're Gone. It's such a beautiful ballad.
We are each other's first. I feel like I'll show
her everything before I show anybody else. I trust her
opinion over everybody's. She'll show me her ideas and we
always are constantly giving each other so much support creatively.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
That's how I am with my sister, too.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
You have one sister?
Speaker 2 (13:21):
I have one sister.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Oh, my God. Are you younger or older?
Speaker 2 (13:23):
I'm younger.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Oh, my God. You're the baby sister.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
I'm the baby.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Wait, what are you? I'm big sister.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
You're big sister.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
So I know that that's a totally different dynamic in general, right? Like,
do you ever feel like, I watched you grow up?
My sister says that all the time. I'm like, you
are three years older than me. It wasn't that serious.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
I'm five years older. You're five?
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
So it's like a good, yeah, I feel like.
Like, literally two days ago, I saw, like, people keep
making these really cute fan edits of, like, us as babies.
Because we have, like, I have so many baby photos
and videos that are, like, circulating on the internet. And, like,
people make these cute edits. And I saw one a
couple days ago, and I was like, that's my baby.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
I say all the time, my soulmate is not my
significant other. My soulmate is hands down my sister.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Oh, yes. Oh, my God. I love that. Without a doubt.
We always say that.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
Are you missing her?
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Well, we live together.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
Oh, okay.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
So I'm like, wow, yes. That's good. So I'm like,
I see her every other day. But when we're both
traveling or on tour or something, then it's so hard, yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
So for you, traveling and being on tour, is this new?
Are you kind of new to this or have you
sort of been doing it underground for a while?
Speaker 1 (14:42):
I've been doing it for so long. I started making
music when I was 11, like 10 or 11. And then...
When we were living in Texas, my family, I started
like putting out YouTube covers.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Were you guys in Capelle by any chance?
Speaker 1 (14:55):
We were in Dallas.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Dallas.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
So not far.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Capelle's in Dallas.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
But honestly, but shout out to Dallas because there was
such a fun live music scene there. Like, yeah, I've
been performing for so long, but I did my first
official headlining tour just last year. here how was it
it was magical what did you.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Discover about touring and about yourself from doing that oh
hello from doing that.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
Well I I always knew I loved performing but I
think like it just awakened in me like uh a
really deep realization of my purpose in life and my
purpose on earth and it was I realized that music
is my pathway to connect with people and help hopefully
create art that helps people heal. It's hard to put
(15:38):
into words. It's just like an aura energy exchange.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
You got bitten by the bug.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
And now you've got to scratch that itch. So let's
talk about wishlist stuff and manifesting things for you.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
In a dream world.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Who is your ultimate collaboration?
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Oh, my God. I have so many. Name them all.
Let's put them all out there. Yeah, let's put them
all out there. I love Rosalia. Oh, okay. She's one
of my favorites.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
That is Andrew's crush, isn't it?
Speaker 1 (16:06):
He loves her. Oh, my God. I love her so much.
I love Pharrell. I think he's production, musical genius. We
have the same birthday. Oh. Aries twin. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Oh, you're a fire sign.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Yes. Wait, what's your sign? Sagittarius. Oh, my God. I
love Sag.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Yeah, apparently we get along really well.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Oh, yes. No, yeah. The Aries and the Sag. Yeah,
fire signs. Okay. I love Jimin from BTS. I think
he's so talented. Yeah, those are like some of mine.
I mean, I have so many. Peggy Gu.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
I would love to work with her.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Have you started down the path of reaching out to
any of them and seeing like, hey?
Speaker 1 (16:43):
Yeah, I'm working on some fun collaborations.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
Oh, and she says it with a side eye.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Yeah. All right.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
So a year from now, you're maybe collaborating with these
people that you like. You're on tour because you love
being on tour. What does the rest of your life
look like? Are you dating anybody?
Speaker 1 (17:00):
I'm currently single. I just got out of a five-year-long relationship.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Congratulations.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Thank you, girl. I'm like, come on.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
I think it's always important to tell people congratulations because
so many people look at it like it's a bad thing.
But if it didn't serve you and you're done, it's
an amazing thing.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
It's an amazing thing.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
I'm like.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
for the first time in my life I'm single as
an adult I've never been single as an adult and
I am just just like sinking into this like wow
being able to do things for myself and like My
spirit is free. I feel like I'm running through a
field every day mentally. Right? It's like, wow.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
You can wear whatever you want without someone complaining. You
can go wherever you want. You can eat whatever you want.
My biggest, when I broke up with my boyfriend of
a very long time, I felt drunk with power that
I could decorate my apartment however I wanted to. I
was like, sparkly stuff, don't mind if I do. Pink,
don't mind if I do.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
I love drunk with power. That's literally how I feel.
I'm like, wow everything and also I think it's um
really I love love I I'm such a like deep
relationship person but like I I think it's so important
to spend some time in your 20s just like figuring
yourself out I was like wow I didn't know myself
(18:17):
until I spent time alone and now I'm like wow
I'm just like learning so much about myself and what
I love to do in my free time and like
who I spend my time with and where I pour
it all into. And I'm like, now if I like,
instead of a date night, I'm like, I'm painting in
my house. And that's such a beautiful thing. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
What is the biggest thing you've learned about yourself now
that you are flying solo and enjoying it?
