Raja El Madhoun is a musician, composer, and songwriter. She was born in Kuwait to a Palestinian family that was forced to leave Gaza after the 1967 war.

Before turning to music, Raja worked for two Bulgarian companies that developed some of the country’s first online games. In 2012, she began teaching herself to play the acoustic guitar and sing — a path built on the foundation of eight years of childhood piano lessons. In 2014, she wrote her first song, After Midnight. That same year, she performed for the first time in front of a live audience and began developing the idea of forming her own band.

In 2015, together with Iliyana Georgieva, she founded the band Dead Man’s Hat. Since then, Raja has performed at numerous concerts alongside artists such as Ostava, P.I.F., Jeremy?, Gravity Co., Rushi, Nasekomix, and others.

With Dead Man’s Hat, she released two albums that have been streamed in over 50 countries. Their debut single After Midnight topped the "Bulgaria's Top 40" chart from the Bulgarian National Television. In 2017, their second single Little Cars was released and reached #2 on the 'Top 20' chart from the Bulgarian National Radio. During their musical career, the band was invited to perform at numerous local festivals including Hills of Rock, Sofia Live Festival, Sofia Film Fest, One Design Week, and others. In 2018, they toured with the well-known Bulgarian band OSTAVA, opening their concerts in the Netherlands and Germany. In 2019, Dead Man’s Hat won the Special Jury Award in the music competition of the Bulgarian National Radio.

Raja has also been part of various cultural projects and teams such as Go Guide, Programata, and Creative Europe. She participated in art projects by Valentina Sharra as a narrator, and appeared in the film The Good Driver, directed by Tonislav Hristov. Raja played the lead role in the independent dance-theatre production Some Black Women by Iskren Petkov, which abstractly explores the challenges faced by women of color. All of these projects address social issues and human rights, and Raja thrives when engaging in art that is meaningful and capable of driving change.

Raja and her band Dead Man’s Hat are often involved in charity events supporting social causes. She is a vocal advocate for women’s rights, freedom of speech, and refugee issues in Bulgaria. During the refugee crisis, Raja performed charity concerts in two refugee camps in Bulgaria and took part in a UNRWA event promoting empathy and equality between refugee and Bulgarian families. She also volunteered as a translator, interviewing displaced individuals fleeing war in search of a better life in Europe.