Bohemia (Born Roger David) is an ethnic Punjabi and was born in the city Karachi located in province Sindh in Pakistan. He referes to the hisotrical Punjabi city of Lahore (his home town) in several of his songs. “I am from Punjab, where my great-grandfather converted from Sikhism to Christianity for some reason, however in my house, the Granth Sahib and the Bible were both there, though I was raised as a Christian. As for me, I believe in God, but I am not religious.” says Bohemia. He started learning music at a very young age from his father. He started writing Punjabi poetry around then as well. After migrating to the Bay Area California USA at about fourteen years of age, Ra was introduced to America that was much the opposite of palm trees and green grass. The town was infested with drugs and violence. About a year later being in the states, he lost his mother to cancer. At that time, Ra left home and became a local musician. He started working as a keyboard player/music arranger while living at local studios with other musicians. After a few years of success, the local group of musicians fell apart and Ra left to pursue music on his own. Bohemia soon started putting his poetry to the music he composed and gave birth to a new genre of music.

 Making of a Pioneer

The term “Bohemia” suggests flouting traditional mores. And rap is all about personal angst or feelings. So what is Bohemia the man all about? “Well, I lost my mom when I was just 14 or 15, and I was quite a momma’s boy. That made me mad and I was kind of pushed into negative things. I have to thank God for music, for that’s what finally made me wake up and gave a reason to live. Dad played the harmonium and I learnt the keyboard.”

He goes on, “When we shifted to the U.S., I lived a strange life. I was virtually living at the Milan Recording Studios in Sacramento and sleeping there or in cars... I was friends with Suresh Margoli, a tabla player, and when he was murdered at a young age and was replaced by another tabla player just as easily as if he was a broken instrument, I was mad again. I told the studio engineer that I was through with being a keyboard player who could go into anonymity if he died tomorrow. I wanted to do something where I would stand out!”

Bohemia’s first album was Vich Pardesan De in 2002, which was about coming to a foreign land. Hip-hop was then limited to the underground, and he pioneered Punjabi rap. Then came Pesa Nasha Pyar (Money, Intoxication, Love) in 2006 in India, the first-ever full-length Desi rap album to be released worldwide on a major music label (Universal Music Group).

Da Rap Star, his new album he says, “is all me, without any samples used other than my tribute track to Malkit Singh. I am showing off how good a producer I am! I have used a lot of bass, beats and keyboards and I have even done the sequencing. My associate J. Hind has added the desi hip-hop. There are tracks that describe my journey. To sum up, it’s me saying, ‘I’m me! Look, I’m still here!’”

Through his experiences, come raw raps depicting not just California street life, but a life many south Asians lead in America. Bohemia looks up to artists such as Jagjit Singh and the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and rapper's like Nas and KRS-One.

After having burnt up music charts with his Bollywood songs, Bohemia's highly awaited album Da Rap StarDa Rap Star, written and produced entirely by Bohemia hit #1 on the Planet M Chart India and is nominated as the Best Punjabi Album at the UK Asian Music Awards. has finally released (Universal Music Group, April 2009).

Bohemia's Albums

• 2002: Vich Pardesian De (In The Foreign Lands)
• 2006: Pesa Nasha Pyar (Money Addiction Love) Universal Music Group India Pvt. Ltd.
• 2009: Da Rap Star Universal Music Group India Pvt. Ltd. (Nominated for 4 Int'l Music Awards)

Bohemia in Bollywood

• Chandni Chowk to China

Bohemia wrote and produced the title track for Warner Bros. Chandni Chowk to China is a Hindi film directed by Nikhil Advani. Bohemia appears in the film for the title track along with stars Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone.

• 8 x 10 Tasveer

Akshay teams up with Bohemia for a song in 8 x 10 Tasveer. Navin Shah, CEO of Percept Picture Company, says, "...Bohemia is a very popular rap artist and we are very happy that he has given his music for our film."The Name Of the Song is "I got the picture"8 x 10 Tasveer. starring Julian S. Low, Akshay Kumar, Ayesha Takia, Sharmila Tagore, Javed Jaffrey, and Anant Mahadevan is directed by Nagesh Kukunoor.

Read more: http://panjabirapper.blogspot.com/