Speaker 1 (18:41):
Oh, I think I'm just like realizing how much I
love freedom and independence, because I think when you're in
something for so long, you're like, this is my life.
Like I'm comfortable. I'm good. And it's scary to break
out of something and like set yourself free. And I'm
just learning like how much I love to be out
and travel and be with my friends. And like every
(19:02):
second I have, I'm like creating something, you know?
Speaker 2 (19:05):
And even heartbreak or not heartbreak, but just being free
creates art in itself.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Which is incredible.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
Do you know who Jessie Reyez is?
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
I am obsessed with her. I love her. And I'm like,
thank you to whoever broke her heart because damn. She
has really come through with all the heartbreak anthems and
the like, go fuck yourself. I love it. I don't
even feel that way. But I love hearing it from
someone just with like actual passion.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
Did the breakup fuel any art for you?
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Oh, yes. This whole era of new music that's about
to come out is like my thing I wrote in
my journal every day was like turn your tears into art.
And like everything is like a side and a facet
of like that breakup, that relationship, the transformation and self-discovery.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
Does he know what's coming?
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Oh, I think so because I've been sometimes teasing things
and I'm like, girl, it's about to be crazy.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
Do you still follow each other online anywhere or is
it a blocked situation?
Speaker 1 (20:02):
No, no, no.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
Not friends. Not friends. Fair enough.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Listen, I understand it. I We laugh about this all
the time. Anyone that I have ever dated, I'm trying
to think if this is true. Yeah, mine is my
current boyfriend because we are obviously together. I have been blocked,
which I think is so funny because I'm like, why
are you blocking me? I mean, yes, do I want
to creep? And that's how I know I'm blocked for sure.
But like I broke up with you. I like, why
(20:30):
are you so mad? But it is what it is.
It's fine.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
It is what it is. Yeah, I'm just like, I'm
such a... I take all the emotion and all the
overwhelming feelings and I put it into my journal, into
my songs, and I'm just very much like a, when
things are, when things are ready to come out into
the world, everyone will see it and it will be presented.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Do you think he's going to circle the block and
be like, Hey, now he already had to write about that.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
Oh, he already has. Well, he already has circled the
block many times, but he's, he's been blocked by me.
We do have a block situation.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
I'm here for it.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
So if you could then, and I know like you're
in your single era and you should be enjoying it.
Love it.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Um, it was one of my favorite times in my life.
Like every time I was single, this is amazing. Again,
drunk with power. But if you are building your dream man,
we did this with Ray also. She was talking about
where the hell's my husband? We're like, build him. Who's
your dream husband?
Speaker 1 (21:27):
I keep saying that I need to stop dating people
in music, but I do love creative people. Not artists necessarily,
but I like someone that is creating something whether it's
in like the entertainment world or it could be in
like business i don't know someone that's like building something
because i feel like you constantly get to like come
(21:49):
home and talk to each other about like new ideas
and discoveries.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Like the language that you both speak yes.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
Because i feel like i'm every day of my life
is like there's something new and something crazy to talk
about and i need someone to match that level of
like oh my god like what did you do today
like where were you today you know That level of excitement.
But like I'm also just like fiercely family first and
like passionate about like protecting like relationships. And so someone
(22:17):
that values that as well. Like down to travel with me. Adventurous. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
These are all good things.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
I like that you said close to your family. How's
your family doing with all of this with the two
daughters venturing out being successful? And being on their own.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
I mean, they're so supportive. Yeah, see, they're out there.
They're either with me or my sister as, like, much
as possible because we are such a close family unit. And, like,
they've worked so hard to help me and my sister
get to where we are right now and providing, like,
that constant support. So, like, anything we can do to
(22:52):
like bring them along for like exciting, like during Grammy week,
they were out and about with us. Sometimes they were
on their own going to parties and I was like,
I'm tired. You guys go out. Um, they're having fun
and I, and I just want them to like be
able to enjoy the fruits of their labor too.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
That's exciting and nice that you're bringing them everywhere. I did.
I did that for a while. I brought my parents
places and then it got crazy and crazy things. And
I was like, Oh Lord almighty. Now I gotta be
more selective about where I'm taking them. Cause you know,
Indian parents, it can be a wild, a wild ride.
We love them. So you've manifested potentially a dream man,
dream collaboration where you want to basically be a year
(23:31):
from now. And all of that is exciting. Have you
had any fangirl moments yourself where you are at a show,
you look out, you see someone, and you're like, oh, shit.
I cannot believe they're there. Or somebody who has DM'd
you that you're like, oh, my God, this is amazing.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Oh, my gosh. Actually, yeah, I think in the last, like, year,
there's been quite a few moments. I'm trying to think
of my number one, like, who I got to meet.
I mean... I love Tinashe. She's, like, such a cool example.
I think of, like, a brown girl artist that, like, produces, writes,
(24:08):
does so much. And I remember, like, when she followed
me and we were messaging, I was like, oh, my God, that's, like,
someone I just look up to.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
I made it.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
So much, yeah. There's so many cool artists like that. But, yeah,
she was one. That's exciting, though. Oh, my God. You
know what was my craziest, actually, also? Tell me. At
the Grammys, I was sitting right in front of Slash.
And for me, like he was, I grew up on
like rock music and my dad was like metal rock person,
like guy. And, um, I like turn around, I saw
(24:35):
him with his hat and I like, I like screamed.
I squealed. Yeah. I was like, I was like, Oh
my God. I was like, Oh my God, I love
you so much.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
And he was just like, Oh, he was just nice
and cool about it.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
Did you take a picture? No, I didn't. I was like,
oh my God, why am I so nervous?
Speaker 2 (24:51):
I feel like that's one of those moments where I
would try really hard to act like I was taking
a selfie and then make sure he was including me.
Even though they're completely on top of that and know
what I'm doing. You got to give it a shot.
That's exciting though. So you have a lot of good
stuff going on.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Are you feeling good?
Speaker 1 (25:06):
I'm feeling really good. Is this like the best era?
Best era. Yeah. I mean, every era is just going
to keep getting better, but this one is like, wow.
Something has been unlocked this year that's magical. And the
rest of this year is about to be crazy.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Not that you're at the beginning of your career, but
as it starts to take off. New chapter, whether it's
because you're single, you're going on tour, you're doing all
these different things. I like to catch that upward momentum.
And then seeing them actually catch their dreams is really cool.
And we're lucky working in this business that we get
to see that every now and then. So fingers crossed
(25:40):
for you. I know you don't.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
Need good luck.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
But I'm going to say good luck.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
You're so welcome. If people want to find you online,
where can they do that?
Speaker 1 (25:50):
Everywhere. Spotify, Apple, YouTube, all the things at Ria Raj.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Ria Raj. Spell it for them.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
Yes, it's R-H-E-A-R-A-J. Ria Raj. Yes.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
Listen, you have to spell things for people.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
That is why my Instagram name is Baby Hot Sauce
and not May the Gandhi because not anyone can spell it.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
I can, but yeah. Yeah, you can. I know what
you mean. I know what you mean.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
You and all the billion people in India, a billion
and a half people, they can spell it, but you'll
be surprised how many people mix up the D and
the H in Gandhi and in Mehta.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Yes, that's true.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
So go with baby hot sauce. And I've been shadow
banned for it, so that's exciting.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
That's okay. Not for long. Not for long. And we
manifest the Unshadow Man.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
Please. Unshadow Man me at some point. Please. Thank you
so much for spending some time with me.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
And I'm excited to see what you do.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
And I'm coming for the necklace.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Yes, yes. And same. Okay. Thank you. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
I have to remember to reach out to her and
get the necklace that I want because I really did
like her own necklace.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
And she made it seem as if she would really
make you one. Yeah, I think so because we're friends now.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
Besties. Amazing. You're in with the fam. In with the fam.
I saw a couple Indian parents, an auntie and an
uncle outside. I saw my Indian sisters, and I was like.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
Look at us.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Oh, my God. And this is going to be so silly, probably,
sounding to so many people. But something that I love
about these two specifically, being in the spotlight right now, is...
There's still a lot of colorism that happens with Indian
people and Indian people in the spotlight. They're not usually
darker skinned. They're very fair skinned. A lot of people
have light eyes and very straight hair. These girls are
(27:31):
South Indian. So they're a little darker. They're a little
darker than me. And people give me shit all the
time about my skin color. So I love to see it.
And I'm so happy and I'm proud of them. And
I hope that they do huge, big, amazing things. And yeah,
if you want to follow Rhea. I don't think she
needs any help, but you can.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Ria Raj.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
And yeah, again, the list of instructions.
Speaker 3 (27:53):
Uh-oh.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
Please follow us on Instagram at babyhotsauce.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
At Diamond Sincere.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
At Sauce on the Side. You can also like, follow,
subscribe to the podcast on YouTube and wherever you get
your podcasts from. We would love it if you left
us a talkback on the iHeartRadio app. All you have
to do is push the microphone button and basically leave
us a message and we'll probably play it at some
point if they're hilarious. Still looking for you, bear guy,
(28:22):
wherever you're at. And the last one. What is the
last one? Like, follow, subscribe, talkback.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
Oh, yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Leave us a review.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
Five stars only, please. Some asshole's been sliding in there
with ones lately. Really? I guess that's just what happens
when you're so popular. No, you said we're okay with ones.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
I lied.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
When I get a one star, it's so stupid because
we'll have like a million nice people saying nice things.
I'm like, oh my God, thank you so much. And
then one asshole's going to say something shitty. And I'm like, oh,
I'm going to find your mom.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Cool.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
Nice mom. And it's not even probably that shitty. Like
I assign a tone to things and they're never nice.
But anyway. please do all those things that we just
talked about because clearly it's important to us. Um, yeah,
I think that's really it. So until next time, diamonds. Bye. Bye.
Sauce on the side.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
What's up, Diamond? Hey.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
So the Cat's Eye video that we did and the
interview was put on the YouTube channel, which, by the way,
Sauce on the Side on YouTube. You can go watch
the long-form podcast and all kinds of stuff there. That
video is actually doing fairly well.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
It is.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Who knew Cat's Eye?
Speaker 2 (00:25):
I mean, yeah, people are obsessed with those girls. They
have a very K-pop vibe. fandom-type thing happening around them.
Did you watch the Netflix documentary that they were talking about?
I haven't. I started it the other day.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Really? What did you think?
Speaker 2 (00:39):
So much drama. Really? I didn't know a lot about them,
to be honest. Like, I like their music and I
listen to them, but I didn't ever dive into the
history of, like, how were they put together? How did
this all happen? And it was, I mean, essentially a
freaking boot camp for young girls to get involved and
be part of this girl group. So it was, like,
cutthroat and they were competing with each other and there
was a lot of... there was a lot of really
(01:00):
great talent that was out there and these are the
girls that made it through. And I think from that documentary,
people started with a bunch of assumptions and then, you know,
you see one clip of one thing and people just
run with it anymore. So whether they get along or not,
no idea whether they're going to stay together or not,
no idea, but there's a lot, a lot to see
(01:21):
in that Netflix documentary. I think it was called like
Popstar Academy or something.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Yes. I remember when it came out.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
It's like two years ago.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
A lot of people were talking about it. I saw clips,
but I've never really been into like K-pop. And I
felt like that was what they were at least marketing
them as at the time.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Yeah. So I was like, okay, no, I won't watch.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
But now I'm intrigued.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Right.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Well, one of the things that they say in it
is we really want to have a K-pop vibe minus
the K. We just want it to be universal. And
they went to different countries. I mean, it was wild.
I think they said at one point in one country
they had 140,000 applicants.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Really?
Speaker 2 (01:57):
In a country.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Yeah. Imagine just sifting through that. I don't know.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
But I'm talking about a lot of stuff to get
to what we're doing today because there's sort of a
connection here.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
We had, like I said, the girls from Cat's Eye on,
one of them, Lara, Lara Raj. She has a sister
named Rhea. Rhea Raj, also doing all kinds of stuff,
just signed a modeling contract to do some stuff with makeup.
And she is a fashion designer and a singer and
a jewelry designer.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
She has a lot going on.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
So we caught her in the hallway and said, hey,
come in here and talk to us. Basically, that's how
it went.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
And yeah, I guess this is it.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
I am here with Ria Raj.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Hello. Hello.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
I'm so excited to have you. Tell me what you're
doing right now. I have all the information, but I
want to hear from you.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Why you're here, why you're talking to me, and what's
going on in your life.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Oh, my God. I'm so excited because I'm in the
most creative, exciting workflow right now, finishing up music. I
was just in the studio two days ago where Michael
Jackson recorded Thriller, finishing up vocals for my next project,
which was like surreal experience.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Well, I hear you're incredibly creative in multiple ways that
there's obviously the music. You're doing a little bit of modeling.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
You want to tell me about that?
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Well, yeah, I just was the face of the new
Mac Kajal campaign.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Kajal, if you don't know what that is, it is
Indian eyeliner.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Yes, which was like such a dream for me because
I grew up a Mac girl. That was like my
intro to the makeup world. My mom took me to
the store to buy like my first eyeliner and blush
and everything. And I was like, one day I want
to be a Mac girl. I hope it's a moment
for all my other like brown girls to be like, wow,
look at, look at where we can be, what we
can do.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
You know, I think about that a lot. Cause I too,
I'm a brown girl. We are the same brand of brown.
I love you for that.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
And I say all the time, you know, I didn't
get to see me really growing up. I never got
to see people who looked like me or had the same,
you know, background as me, but it's really cool to
be that big brown girl for all the little brown
girls out there who want to see somebody that looks
like them. And Mac having a casual campaign is wild work.
I love it. When you were little and you were
(04:15):
getting it, did you get it from Mac or did
you get it from the Indian grocery store?
Speaker 1 (04:18):
I both, but I was, I really was a Mac
girl because I, it was one of the first, like
I loves the experience of going into the mall and
being able to go like try on all the different
like shades and blushes and eyeliners and everything. And for me,
I just grew up loving pop culture. I love seeing
myself and people that look like me working with big
(04:41):
brands on big stages, having those big pop culture moments. Also,
because MAC is such a pop-girly brand. I saw Rihanna
and Ariana Grande and Gaga, my favorite pop stars, working
with them. So I was like, one day it'll be me.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
So how long ago did you say, one day it'll
be me, and now it is you? How long are
we talking?
Speaker 1 (05:02):
This was probably like 10, 15 years ago. Yeah, like
baby Rhea. I started wearing makeup when I was like six, seven.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Your Indian parents allowed this?
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Yeah. I grew up doing Bharat Natyam dance. And my
mom was a dance teacher. So you already know, like
I started dancing at four and I had the big,
big eyeliner. So my mom was just like, you know what?
Go have fun experimenting with makeup. And I'm so grateful
for that because my parents really nurtured my love for
(05:30):
performance dance music but also just art like I loved
painting I loved I my face was the canvas I
love painting on other things and that was like uh
such a creative environment to grow up in and I'm so.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Grateful you didn't have the typical Indian parents who are
saying you must be a doctor no lawyer or an
engineer of some sort you had parents who said you
want to do art Yes. Pursue art.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Yes. That's incredible.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
And they're outside right now. I can see that.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Yes, they are.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Oh, my gosh.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
Yay. I love Mama Raj. Shout out to Mama Raj
and Papa Raj because, yeah, when me and my sister
were like, yeah, we love art. This is what we
want to do. They were like, do it. But and,
you know, the traditional Indian philosophy of like, if you're
going to do something like do it with all of
your heart. Yes. Thousand percent. Put everything into it. But
(06:20):
we were like, yeah, of course, like we love it.
So we will wake up every day at 6 a.m.,
go to dance rehearsal all day, whatever, like record, produce,
learn all the things. They were always like, I think
they grew up on their own loving pop music and
like art. So that was really cool.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Where were you born?
Speaker 1 (06:37):
In Connecticut.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
In Connecticut. So you are initially from or originally from
the East Coast.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
And then you moved out to L.A.? Yes.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Well, my parents worked in New York, so I was
in the city all the time growing up. And then
I moved to Texas for seven, eight years. And I
lived in Dallas. A lot of Indian people in Dallas.
There is, yeah. I lived in all the hubs. I
was in Jersey as well for a little bit. A
lot of Indian people in Jersey. Yeah. I was in
Manhattan and then now Los Angeles. Okay.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
But I heard from a little birdie that I should
talk to you about your love of fashion.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
And how you want to be designing things. Yes. that
have a little bit of an indian flair to them
yes yeah tell me.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Why i love i love whoever told you that it
was your sister yes we'll get to your sister in
a minute she yes well i you know like i've
been wearing these like bindi eyebrow thing i've been doing
like either the full bindi brow or like this half
one because of also doing barth notiam dance grew up
with such a deep connection to my roots in the
(07:39):
music and the in the dance but also in the
fashion and my potty my grandmother she passed a few
years ago but she was like my best friend And
she was such a diva in her house in Chennai.
She had a whole closet room that she built out
with like racks and racks of the most beautiful, colorful saris, jewelry.
(08:00):
And like, because of that, I think I just grew
up loving, like looking at like the South Indian style
saris and fabrics and patterns. I love my Aum necklace.
I've been designing Aum.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Jeans, um, I have that tattoo.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Oh, you do? I do. Wait, my parents have it too.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
They have the tattoo?
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Yeah, they have the Om tattoo.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Must be a very common Indian thing.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Wait, actually, I have one on my hand as well.
Do you too? Yeah. Nice.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
And I saw your sister had that same necklace on,
but in gold. Did you design that?
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Yes, I did. I designed a few different ones. So
I made the gold one for her. I designed this one.
And then I made a Navarathnam style Om necklace as well,
which I adore. It's a gold one with all the different,
you know, like, gems on it so it's super colorful
beautiful uh that's something i'm i'm working on really fun
designs right now.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
So if i wanted to buy one of these necklaces
is it possible i can i can make you one
girl yeah design you one yes i'm gonna keep this
audio because that is what i want yes um this
necklace that i have on right now this elephant the
gold elephant.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Oh my god that's Oh, that's so cute.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Thank you so much. So this is, I make art
as well. And I have an art company. My boyfriend
and I do it together. And the main focus of
a lot of our pieces is an elephant.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Indians, you know, he's not Indian, but he loves the elephant.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
When I, okay, I'm going to, I'll get you the
home and I want the elephant. Done. I will give
you the elephant.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
You want silver or you want gold? Oh, I think
I'm wearing silver.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
I'm wearing silver right now, but I'm going to say gold.
Gold girl. Yeah. Cause I'm like, I used to be
like platinum blonde. And I think that's when I was
wearing a lot of silver. Now that I'm back to my, like,
Natural hair, dark hair. I'm wearing a lot more gold. Okay.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Can we talk about the absolute rite of passage that
is Indian girls dying their hair blonde and why we
do it?
Speaker 1 (09:44):
I did it too.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
It was probably one of the lower points of my life.
Like I had fun. And at the time when I
looked at the pictures and looked at myself, I was like, yeah,
this looks good. Now I look at it and think,
oh my God, who let me do this?
Speaker 1 (09:55):
Well, yeah. I mean, my hair fell off. So that was, yeah.
So that was like a. a I tried to keep
it going for too long, and everybody was like, just
wear wigs. And I was like, no, I have to
wake up every day and be a real blonde.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
So you were going all in on it. You bleached
your hair.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
I bleached my hair for over a year, over and over.
The amount of time I spent at the hair salon
was ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Insanity.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
It's horrible, but it was really cute. I will say,
everybody sees it and they're like, yeah, it was a moment.
But now I feel like a black cat, and I
love my hair.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
When I went back to the black from the blonde,
and I tried a bunch of different colors. I did red.
I did pink.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
Same.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
I looked stupid, honestly, in all of them. At the time,
I didn't think I did.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
I have to see photos. I'll show you. I'm going
to be like, girl, why?
Speaker 2 (10:44):
When I went back to black, I was like, there
she is. That's what we need. And it was a
little bit more of like the diva witch black cat. Like,
this is my power is in my black hair. Let's
never do that again. So high five to... recovering yes
we recovered how long did it take your hair to come.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Back like over a year it's been over a year
I do dye my hair extra black once a month
yeah because I love like a really deep like purpley
blue black okay so I like make it extra like
jet black but it's been over a year back with.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
My I love it. And I see the hair flip.
You're feeling good. You're feeling confident. Feeling healthy, yes. So
of all the things that you're pursuing right now, whether
it's modeling, singing, making clothing and jewelry, is there one
that has more of your heart than the others?
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Music always, yeah. I love writing. I produce all my
music as well.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Oh, wow.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
I've just been in the studio so much in the
last six months and like writing a So that'll always
be my first love.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
I love to see the Indians in the arts. There
are so many of us. So it's kind of funny
that we don't see it as much as I think
we should be seeing it, especially here in the US.
I laugh about this all the time. Remember when they
were casting for the live action version of Aladdin?
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Oh my God, yes.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
And they just kept saying, we just can't find someone
who looks like Jasmine. And I thought, Are you without eyes?
Speaker 1 (12:03):
We have over a billion people. All you have.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
To do is look at Bollywood and you'll find a
ton of them. Look in the streets and you will
find a ton of us who at some point in
your life guarantee somebody has called you Princess Jasmine.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Without a doubt. It happens all the time. So I'm
glad to see more mainstream.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
It's exciting. And I love what you are up to.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Thank you. You have.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Musical family yes your sister was just here yes your
sister is lara from cat's eye tell me how this
is working out.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
For you i mean it's uh the most surreal crazy
exciting experience we're best friends and like literally from the
day she was a five years old and she started
singing it was like we knew superstardom yeah are you
guys planning to do anything together We will. She wrote
a song on my project that came out last year.
(12:56):
She wrote it with me and helped me with the production.
It's called Now That You're Gone. It's such a beautiful ballad.
We are each other's first. I feel like I'll show
her everything before I show anybody else. I trust her
opinion over everybody's. She'll show me her ideas and we
always are constantly giving each other so much support creatively.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
That's how I am with my sister, too.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
You have one sister?
Speaker 2 (13:21):
I have one sister.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Oh, my God. Are you younger or older?
Speaker 2 (13:23):
I'm younger.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Oh, my God. You're the baby sister.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
I'm the baby.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Wait, what are you? I'm big sister.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
You're big sister.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
So I know that that's a totally different dynamic in general, right? Like,
do you ever feel like, I watched you grow up?
My sister says that all the time. I'm like, you
are three years older than me. It wasn't that serious.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
I'm five years older. You're five?
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
So it's like a good, yeah, I feel like.
Like, literally two days ago, I saw, like, people keep
making these really cute fan edits of, like, us as babies.
Because we have, like, I have so many baby photos
and videos that are, like, circulating on the internet. And, like,
people make these cute edits. And I saw one a
couple days ago, and I was like, that's my baby.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
I say all the time, my soulmate is not my
significant other. My soulmate is hands down my sister.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Oh, yes. Oh, my God. I love that. Without a doubt.
We always say that.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
Are you missing her?
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Well, we live together.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
Oh, okay.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
So I'm like, wow, yes. That's good. So I'm like,
I see her every other day. But when we're both
traveling or on tour or something, then it's so hard, yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
So for you, traveling and being on tour, is this new?
Are you kind of new to this or have you
sort of been doing it underground for a while?
Speaker 1 (14:42):
I've been doing it for so long. I started making
music when I was 11, like 10 or 11. And then...
When we were living in Texas, my family, I started
like putting out YouTube covers.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Were you guys in Capelle by any chance?
Speaker 1 (14:55):
We were in Dallas.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Dallas.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
So not far.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Capelle's in Dallas.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
But honestly, but shout out to Dallas because there was
such a fun live music scene there. Like, yeah, I've
been performing for so long, but I did my first
official headlining tour just last year. here how was it
it was magical what did you.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Discover about touring and about yourself from doing that oh
hello from doing that.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
Well I I always knew I loved performing but I
think like it just awakened in me like uh a
really deep realization of my purpose in life and my
purpose on earth and it was I realized that music
is my pathway to connect with people and help hopefully
create art that helps people heal. It's hard to put
(15:38):
into words. It's just like an aura energy exchange.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
You got bitten by the bug.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
And now you've got to scratch that itch. So let's
talk about wishlist stuff and manifesting things for you.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
In a dream world.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Who is your ultimate collaboration?
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Oh, my God. I have so many. Name them all.
Let's put them all out there. Yeah, let's put them
all out there. I love Rosalia. Oh, okay. She's one
of my favorites.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
That is Andrew's crush, isn't it?
Speaker 1 (16:06):
He loves her. Oh, my God. I love her so much.
I love Pharrell. I think he's production, musical genius. We
have the same birthday. Oh. Aries twin. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Oh, you're a fire sign.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Yes. Wait, what's your sign? Sagittarius. Oh, my God. I
love Sag.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Yeah, apparently we get along really well.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Oh, yes. No, yeah. The Aries and the Sag. Yeah,
fire signs. Okay. I love Jimin from BTS. I think
he's so talented. Yeah, those are like some of mine.
I mean, I have so many. Peggy Gu.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
I would love to work with her.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Have you started down the path of reaching out to
any of them and seeing like, hey?
Speaker 1 (16:43):
Yeah, I'm working on some fun collaborations.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
Oh, and she says it with a side eye.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Yeah. All right.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
So a year from now, you're maybe collaborating with these
people that you like. You're on tour because you love
being on tour. What does the rest of your life
look like? Are you dating anybody?
Speaker 1 (17:00):
I'm currently single. I just got out of a five-year-long relationship.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Congratulations.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Thank you, girl. I'm like, come on.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
I think it's always important to tell people congratulations because
so many people look at it like it's a bad thing.
But if it didn't serve you and you're done, it's
an amazing thing.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
It's an amazing thing.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
I'm like.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
for the first time in my life I'm single as
an adult I've never been single as an adult and
I am just just like sinking into this like wow
being able to do things for myself and like My
spirit is free. I feel like I'm running through a
field every day mentally. Right? It's like, wow.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
You can wear whatever you want without someone complaining. You
can go wherever you want. You can eat whatever you want.
My biggest, when I broke up with my boyfriend of
a very long time, I felt drunk with power that
I could decorate my apartment however I wanted to. I
was like, sparkly stuff, don't mind if I do. Pink,
don't mind if I do.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
I love drunk with power. That's literally how I feel.
I'm like, wow everything and also I think it's um
really I love love I I'm such a like deep
relationship person but like I I think it's so important
to spend some time in your 20s just like figuring
yourself out I was like wow I didn't know myself
(18:17):
until I spent time alone and now I'm like wow
I'm just like learning so much about myself and what
I love to do in my free time and like
who I spend my time with and where I pour
it all into. And I'm like, now if I like,
instead of a date night, I'm like, I'm painting in
my house. And that's such a beautiful thing. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
What is the biggest thing you've learned about yourself now
that you are flying solo and enjoying it?
Speaker 1 (18:41):
Oh, I think I'm just like realizing how much I
love freedom and independence, because I think when you're in
something for so long, you're like, this is my life.
Like I'm comfortable. I'm good. And it's scary to break
out of something and like set yourself free. And I'm
just learning like how much I love to be out
and travel and be with my friends. And like every
(19:02):
second I have, I'm like creating something, you know?
Speaker 2 (19:05):
And even heartbreak or not heartbreak, but just being free
creates art in itself.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Which is incredible.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
Do you know who Jessie Reyez is?
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
I am obsessed with her. I love her. And I'm like,
thank you to whoever broke her heart because damn. She
has really come through with all the heartbreak anthems and
the like, go fuck yourself. I love it. I don't
even feel that way. But I love hearing it from
someone just with like actual passion.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
Did the breakup fuel any art for you?
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Oh, yes. This whole era of new music that's about
to come out is like my thing I wrote in
my journal every day was like turn your tears into art.
And like everything is like a side and a facet
of like that breakup, that relationship, the transformation and self-discovery.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
Does he know what's coming?
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Oh, I think so because I've been sometimes teasing things
and I'm like, girl, it's about to be crazy.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
Do you still follow each other online anywhere or is
it a blocked situation?
Speaker 1 (20:02):
No, no, no.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
Not friends. Not friends. Fair enough.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Listen, I understand it. I We laugh about this all
the time. Anyone that I have ever dated, I'm trying
to think if this is true. Yeah, mine is my
current boyfriend because we are obviously together. I have been blocked,
which I think is so funny because I'm like, why
are you blocking me? I mean, yes, do I want
to creep? And that's how I know I'm blocked for sure.
But like I broke up with you. I like, why
(20:30):
are you so mad? But it is what it is.
It's fine.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
It is what it is. Yeah, I'm just like, I'm
such a... I take all the emotion and all the
overwhelming feelings and I put it into my journal, into
my songs, and I'm just very much like a, when
things are, when things are ready to come out into
the world, everyone will see it and it will be presented.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Do you think he's going to circle the block and
be like, Hey, now he already had to write about that.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
Oh, he already has. Well, he already has circled the
block many times, but he's, he's been blocked by me.
We do have a block situation.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
I'm here for it.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
So if you could then, and I know like you're
in your single era and you should be enjoying it.
Love it.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Um, it was one of my favorite times in my life.
Like every time I was single, this is amazing. Again,
drunk with power. But if you are building your dream man,
we did this with Ray also. She was talking about
where the hell's my husband? We're like, build him. Who's
your dream husband?
Speaker 1 (21:27):
I keep saying that I need to stop dating people
in music, but I do love creative people. Not artists necessarily,
but I like someone that is creating something whether it's
in like the entertainment world or it could be in
like business i don't know someone that's like building something
because i feel like you constantly get to like come
(21:49):
home and talk to each other about like new ideas
and discoveries.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Like the language that you both speak yes.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
Because i feel like i'm every day of my life
is like there's something new and something crazy to talk
about and i need someone to match that level of
like oh my god like what did you do today
like where were you today you know That level of excitement.
But like I'm also just like fiercely family first and
like passionate about like protecting like relationships. And so someone
(22:17):
that values that as well. Like down to travel with me. Adventurous. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
These are all good things.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
I like that you said close to your family. How's
your family doing with all of this with the two
daughters venturing out being successful? And being on their own.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
I mean, they're so supportive. Yeah, see, they're out there.
They're either with me or my sister as, like, much
as possible because we are such a close family unit. And, like,
they've worked so hard to help me and my sister
get to where we are right now and providing, like,
that constant support. So, like, anything we can do to
(22:52):
like bring them along for like exciting, like during Grammy week,
they were out and about with us. Sometimes they were
on their own going to parties and I was like,
I'm tired. You guys go out. Um, they're having fun
and I, and I just want them to like be
able to enjoy the fruits of their labor too.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
That's exciting and nice that you're bringing them everywhere. I did.
I did that for a while. I brought my parents
places and then it got crazy and crazy things. And
I was like, Oh Lord almighty. Now I gotta be
more selective about where I'm taking them. Cause you know,
Indian parents, it can be a wild, a wild ride.
We love them. So you've manifested potentially a dream man,
dream collaboration where you want to basically be a year
(23:31):
from now. And all of that is exciting. Have you
had any fangirl moments yourself where you are at a show,
you look out, you see someone, and you're like, oh, shit.
I cannot believe they're there. Or somebody who has DM'd
you that you're like, oh, my God, this is amazing.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Oh, my gosh. Actually, yeah, I think in the last, like, year,
there's been quite a few moments. I'm trying to think
of my number one, like, who I got to meet.
I mean... I love Tinashe. She's, like, such a cool example.
I think of, like, a brown girl artist that, like, produces, writes,
(24:08):
does so much. And I remember, like, when she followed
me and we were messaging, I was like, oh, my God, that's, like,
someone I just look up to.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
I made it.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
So much, yeah. There's so many cool artists like that. But, yeah,
she was one. That's exciting, though. Oh, my God. You
know what was my craziest, actually, also? Tell me. At
the Grammys, I was sitting right in front of Slash.
And for me, like he was, I grew up on
like rock music and my dad was like metal rock person,
like guy. And, um, I like turn around, I saw
(24:35):
him with his hat and I like, I like screamed.
I squealed. Yeah. I was like, I was like, Oh
my God. I was like, Oh my God, I love
you so much.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
And he was just like, Oh, he was just nice
and cool about it.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
Did you take a picture? No, I didn't. I was like,
oh my God, why am I so nervous?
Speaker 2 (24:51):
I feel like that's one of those moments where I
would try really hard to act like I was taking
a selfie and then make sure he was including me.
Even though they're completely on top of that and know
what I'm doing. You got to give it a shot.
That's exciting though. So you have a lot of good
stuff going on.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Are you feeling good?
Speaker 1 (25:06):
I'm feeling really good. Is this like the best era?
Best era. Yeah. I mean, every era is just going
to keep getting better, but this one is like, wow.
Something has been unlocked this year that's magical. And the
rest of this year is about to be crazy.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Not that you're at the beginning of your career, but
as it starts to take off. New chapter, whether it's
because you're single, you're going on tour, you're doing all
these different things. I like to catch that upward momentum.
And then seeing them actually catch their dreams is really cool.
And we're lucky working in this business that we get
to see that every now and then. So fingers crossed
(25:40):
for you. I know you don't.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
Need good luck.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
But I'm going to say good luck.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
You're so welcome. If people want to find you online,
where can they do that?
Speaker 1 (25:50):
Everywhere. Spotify, Apple, YouTube, all the things at Ria Raj.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Ria Raj. Spell it for them.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
Yes, it's R-H-E-A-R-A-J. Ria Raj. Yes.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
Listen, you have to spell things for people.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
That is why my Instagram name is Baby Hot Sauce
and not May the Gandhi because not anyone can spell it.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
I can, but yeah. Yeah, you can. I know what
you mean. I know what you mean.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
You and all the billion people in India, a billion
and a half people, they can spell it, but you'll
be surprised how many people mix up the D and
the H in Gandhi and in Mehta.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Yes, that's true.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
So go with baby hot sauce. And I've been shadow
banned for it, so that's exciting.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
That's okay. Not for long. Not for long. And we
manifest the Unshadow Man.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
Please. Unshadow Man me at some point. Please. Thank you
so much for spending some time with me.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
And I'm excited to see what you do.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
And I'm coming for the necklace.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Yes, yes. And same. Okay. Thank you. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
I have to remember to reach out to her and
get the necklace that I want because I really did
like her own necklace.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
And she made it seem as if she would really
make you one. Yeah, I think so because we're friends now.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
Besties. Amazing. You're in with the fam. In with the fam.
I saw a couple Indian parents, an auntie and an
uncle outside. I saw my Indian sisters, and I was like.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
Look at us.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Oh, my God. And this is going to be so silly, probably,
sounding to so many people. But something that I love
about these two specifically, being in the spotlight right now, is...
There's still a lot of colorism that happens with Indian
people and Indian people in the spotlight. They're not usually
darker skinned. They're very fair skinned. A lot of people
have light eyes and very straight hair. These girls are
(27:31):
South Indian. So they're a little darker. They're a little
darker than me. And people give me shit all the
time about my skin color. So I love to see it.
And I'm so happy and I'm proud of them. And
I hope that they do huge, big, amazing things. And yeah,
if you want to follow Rhea. I don't think she
needs any help, but you can.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Ria Raj.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
And yeah, again, the list of instructions.
Speaker 3 (27:53):
Uh-oh.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
Please follow us on Instagram at babyhotsauce.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
At Diamond Sincere.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
At Sauce on the Side. You can also like, follow,
subscribe to the podcast on YouTube and wherever you get
your podcasts from. We would love it if you left
us a talkback on the iHeartRadio app. All you have
to do is push the microphone button and basically leave
us a message and we'll probably play it at some
point if they're hilarious. Still looking for you, bear guy,
(28:22):
wherever you're at. And the last one. What is the
last one? Like, follow, subscribe, talkback.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
Oh, yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Leave us a review.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
Five stars only, please. Some asshole's been sliding in there
with ones lately. Really? I guess that's just what happens
when you're so popular. No, you said we're okay with ones.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
I lied.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
When I get a one star, it's so stupid because
we'll have like a million nice people saying nice things.
I'm like, oh my God, thank you so much. And
then one asshole's going to say something shitty. And I'm like, oh,
I'm going to find your mom.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Cool.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
Nice mom. And it's not even probably that shitty. Like
I assign a tone to things and they're never nice.
But anyway. please do all those things that we just
talked about because clearly it's important to us. Um, yeah,
I think that's really it. So until next time, diamonds. Bye. Bye.
Host
Medha Gandhi
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!